21. "The Lord says: ‘Bend your shoulders and serve the king of Babylon, and then you’ll reside in the land that I gave to your ancestors.
22. But if you don’t listen to the Lord’s voice and serve the king of Babylon,
23. I’ll bring an end to the sound of joy and gladness and the celebration of marriage from the cities of Judah and around Jerusalem. The whole land will be a wasteland without life.’"
24. But we didn’t listen to your voice, to serve the king of Babylon, so you have carried out the words that you spoke through your servants the prophets. The bones of our rulers and ancestors were brought out of their tombs.
25. Look, their bones have been thrown out into the heat of the day and the frost of the night. They died by many horrors, from famine, sword, and exile.
26. Because of Israel’s and Judah’s evil, you have made the house that carries your name what it is today.
27. Lord our God, you have acted toward us in line with your great kindness and your great compassion,
28. just as you spoke through your servant Moses on the day when you commanded him to write your Law in the presence of the Israelites.You said:
29. If you don’t listen to my voice, this great buzzing crowd will certainly turn into a small one among the nations where I’ll scatter them.
30. I knew that they wouldn’t listen to me, because they are stubborn. But they will change their hearts while in the land of captivity.
31. They will know that I am the Lord their God, and I’ll give them a heart and ears that listen.
32. They will praise me in the land of their captivity, and they will remember my name.
33. They will turn away from their stubborn side and their wicked actions, because they will remember what happened to their ancestors who sinned in the Lord’s presence.