13. “I may stop the sky from sending rain. I may command the locusts to destroy the land. I may send sicknesses to my people.
14. Then if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves, if they will pray and seek me and stop their evil ways, I will hear them from heaven. I will forgive their sin, and I will heal their land.
15. Now I will see them, and I will listen to the prayers prayed in this place.
16. I have chosen this Temple and made it holy. So I will be worshiped there forever. Yes, I will always watch over it and love it.
17. “But you must serve me as your father David did. You must obey all I have commanded and keep my laws and rules.
18. If you do, I will make your kingdom strong. This is the agreement I made with your father David, saying, ‘Someone from your family will always rule in Israel.’
19. “But you must follow me and obey the laws and commands I have given you. You must not serve or worship other gods.
20. If you do, I will take the Israelites out of my land, the land I have given them, and I will leave this Temple that I have made holy. All the nations will make fun of it and speak evil about it.
21. This Temple is honored now, but then, everyone who passes by will be shocked. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do this terrible thing to this land and this Temple?’
22. People will answer, ‘This happened because they left the Lord, the God of their ancestors, the God who brought them out of Egypt. They decided to follow other gods and worshiped and served them, so he brought all this disaster on them.’ ”