¹The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah. He said, ²“Stand at the gate of the Lord’s house, and announce from there this message: ‘Listen to the Lord’s word, all you people of Judah who go through these gates to worship the Lord. ³This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Change the way you live and act, and I will let you live in this place. ⁴Do not trust the words of this saying, “This is the Lord’s temple, the Lord’s temple, the Lord’s temple!” It’s a lie.

⁵“ ‘Suppose you really change the way you live and act and you really treat each other fairly. ⁶Suppose you do not oppress foreigners, orphans, and widows, or kill anyone in this place. And suppose you do not follow other gods that lead you to your own destruction. ⁷Then I will let you live in this place, in the land that I gave permanently to your ancestors long ago.

⁸“ ‘You are trusting the words of a saying. It’s a lie that cannot help you. ⁹You steal, murder, commit adultery, lie when you take oaths, burn incense as an offering to Baal, and run after other gods that you do not know. ¹⁰Then you stand in my presence in the house that is called by my name. You think that you’re safe to do all these disgusting things. ¹¹The house that is called by my name has become a gathering place for thieves. I have seen what you are doing,’ ” declares the Lord.

¹²“ ‘But go to my place that was at Shiloh, where I first made a dwelling place for my name. See what I did to Shiloh because of the evil done by my people Israel. ¹³You have done the same things the people did at Shiloh,’ ” declares the Lord. “ ‘Although I spoke to you again and again, you did not listen. When I called you, you did not answer. ¹⁴So what I did to Shiloh I will now do to the house that is called by my name. This is the place I gave to you and to your ancestors, the place where you feel so safe. ¹⁵I will force you out of my sight as I forced out all your relatives, all of Ephraim’s descendants.’

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