⁸“ ‘ “But they refused to obey me. They would not listen to me. They did not get rid of the evil gods they worshiped. And they did not turn away from Egypt’s gods. So I said I would pour out all of my burning anger on them in Egypt.

⁹“ ‘ “But I wanted my name to be honored. I kept it from being treated as if it were not holy. I did not want that to happen in front of the nations my people lived among. I had made myself known to Israel in the sight of those nations. I had brought my people out of Egypt.

¹⁰“ ‘ “So I led them out of Egypt. I brought them into the Desert of Sinai. ¹¹I gave them my rules. I made my laws known to them. The one who obeys them will live by them. ¹²I also told them to observe my Sabbath days. That is the sign of the covenant I made with them. I wanted them to know that I made them holy. I am the Lord.

¹³“ ‘ “But the people of Israel refused to obey me in the desert. They did not follow my rules. They turned their backs on my laws. The one who obeys them will live by them. They totally misused my Sabbath days. So I said I would pour out my burning anger on them. I would destroy them in the desert.

¹⁴“ ‘ “But I wanted my name to be honored. I kept it from being treated as if it were not holy. I did not want that to happen in front of the nations. They had seen me bring Israel out of Egypt.

¹⁵“ ‘ “I also raised my hand and took an oath in the desert. I told my people I would not bring them into the land I had given them. It had plenty of milk and honey. It was the most beautiful land of all. ¹⁶But they turned their backs on my laws. They did not follow my rules. They misused my Sabbaths. Their hearts were committed to worshiping the statues of their gods.

¹⁷“ ‘ “Then I felt sorry for them. So I did not destroy them. I did not put an end to them in the desert. ¹⁸I spoke to their children there. I said, ‘Do not follow the rules your parents gave you. Do not obey their laws. Do not pollute yourselves by worshiping their gods. ¹⁹I am the Lord your God. So follow my rules. Be careful to obey my laws. ²⁰Keep my Sabbath days holy. That is the sign of the covenant I made with you. You will know that I am the Lord your God.’

²¹“ ‘ “But their children refused to obey me. They did not follow my rules. They were not careful to keep my laws. The one who obeys them will live by them. They misused my Sabbaths. So I said I would pour out all of my burning anger on them in the desert.

²²“ ‘ “But I kept myself from punishing them at that time. I wanted my name to be honored. So I kept it from being treated as if it were not holy. I did not want that to happen in front of the nations. They had seen me bring Israel out of Egypt.

²³“ ‘ “I also raised my hand and took an oath in the desert. I told my people I would scatter them among the nations. I would send them to other countries. ²⁴They had not obeyed my laws. They had turned their backs on my rules. They had misused my Sabbaths. Their eyes longed to see the statues of their parents’ gods.

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