⁴But don’t be fooled by those who promise you safety simply because the Lord’s Temple is here. They chant, “The Lord’s Temple is here! The Lord’s Temple is here!” ⁵But I will be merciful only if you stop your evil thoughts and deeds and start treating each other with justice; ⁶only if you stop exploiting foreigners, orphans, and widows; only if you stop your murdering; and only if you stop harming yourselves by worshiping idols. ⁷Then I will let you stay in this land that I gave to your ancestors to keep forever.

⁸“ ‘Don’t be fooled into thinking that you will never suffer because the Temple is here. It’s a lie! ⁹Do you really think you can steal, murder, commit adultery, lie, and burn incense to Baal and all those other new gods of yours, ¹⁰and then come here and stand before me in my Temple and chant, “We are safe!”—only to go right back to all those evils again? ¹¹Don’t you yourselves admit that this Temple, which bears my name, has become a den of thieves? Surely I see all the evil going on there. I, the Lord, have spoken!

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