16. “So say, ‘This is what the Lord God says: I sent the people far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries. But for a little while I have become a Temple to them in the countries where they have gone.’
17. “So say: ‘This is what the Lord God says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you together from the countries where you have been scattered. Then I will give you back the land of Israel.’
18. “When they come to this land, they will remove all the evil idols and all the hateful images.
19. I will give them a desire to respect me completely, and I will put inside them a new way of thinking. I will take out the stubborn heart of stone from their bodies, and I will give them an obedient heart of flesh.
20. Then they will live by my rules and obey my laws and keep them. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
21. But those who want to serve their evil statues and hateful idols, I will pay back for their evil ways, says the Lord God.”