18. “‘But I said to their children in the wilderness, “Do not follow the practices of your fathers; do not observe their regulations, nor defile yourselves with their idols.
19. I am the Lord your God; follow my statutes, observe my regulations, and carry them out.
20. Treat my Sabbaths as holy and they will be a reminder of our relationship, and then you will know that I am the Lord your God.”
21. “‘But the children rebelled against me, did not follow my statutes, did not observe my regulations by carrying them out (the one who obeys them will live by them), and desecrated my Sabbaths. I decided to pour out my rage on them and fully vent my anger against them in the wilderness.
22. But I refrained from doing so, and acted instead for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
23. I also swore to them in the wilderness that I would scatter them among the nations and disperse them throughout the lands.
24. I did this because they did not observe my regulations, they rejected my statutes, they desecrated my Sabbaths, and their eyes were fixed on their fathers’ idols.