1. A message came to me from the Lord. He said,
2. "Stand at the gate of my house. Announce my message to the people there. Say, " 'Listen to the Lord's message, all of you people of Judah. You always come through these gates to worship the Lord.
3. The God of Israel is speaking to you. He is the Lord who rules over all. He says, "Change the way you live and act. Then I will let you live in this place.
4. " ' "Do not trust in lies. Do not say, 'This is the temple of the Lord! This is the temple of the Lord! This is the temple of the Lord!'
5. " ' "You must really change the way you live and act. Treat each other fairly.
6. Do not treat outsiders or widows badly in this place. Do not take advantage of children whose fathers have died. Do not kill those who are not guilty of doing anything wrong. Do not worship other gods. That will only bring harm to you.
7. " ' "If you obey me, I will let you live in this place. It is the land I gave your people who lived long ago. It was promised to them for ever and ever.
8. " ' "But look! You are trusting in worthless lies.
9. " ' "You continue to steal and commit murder. You commit adultery and tell lies. You burn incense to Baal. You worship other gods you have not known anything about before.
10. " ' "Then you come and stand in front of me. You keep coming to this house where I have put my Name. You say, 'We are safe.' You think you are safe when you do so many things I hate.
11. My Name is in this house. But you have made it a den for robbers! I have been watching you!" announces the Lord.