13. Now as I was prophesying, Pelatiah son of Benaiah died. Then I fell face down and cried out in a loud voice, ‘Alas, Sovereign Lord! Will you completely destroy the remnant of Israel?’
14. The word of the Lord came to me:
15. ‘Son of man, the people of Jerusalem have said of your fellow exiles and all the other Israelites, “They are far away from the Lord; this land was given to us as our possession.”
16. ‘Therefore say: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries where they have gone.”
17. ‘Therefore say: “This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will gather you from the nations and bring you back from the countries where you have been scattered, and I will give you back the land of Israel again.”
18. ‘They will return to it and remove all its vile images and detestable idols.
19. I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.
20. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.
21. But as for those whose hearts are devoted to their vile images and detestable idols, I will bring down on their own heads what they have done, declares the Sovereign Lord.’