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True and False Priests
4 # Nu 3.11-13 I am telling you this, so I can continue to keep my agreement with your ancestor Levi. 5#Nu 25.1213 I blessed him with a full life, as I had promised, and he kept his part of the agreement by honoring me and respecting my name. 6He taught the truth and never told lies, and he led a lot of people to turn from sin, because he obeyed me and lived right.
A Broken Agreement
10Don't you know that we all have God as our Father? Didn't the one God create each of us? Then why do you cheat each other by breaking the agreement God made with your ancestors? 11You people in Judah and Jerusalem have been unfaithful to the Lord. You have disgraced the temple that he loves, and you have committed the disgusting sin of marrying the worshipers of other gods. 12I pray that the Lord will no longer let those who are guilty belong to his people, even if they eagerly decide to offer the Lord a gift.#2.12 even if … gift: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
13And what else are you doing? You cry noisily and flood the Lord's altar with your tears, because he isn't pleased with your offerings and refuses to accept them. 14And why isn't God pleased? It's because he knows that each of you men has been unfaithful to the wife you married when you were young. You promised that she would be your partner, but now you have broken that promise. 15Didn't God create you and your wife to become like one person?#2.15 Didn't … person: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text. And why did he do this? It was so you would have children, and then lead them to become God's people. Don't ever be unfaithful to your wife. 16The Lord God All-Powerful of Israel hates anyone who is cruel enough to divorce his wife. So take care never to be unfaithful!
17You have worn out the Lord with your words. And yet, you ask, “How did we do that?”
You did it by saying, “The Lord is pleased with evil and doesn't care about justice.”
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