Listen to me, you heavens! Pay attention to me, earth! The Lord has said,“ I raised children. I brought them up. But they have refused to obey me.

天哪，要听！地啊，侧耳而听！因为耶和华说：“我养育儿女，将他们养大，他们竟悖逆我。

天哪，要听！地啊，侧耳而听！因为耶和华说：“我养育儿女，将他们养大，他们竟悖逆我。

天哪，要听！地啊，侧耳而听！因为耶和华说：“我养育儿女，将他们养大，他们竟悖逆我。

诸天啊，请听！大地啊，要侧耳听！耶和华说：“我把孩子抚育成人，他们竟然背叛我。

诸天哪！要听。大地啊！要留心听。因为耶和华说：“我把孩子养育，使他们成长，他们却背叛了我。

诸天哪，你们当听！大地啊，你当倾听！因为耶和华说：“我养育儿女，带大了他们，他们却悖逆了我。

天哪，要聽！地啊，側耳而聽！因為耶和華說：我養育兒女，將他們養大，他們竟悖逆我。

天哪，要聽！地啊，側耳而聽！因為耶和華說：「我養育兒女，將他們養大，他們竟悖逆我。

天哪，要聽！地啊，側耳而聽！因為耶和華說：「我養育兒女，將他們養大，他們竟悖逆我。

諸天啊，請聽！大地啊，要側耳聽！耶和華說：「我把孩子撫育成人，他們竟然背叛我。

諸天哪！要聽。大地啊！要留心聽。因為耶和華說：“我把孩子養育，使他們成長，他們卻背叛了我。

天哪，要聽！地啊，要側耳以聽！因為永恆主說：『我將兒女養大，撫養起來，他們竟背叛了我。

諸天哪，你們當聽！大地啊，你當傾聽！因為耶和華說：「我養育兒女，帶大了他們，他們卻悖逆了我。

天其聽之、地其側耳、蓋耶和華言曰、我撫養諸子、而彼背逆我、

天其聞之、地其聽之、耶和華曰、我養民如保赤子、而反忤逆。

天乎聽哉、地其傾聞、因主有言曰、我養子而撫之、彼反忤逆乎我、

Hear me, you heavens! Listen, earth! For the Lord has spoken:“ I reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me.

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord has spoken:“ Children have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me.

Listen, O heavens! Pay attention, earth! This is what the Lord says:“ The children I raised and cared for have rebelled against me.

Listen, heavens, and pay attention, earth, for the LORD has spoken:“ I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me.

Listen, heavens, and hear, earth; For the Lord has spoken:“ Sons I have raised and brought up, But they have revolted against Me.

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth! For the Lord has spoken:“ I have nourished and brought up children, And they have rebelled against Me;

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for Jehovah hath spoken: I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

Listen, heavens, and pay attention, earth, for the Lord has spoken:“ I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me.

Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth: for the LORD hath spoken, I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.

Listen, O heavens, pay attention, O earth! For the LORD speaks:“ I raised children, I brought them up, but they have rebelled against me!

Hear, heavens, and listen, earth; for Yahweh has spoken:“ I have nourished and brought up children and they have rebelled against me.

Listen to me, all you nations! Earth and everyone who lives in it, pay attention! The Lord and King will be a witness against you. The Lord will speak from his holy temple in heaven.

Heavens, listen to me. Then I will speak. Earth, hear the words of my mouth.

I’m calling for the heavens and the earth to be witnesses against you this very day. I’m offering you the choice of life or death. You can choose either blessings or curses. But I want you to choose life. Then you and your children will live.

Today I’m calling out to the heavens and the earth to be witnesses against you. Suppose you do these things. Then you will quickly die in the land you are going across the Jordan River to take over. You won’t live there very long. You will certainly be destroyed.

He calls out to heaven and earth to be his witnesses. Then he judges his people.

Land, land, land, listen to the Lord’ s message!

“ A son honors his father. A slave honors his master. If I am a father, where is the honor I should have? If I am a master, where is the respect you should give me?” says the Lord who rules over all.“ You priests look down on me.“ But you ask,‘ How have we looked down on you?’

People of Israel, listen to the Lord’ s message. He has spoken his message against you. He has spoken it against the whole family he brought up out of Egypt. He says,

That’s because these people of Judah refuse to obey me. They are children who tell lies. They will not listen to what I want to teach them.

The Lord says,“ Family of Jacob, listen to me. Pay attention, you people of Israel who are left alive. I have taken good care of you since your life began. I have carried you since you were born as a nation.I will continue to carry you even when you are old. I will take good care of you even when your hair is gray. I have made you, and I will carry you. I will take care of you, and I will save you. I am the Lord.

Israel, listen to the Lord’ s message. He says to me,“ Stand up in court. Let the mountains serve as witnesses. Let the hills hear what you have to say.”Hear the Lord’ s case, you mountains. Listen, you age- old foundations of the earth. The Lord has a case against his people Israel. He is bringing charges against them.

Mountains of Israel, listen to the message of the Lord and King. He speaks to you mountains, hills, canyons and valleys. He speaks to you destroyed cities and deserted towns. The rest of the nations around you took away from you everything of value. They made fun of you.

All day long I have held out my hands to welcome a stubborn nation. They lead sinful lives. They go where their evil thoughts take them.

“ How terrible it will be for these stubborn children of mine!” announces the Lord.“ How terrible for those who carry out plans that did not come from me! Their agreement with Egypt did not come from my Spirit. So they pile up one sin on top of another.

The Spirit of the Lord has filled me with power. He helps me do what is fair. He makes me brave. Now I’m prepared to tell Jacob’s people what they’ve done wrong. I’m ready to tell Israel they’ve sinned.

“‘ “I was passing by. I saw you kicking around in your blood. As you were lying there, I said to you,‘ Live!’I made you grow like a plant in a field. Soon you had grown up. You became a young adult. Your breasts had formed. Your hair had grown. But you were completely naked.“‘ “Later, I was passing by again. I looked at you. I saw that you were old enough for love. So I married you and took good care of you. I covered your naked body. I made a firm promise to you. I entered into a covenant with you. And you became mine,” announces the Lord and King.“‘ “I bathed you with water. I washed the blood off you. And I put lotions on you.I put a beautiful dress on you. I gave you sandals made out of fine leather. I dressed you in fine linen. I covered you with expensive clothes.I decorated you with jewelry. I put bracelets on your arms. I gave you a necklace for your neck.I put rings on your nose and ears. And I gave you a beautiful crown for your head.So you were decorated with gold and silver. Your clothes were made out of fine linen. They were made out of expensive and beautiful cloth. Your food was made out of honey, olive oil and the finest flour. You became very beautiful. You became a queen.You were so beautiful that your fame spread among the nations. The glory I had given you made your beauty perfect,” announces the Lord and King.

You also saw how the Lord your God brought you through the desert. He carried you everywhere you went, just as a father carries his son. And now you have arrived here.”

Their eyes will be filled with tears as they come. They will pray as I bring them back. I will lead them beside streams of water. I will lead them on a level path where they will not trip or fall. I am Israel’s father. And Ephraim is my oldest son.

The Lord our God is near us every time we pray to him. What other nation is great enough to have its gods that close to them?I’m giving you the laws of the Lord today. What other nation is great enough to have rules and laws as fair as these?

I will sing a song for the Lord. He is the one I love. It’s a song about his vineyard Israel. The one I love had a vineyard. It was on a hillside that had rich soil.He dug up the soil and removed its stones. He planted the very best vines in it. He built a lookout tower there. He also cut out a winepress for it. Then he kept looking for a crop of good grapes. But the vineyard produced only bad fruit.

Earth, pay attention. I am going to bring trouble on them. I will punish them because of the evil things they have done. They have not listened to my words. They have said no to my law.

When they suffered, he suffered with them. He sent his angel to save them. He set them free because he is loving and kind. He lifted them up and carried them. He did it again and again in days long ago.But they refused to obey him. They made his Holy Spirit sad. So he turned against them and became their enemy. He himself fought against them.

People of Judah, listen to me. Pay attention and don’t be proud. The Lord has spoken.

You also made the Lord angry at Taberah, Massah and Kibroth Hattaavah.The Lord sent you out from Kadesh Barnea. He said,“ Go up and take over the land I have given you.” But you refused to do what the Lord your God had commanded you to do. You didn’t trust him or obey him.You have been refusing to obey the Lord as long as I’ve known you.

The Lord says,“ What did your people of long ago find wrong with me? Why did they wander so far away from me? They worshiped worthless statues of gods. Then they themselves became worthless.They did not ask,‘ Where is the Lord? He brought us up out of Egypt. He led us through a dry and empty land. He guided us through deserts and deep valleys. It was a land of total darkness where there wasn’t any rain. No one lived or traveled there.’But I brought you into a land that has rich soil. I gave you its fruit and its finest food. In spite of that, you made my land impure. You turned it into something I hate.The priests did not ask,‘ Where is the Lord?’ Those who taught my law did not know me. The leaders refused to obey me. The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal. They worshiped worthless statues of gods.“ So I am bringing charges against you again,” announces the Lord.“ And I will bring charges against your children’s children.Go over to the coasts of Cyprus and look. Send people to the land of Kedar and have them look closely. See if there has ever been anything like this.Has a nation ever changed its gods? Actually, they are not even gods at all. But my people have traded away their glorious God. They have traded me for worthless statues of gods.Sky above, be shocked over this. Tremble with horror,” announces the Lord.“ My people have sinned twice. They have deserted me, even though I am the spring of water that gives life. And they have dug their own wells. But those wells are broken. They can’t hold any water.

Tell them,‘ The Lord and King says,“ I chose Israel. On that day I raised my hand and made a promise. I made a promise to the members of Jacob’s family line. I made myself known to them in Egypt. I raised my hand and told them,‘ I am the Lord your God.’On that day I promised I would bring them out of Egypt. I told them I would take them to a land I had found for them. It had plenty of milk and honey. It was the most beautiful land of all.I said to them,‘ Each of you must get rid of the statues of the evil gods you worship. Do not make yourselves“ unclean” by worshiping the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.’“‘ “But they refused to obey me. They would not listen to me. They did not get rid of the evil gods they worshiped. And they did not turn away from Egypt’s gods. So I said I would pour out all my great anger on them in Egypt.I wanted my name to be honored. So I brought my people out of Egypt. I did it to keep my name from being treated as if it were not holy. I didn’t want this to happen in front of the nations around my people. I had made myself known to Israel in the sight of those nations.So I led them out of Egypt. I brought them into the Desert of Sinai.I gave them my rules. I made my laws known to them. The person who obeys them will live by them.I also told them to observe my Sabbath days. That is the sign of the covenant I made with them. I wanted them to know that I made them holy. I am the Lord.“‘ “But in the desert the people of Israel refused to obey me. They did not follow my rules. They turned their backs on my laws. The person who obeys them will live by them. They totally misused my Sabbath days. So I said I would pour out my great anger on them. I would destroy them in the desert.But I wanted my name to be honored. I kept it from being treated as if it were not holy. I did not want that to happen in front of the nations. They had seen me bring Israel out of Egypt.I also raised my hand and made a promise in the desert. I told my people I would not bring them into the land I had given them. It had plenty of milk and honey. It was the most beautiful land of all.But they turned their backs on my laws. They did not obey my rules. They misused my Sabbath days. Their hearts were committed to worshiping the statues of their gods.Then I felt sorry for them. So I did not destroy them. I did not put an end to them in the desert.I spoke to their children there. I said,‘ Do not follow the rules your parents gave you. Do not obey their laws. Do not make yourselves“ unclean” by worshiping their gods.I am the Lord your God. So follow my rules. Be careful to obey my laws.Keep my Sabbath days holy. That is the sign of the covenant I made with you. You will know that I am the Lord your God.’“‘ “But their children refused to obey me. They did not follow my rules. They were not careful to keep my laws. The person who obeys them will live by them. They misused my Sabbath days. So I said I would pour out all my great anger on them in the desert.But I kept myself from punishing them at that time. I wanted my name to be honored. So I kept it from being treated as if it were not holy. I did not want that to happen in front of the nations. They had seen me bring Israel out of Egypt.I also raised my hand and made a promise in the desert. I told my people I would scatter them among the nations. I would send them to other countries.They had not obeyed my laws. They had turned their backs on my rules. They had misused my Sabbath days. They only wanted to worship the statues of their parents’ gods.So I let them follow other rules. Those other rules were not good. I let them have laws they could not live by.I let them become‘ unclean’ by offering sacrifices to other gods. They even sacrificed the first male child born in each family. I wanted to fill them with horror. Then they would know that I am the Lord.” ’“ Son of man, speak to the people of Israel. Tell them,‘ The Lord and King says,“ Your people spoke evil things against me long ago. They were unfaithful to me.But I brought them into the land. I had promised to give the land to them. Then they offered sacrifices that made me very angry. They did it on every high hill and under every green tree. There they brought their sweet- smelling incense. And there they poured out their drink offerings.Then I said to them,‘ What is this high place you go to?’ ” ’ ” That high place is called Bamah to this day.The Lord said to me,“ Speak to the Israelites. Tell them,‘ Here is what the Lord and King says.“ Are you going to make yourselves‘ unclean’ the way your people of long ago did? Are you also going to want to worship the statues of their evil gods?You make yourselves‘ unclean’ by offering sacrifices to other gods. You even sacrifice your children in the fire. You continue to do these things to this day. People of Israel, should I let you ask me for advice? I will not let you do that,” announces the Lord and King.“ And that is just as sure as I am alive.“‘ “You say,‘ We want to be like the other nations. We want to be like all the other people in the world. They serve gods made out of wood and stone.’ But what you have in mind will never happen.

There’s nothing else we can do. We have to speak about the things we’ve seen and heard.”

They are the people of Israel. They have been adopted as God’s children. God’s glory belongs to them. So do the covenants. They received the law. They were taught to worship in the temple. They were given the promises.The founders of our nation belong to them. The Messiah comes from their family line. He is God over all. May he always be praised! Amen.

Is there any advantage in being a Jew? Is there any value in being circumcised?There is great value in every way! First of all, the Jews have been given the very words of God.