² Then the word of the Lord came to me: ³ “Son of man, speak to the elders^(A) of Israel and say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Have you come to inquire^(B) of me? As surely as I live, I will not let you inquire of me, declares the Sovereign Lord.^(C)’

⁴ “Will you judge them? Will you judge them, son of man? Then confront them with the detestable practices of their ancestors^{(D) 5} and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: On the day I chose^(E) Israel, I swore with uplifted hand^(F) to the descendants of Jacob and revealed myself to them in Egypt. With uplifted hand I said to them, “I am the Lord your God.^(G)” ⁶ On that day I swore^(H) to them that I would bring them out of Egypt into a land I had searched out for them, a land flowing with milk and honey,^(I) the most beautiful of all lands.^{(J) 7} And I said to them, “Each of you, get rid of the vile images^(K) you have set your eyes on, and do not defile yourselves with the idols^(L) of Egypt. I am the Lord your God.^(M)”

⁸ “‘But they rebelled against me and would not listen to me;^(N) they did not get rid of the vile images they had set their eyes on, nor did they forsake the idols of Egypt.^(O) So I said I would pour out my wrath on them and spend my anger against them in Egypt.^{(P) 9} But for the sake of my name, I brought them out of Egypt.^(Q) I did it to keep my name from being profaned^(R) in the eyes of the nations among whom they lived and in whose sight I had revealed myself to the Israelites. ¹⁰ Therefore I led them out of Egypt and brought them into the wilderness.^{(S) 11} I gave them my decrees and made known to them my laws, by which the person who obeys them will live.^{(T) 12} Also I gave them my Sabbaths^(U) as a sign^(V) between us,^(W) so they would know that I the Lord made them holy.^(X)

¹³ “‘Yet the people of Israel rebelled^(Y) against me in the wilderness. They did not follow my decrees but rejected my laws^(Z)—by which the person who obeys them will live—and they utterly desecrated my Sabbaths.^(AA) So I said I would pour out my wrath^(AB) on them and destroy^(AC) them in the wilderness.^{(AD) 14} But for the sake of my name I did what would keep it from being profaned^(AE) in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.^{(AF) 15} Also with uplifted hand I swore^(AG) to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land I had given them—a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands^(AH)— ¹⁶ because they rejected my laws^(AI) and did not follow my decrees and desecrated my Sabbaths. For their hearts^(AJ) were devoted to their idols.^{(AK) 17} Yet I looked on them with pity and did not destroy^(AL) them or put an end to them in the wilderness.