8-11 God explained, “This is the way I am going to ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem—a wicked bunch of people who won’t obey me, who do only what they want to do, who chase after all kinds of no-gods and worship them. They’re going to turn out as rotten as these old shorts. Just as shorts clothe and protect, so I kept the whole family of Israel under my care”—God’s Decree—“so that everyone could see they were my people, a people I could show off to the world and be proud of. But they refused to do a thing I said.

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“This is what the Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride(A) of Jerusalem. 10 These wicked people, who refuse to listen(B) to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts(C) and go after other gods(D) to serve and worship them,(E) will be like this belt—completely useless!(F) 11 For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown(G) and praise and honor.(H) But they have not listened.’(I)

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