²² I gave your ancestors no commands about burnt offerings or any other kinds of sacrifices when I brought them out of Egypt. ²³ But I did command them to obey me, so that I would be their God and they would be my people. And I told them to live the way I had commanded them, so that things would go well for them. ²⁴ But they did not obey or pay any attention. Instead, they did whatever their stubborn and evil hearts told them to do, and they became worse instead of better.