21 If our town is captured, then before long all of Judea will fall and our temple in Jerusalem will be in ruins. And if the temple becomes an unfit place for worship, God will make us pay with our lives.
22 He will punish us for the slaughter of our people and for the destruction and capture of the land he gave us as our own. We will be slaves to other nations, and they will insult and make fun of us.
23 They will never honor us if we are their slaves. We will only be disgraced—the Lord our God will certainly see to that.
24 Our people are depending on us. In fact, the future of the altar and the temple is in our hands. And so, my friends, let's show our people that we haven't given up hope.
25 Even though things are difficult, we should thank the Lord our God. He is testing us to see how faithful we are, just as he tested our ancestors long ago.
26 Do you remember how the Lord tested Abraham and Isaac or what happened to Jacob while he was taking care of his uncle Laban's sheep in Mesopotamia?
27 The Lord isn't testing our faithfulness to him as severely as he tested the faith of our ancestors, and he isn't taking revenge on us. These hard times were sent as a warning.