16 Do not impose conditions on the plans of the Lord our God. God is not like a human being to be moved by threats, nor like a mortal to be cajoled.
17 “So while we wait for the salvation that comes from him, let us call upon him to help us, and he will hear our cry if it pleases him.
18 For there has not risen among us in recent generations, nor does there exist today, any tribe, or clan, or district, or city of ours that worships gods made by hands, as happened in former days.
19 It was for such conduct that our ancestors were handed over to the sword and to pillage, and fell with great destruction before our enemies.
20 But since we acknowledge no other god but the Lord, we hope that he will not disdain us or any of our people.
21 If we are taken, then all Judea will fall, our sanctuary will be plundered, and God will demand an account from us for their profanation.
22 For the slaughter of our kindred, for the taking of exiles from the land, and for the devastation of our inheritance, he will hold us responsible among the nations. Wherever we are enslaved, we will be a scandal and a reproach in the eyes of our masters.