14 I acted for the sake of my reputation, so that I would not be profaned before the nations in whose sight I had brought them out.
15 I also swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them to the land I had given them – a land flowing with milk and honey, the most beautiful of all lands.
16 I did this because they rejected my regulations, did not follow my statutes, and desecrated my Sabbaths; for their hearts followed their idols.
17 Yet I had pity on them and did not destroy them, so I did not make an end of them in the wilderness.
18 “‘But I said to their children in the wilderness, “Do not follow the practices of your fathers; do not observe their regulations, nor defile yourselves with their idols.
19 I am the Lord your God; follow my statutes, observe my regulations, and carry them out.
20 Treat my Sabbaths as holy and they will be a reminder of our relationship, and then you will know that I am the Lord your God.”