29 "You warned them to obey your law again. But they became proud. They didn't obey your commands. They sinned against your rules. Anyone who obeys them will live by them. But the people didn't care about that. They turned their backs on you. They became very stubborn. They refused to listen to you.
30 "For many years you put up with them. By your Spirit you warned them through your prophets. In spite of that, they didn't pay any attention. So you handed them over to the nations that were around them.
31 But you loved them very much. So you didn't put an end to them. You didn't desert them. That's because you are a gracious God. You are tender and kind.
32 "Our God, you are great, mighty and wonderful. You keep the covenant you made with us. You show us your love. So don't let all of our suffering seem like a small thing in your sight. We've suffered greatly. So have our kings and leaders. So have our priests and prophets. Our people who lived long ago also suffered. And all of your people are suffering right now. In fact, we've been suffering from the time of the kings of Assyria until today.
33 "In spite of everything that has happened to us, you have been fair. You have been faithful in what you have done. But we did what was wrong.
34 Our kings and leaders didn't follow your law. Our priests and our people before us didn't follow it either. They didn't pay any attention to your commands. They didn't listen to the warnings you gave them.
35 They didn't serve you. They didn't turn from their evil ways. They didn't obey you even when they had a kingdom. You were very good to them. And they enjoyed it. You gave them a rich land. It had plenty of room in it. But they still didn't serve you.