¹⁷ This is what the Lord says—
    your Redeemer,^(A) the Holy One^(B) of Israel:
“I am the Lord your God,
    who teaches^(C) you what is best for you,
    who directs^(D) you in the way^(E) you should go.
¹⁸ If only you had paid attention^(F) to my commands,
    your peace^(G) would have been like a river,^(H)
    your well-being^(I) like the waves of the sea.
¹⁹ Your descendants^(J) would have been like the sand,^(K)
    your children like its numberless grains;^(L)
their name would never be blotted out^(M)
    nor destroyed from before me.”

¹⁷ “‘We played the pipe for you,
    and you did not dance;
we sang a dirge,
    and you did not mourn.’