Then I prayed this prayer: “Lord, God of heaven, you are the great and powerful God. You are the God who keeps his agreement of love with people who love you and obey your commands.

They refused to listen. They forgot the amazing things you did with them. They became stubborn. They decided to return to Egypt and become slaves again. “But you are a forgiving God! You are kind and full of mercy. You are patient and full of love. So you didn’t leave them!

Then I commanded the Levites to make themselves pure. After they did that, they were to go and guard the gates. This was done to make sure the Sabbath day was kept a holy day. My God, please remember me for doing this. Be kind to me and show me your great love!

You know that marriages like this caused Solomon to sin. In all the many nations, there was not a king as great as Solomon. God loved him and made him king over the whole nation of Israel. But even Solomon was made to sin because of foreign women.