Then the Lord said to Moses: “I have seen this people. ¹  Look ²  what a stiff-necked people they are! ³ 

Go up ¹  to a land flowing with milk and honey. But ²  I will not go up among you, for you are a stiff-necked people, and I might destroy you ³  on the way.”

Your ancestors, ¹  however, did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They stubbornly refused ²  to pay attention or to respond to any discipline.’

“You stubborn ¹  people, with uncircumcised ²  hearts and ears! ³  You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, like your ancestors ⁴  did!

Moreover, he said to me, “I have taken note of these people; they are a stubborn ¹  lot!

It makes its tail stiff ¹  like a cedar, the sinews of its thighs are tightly wound.

Do not be so certain you have won! ¹  Do not speak with your head held so high! ² 

Therefore, cleanse ¹  your heart and stop being so stubborn! ² 

For ¹  the Lord had said to Moses, “Tell the Israelites, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. If I went up among you for a moment, ²  I might destroy you. Now take off your ornaments, ³  that I may know ⁴  what I should do to you.’” ⁵ 

and said, “If now I have found favor in your sight, O Lord, let my Lord ¹  go among us, for we ²  are a stiff-necked people; pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us for your inheritance.”

But they did not pay attention and were as stubborn as their ancestors, ¹  who had not trusted the Lord their God.

“But they – our ancestors ¹  – behaved presumptuously; they rebelled ²  and did not obey your commandments.

Understand, therefore, that it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is about to give you this good land as a possession, for you are a stubborn ¹  people!

Now, don’t be stubborn ¹  like your fathers! Submit ²  to the Lord and come to his sanctuary which he has permanently consecrated. Serve the Lord your God so that he might relent from his raging anger. ³ 

for I know about your rebellion and stubbornness. ¹  Indeed, even while I have been living among you to this very day, you have rebelled against the Lord; you will be even more rebellious after my death! ² 

Pride ¹  goes ²  before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. ³ 

But your ancestors ¹  did not listen to me nor pay attention to me. They became obstinate ²  and were more wicked than even their own forefathers.’”

But the house of Israel is unwilling to listen to you, ¹  because they are not willing to listen to me, ²  for the whole house of Israel is hard-headed and hard-hearted. ³ 

Then a breath of air ¹  passes ²  by my face; it makes ³  the hair of my flesh stand up.

Like a servant ¹  longing for the evening shadow, ²  and like a hired man looking ³  for his wages, ⁴