1 T hat is to say, If a man puts away his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man’s, will he return to her again? Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers—yet would you now return to Me? says the Lord

¶ They say, If a man puts away his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man’s, shall he return unto her again? Is she not a land that is now completely polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, said the LORD.

2 L ift up your eyes to the bare heights and see. Where have you not been adulterously lain with? By the wayside you have sat waiting for lovers, like an Arabian in the wilderness; and you have polluted the land with your vile harlotry and your wickedness (unfaithfulness and disobedience to God).

Lift up thine eyes unto the high places and see if there is anywhere thou hast not been ravished. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.

3 T herefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no spring rain. Yet you have the brow of a prostitute; you refuse to be ashamed.

Therefore the rain has been withheld, and there has been no latter rain; and thou dost have a whore’s forehead, thou dost refuse to be ashamed.

4 H ave you not just now cried to Me: My Father, You were the guide and companion of my youth?

Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?

5 W ill He retain His anger forever? Will He keep it to the end? Behold, you have so spoken, but you have done all the evil things you could and have had your way and have carried them through.

Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done as many evil things as thou could.

6 M oreover, the Lord said to me in the days of Josiah the king, Have you seen what that faithless and backsliding Israel has done—how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree and there played the harlot?

¶ The LORD said unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which rebellious Israel has done? She is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there has played the harlot.

7 A nd I said, After she has done all these things, she will return to Me; but she did not return, and her faithless and treacherous sister Judah saw it.

And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she did not return. And her rebellious sister Judah saw it.

8 A nd I saw, even though that for this very cause of committing adultery (idolatry) I had put faithless Israel away and given her a bill of divorce; yet her faithless and treacherous sister Judah was not afraid, but she also went and played the harlot.

And I saw when for all the causes by which rebellious Israel committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorce; yet her rebellious sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.

9 A nd through the infamy and unseemly frivolity of Israel’s whoredom, she polluted and defiled the land, committing adultery with stones and trees.

And it came to pass through her judging her whoredom to be a light thing that the land became defiled and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.

10 B ut in spite of all this, her faithless and treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me in sincerity and with her whole heart, but only in sheer hypocrisy, says the Lord.

And yet for all this her rebellious sister Judah has never turned unto me with her whole heart, but untruthfully, said the LORD.

11 A nd the Lord said to me, Backsliding and faithless Israel has shown herself less guilty than false and treacherous Judah.

And the LORD said unto me, The rebellious Israel has justified her soul in comparison to the treacherous Judah.

12 G o and proclaim these words toward the north and say, Return, faithless Israel, says the Lord, and I will not cause My countenance to fall and look in anger upon you, for I am merciful, says the Lord; I will not keep My anger forever.

¶ Go and proclaim these words toward the north wind and say, Return, thou rebellious Israel, said the LORD and I will not cause my anger to fall upon you; for I am merciful, said the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever.

13 O nly know, understand, and acknowledge your iniquity and guilt—that you have rebelled and transgressed against the Lord your God and have scattered your favors among strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed My voice, says the Lord.

Only acknowledge thine iniquity that thou hast rebelled against the LORD thy God and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not heard my voice, said the LORD.

14 R eturn, O faithless children, says the Lord, for I am Lord and Master and Husband to you, and I will take you —one from a city and two from a tribal family—and I will bring you to Zion.

Turn, O rebellious sons, said the LORD; for I am your Lord, and I will take you one of a city and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:

15 A nd I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding and judgment.

And I will give you pastors according to my heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

16 A nd it shall be that when you have multiplied and increased in the land in those days, says the Lord, they shall no more say, The ark of the covenant of the Lord. It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they miss or visit it, nor shall it be repaired or made again.

And it shall come to pass, when ye are multiplied and increased in the land; in those days, said the LORD, they shall no longer say, The ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any more.

17 A t that time they shall call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, in the renown and name of the Lord, to Jerusalem; nor shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their own evil hearts.

At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the Gentiles shall congregate unto it in the name of the LORD in Jerusalem; neither shall they walk any more after the hardness of their evil heart.

18 I n those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and together they shall come out of the land of the north to the land that I gave as an inheritance to your fathers.

In those times they shall go out from the house of Judah unto the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north wind to the land which I caused your fathers to inherit.

19 A nd I thought how I would set you among My children and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage, the most beautiful and best among all nations! And I thought you would call Me My Father and would not turn away from following Me.

But I said, How shall I place thee as sons and give thee the desirable land, the heritage that the hosts of Gentiles desire? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father, and shalt not turn away from following me.

20 S urely, as a wife treacherously and faithlessly departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously and faithlessly with Me, O house of Israel, says the Lord.

¶ Surely as the woman breaks the faith of her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, said the LORD.

21 A voice is heard on the bare heights, the weeping and pleading of the sons of Israel, because they have perverted their ways, they have forgotten the Lord their God.

A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping of the supplications of the sons of Israel; for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God.

22 R eturn, O faithless sons, I will heal your faithlessness. Behold, we come to You, for You are the Lord our God.

Return, ye rebellious sons, and I will heal your rebellion. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.

23 T ruly in vain is the hope of salvation from the hills and from the tumult and noisy throng on the mountains; truly in and with the Lord our God rests the salvation of Israel.

Truly the hills are vanity, the multitude of mountains; truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.

24 f or the shameful thing has consumed all for which our fathers toiled from our youth—their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

For shame has devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth: their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

25 L et us lie prostrate in our shame, and let our dishonor and confusion cover us; for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers; from our youth even to this day we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.

We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covers us; for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not hearkened unto the voice of the LORD our God.