1 G od says, “ If a husband divorces his wife And she goes from him And belongs to another man, Will he still return to her? Will not that land be completely polluted? But you are a harlot with many lovers; Yet you turn to Me,” declares the Lord.

They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? Would not that land be utterly polluted? But thou hast committed fornication with many lovers; yet return to me, saith Jehovah.

2 “ Lift up your eyes to the bare heights and see; Where have you not been violated? By the roads you have sat for them Like an Arab in the desert, And you have polluted a land With your harlotry and with your wickedness.

Lift up thine eyes unto the heights and see, where hast thou not been lain with? In the ways hast thou sat for them, as an Arab in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy fornications and with thy wickedness.

3 “ Therefore the showers have been withheld, And there has been no spring rain. Yet you had a harlot’s forehead; You refused to be ashamed.

And the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; but thou hast a harlot's forehead, thou refusest to be ashamed.

4 “ Have you not just now called to Me, ‘ My Father, You are the friend of my youth?

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

5 ‘ Will He be angry forever? Will He be indignant to the end?’ Behold, you have spoken And have done evil things, And you have had your way.” Faithless Israel

Will he keep for ever? Will he preserve it perpetually? Behold, thou hast spoken and hast done evil things, and thou art determined.

6 T hen the Lord said to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there.

And Jehovah said unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen what backsliding Israel hath done? She hath gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath committed fornication.

7 I thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it.

And I said, After she hath done all these, she will return unto me; but she returned not. And her sister Judah, the treacherous, saw.

8 A nd I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also.

And I saw that when for all the causes wherein backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce, yet the treacherous Judah, her sister, feared not, but went and committed fornication also.

9 B ecause of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.

And it came to pass through the lightness of her fornication that she polluted the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.

10 Y et in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception,” declares the Lord. God Invites Repentance

And even for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not returned unto me with her whole heart, but with falsehood, saith Jehovah.

11 A nd the Lord said to me, “ Faithless Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.

And Jehovah said unto me, Backsliding Israel hath shewn herself more just than treacherous Judah.

12 G o and proclaim these words toward the north and say, ‘ Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord; ‘ I will not look upon you in anger. For I am gracious,’ declares the Lord; ‘I will not be angry forever.

Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith Jehovah: I will not make my face dark upon you; for I am merciful, saith Jehovah; I will not keep for ever.

13 ‘ Only acknowledge your iniquity, That you have transgressed against the Lord your God And have scattered your favors to the strangers under every green tree, And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the Lord.

Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against Jehovah thy God, and hast turned thy ways hither and thither to the strangers under every green tree; and ye have not hearkened to my voice, saith Jehovah.

14 ‘ Return, O faithless sons,’ declares the Lord; ‘For I am a master to you, And I will take you one from a city and two from a family, And I will bring you to Zion.’

Return, backsliding children, saith Jehovah; for I am a husband unto you, and I will take you, one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

15 “ Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you on knowledge and understanding.

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

16 I t shall be in those days when you are multiplied and increased in the land,” declares the Lord, “they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again.

And it shall come to pass, when ye are multiplied in the land and become fruitful, in those days, saith Jehovah, they shall say no more, Ark of the covenant of Jehovah! neither shall it come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit; neither shall it be done any more.

17 A t that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of the Lord,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the name of the Lord; nor will they walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart.

At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem; and they shall no more walk after the stubbornness of their evil heart.

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

In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel; and they shall come together out of the land of the north, to the land which I caused your fathers to inherit.

19 “ Then I said, ‘How I would set you among My sons And give you a pleasant land, The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’ And I said, ‘You shall call Me, My Father, And not turn away from following Me.’

And as for me, I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee the pleasant land, the goodly inheritance of the hosts of the nations? And I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from following me.

20 “ Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her lover, So you have dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord.

Surely a woman treacherously departeth from her companion, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah.

21 A voice is heard on the bare heights, The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel; Because they have perverted their way, They have forgotten the Lord their God.

A voice is heard upon the heights, the weeping supplications of the children of Israel; for they have perverted their way, they have forgotten Jehovah their God.

22 “ Return, O faithless sons, I will heal your faithlessness.” “Behold, we come to You; For You are the Lord our God.

—Return, backsliding children; I will heal your backslidings. … Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art Jehovah our God.

23 “ Surely, the hills are a deception, A tumult on the mountains. Surely in the Lord our God Is the salvation of Israel.

Truly in vain from the hills, the multitude of mountains; truly in Jehovah our God is the salvation of Israel.

24 “ But the shameful thing has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

But shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

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

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