1 G od says, “If a husband divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should he return to her again? Would not the land be made unclean? But you are like a sinful woman with many lovers, yet would you 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 “ Lift up your eyes to the open hill-tops and see. Is there any place you have not lain with your lovers? You have sat by the roads waiting for them like an Arab in the desert. And you have made the land unclean with your sinful ways and your wrong-doing.

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 S o the rains have been held back. There has been no spring rain. You look like a woman who sells the use of her body, and would not 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 called to Me? You said, ‘My Father, You have been my friend since I was young.

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

5 W ill You be angry forever? Will You be angry to the end?’ See, this is how you talk, but you do all the sinful things you can.” Israel and Judah Must Turn Away from Their Sins

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 T he Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah, “Have you seen what Israel did, and what little faith she has? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, like one who sells the use of her body.

¶ 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 thought, ‘After she has done all these things, she will return to Me.’ But she did not return, and her sister Judah, who has not been faithful, 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 S he saw that for all of Israel’s sins and how she had not been faithful, I had sent her away and given her a paper of divorce. Yet her sister Judah had no fear, but she went and sold the use of her body also.

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 because this sin was so easy for her, she sinned by worshiping 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 E ven with all this, her sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but in a false way,” 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, “Israel, who has not been faithful, has shown herself more right and good than Judah who could not be trusted.

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

12 G o and make these words known to the north, saying, ‘Return, Israel, who has not been faithful,’ says the Lord. ‘I will not look on you in anger. For I show loving-kindness,’ says the Lord. ‘I will not be angry 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 and tell of your guilt, that you have sinned against the Lord your God and have given your favors to the strangers under every green tree. Know that 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 ‘ Return, O sons who are not faithful,’ says the Lord. ‘For you belong to Me. I will take you, one from a city and two from a 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 T hen I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with much learning and understanding.

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

16 A nd in those days when you have become many in the land,” says the Lord, “they will no more say, ‘The special box with the Law of the Lord.’ It will not come to mind, and they will not remember it. They will not miss it, and it will not be 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 will call Jerusalem ‘The throne of the Lord.’ And all the nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the Lord. They will not follow the strong-will of their sinful heart any more.

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 people of Judah will walk with the people of Israel. They will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as a gift. God’s People Worship False Gods

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 “ Then I said, ‘How I would like to make you My sons and give you a pleasing land, the most beautiful land of the nations!’ And I said, ‘You will call Me, “My Father,” and 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 F or sure, as a woman is not faithful and leaves her husband, so you have not been faithful to Me, O people 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 open hill-tops, the cries and prayers of the sons of Israel, because they have made their way sinful. 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 “ Return, O sons who are not faithful. I will heal you and make you faithful.” “See, 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 F or sure the hills are a false hope, a noise on the mountains. In truth, the saving of Israel is in the Lord our God.

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

24 B ut false gods have brought us shame and have destroyed what our fathers worked for since we were young, their flocks and cattle, 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 down in our shame, and let our shame cover us. For we and our fathers have sinned against the Lord our God ever since we were young. 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.