1 S aying, `Lo, one sendeth away his wife, And she hath gone from him, And she hath been to another man, Doth he turn back unto her again? Greatly defiled is not that land? And thou hast committed whoredom with many lovers, And turn again to Me, an affirmation of Jehovah.

That 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

2 L ift thine eyes to the high places, and see, Where hast thou not been lain with? On the ways thou hast sat for them, As an Arab in a wilderness, And thou defilest the land, By thy fornications, and by thy wickedness.

Lift 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).

3 A nd withheld are showers, and gathered rain hath not been. The forehead of a whorish woman thou hast, Thou hast refused to be ashamed.

Therefore 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.

4 H ast thou not henceforth called to Me, `My father, Thou the leader of my youth?

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

5 D oth He keep to the age? watch for ever?' Lo, these things thou hast spoken, And thou dost the evil things, and prevailest.

Will 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.

6 A nd Jehovah saith unto me, in the days of Josiah the king, `Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? She is going on every high mountain, and unto the place of every green tree, and committeth fornication there.

Moreover, 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?

7 A nd I say, after her doing all these, Unto Me thou dost turn back, and she hath not turned back, and see doth her treacherous sister Judah.

And 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.

8 A nd I see when (for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery) I have sent her away, and I give the bill of her divorce unto her, that treacherous Judah her sister hath not feared, and goeth and committeth fornication -- she also.

And 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.

9 A nd it hath come to pass, from the vileness of her fornication, that the land is defiled, and she committeth fornication with stone and with wood.

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

10 A nd even in all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned back unto Me with all her heart, but with falsehood, an affirmation of Jehovah.'

But 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.

11 A nd Jehovah saith unto me: `Justified herself hath backsliding Israel, More than treacherous Judah.

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

12 G o, and thou hast proclaimed these words toward the north, and hast said, Turn back, O backsliding Israel, An affirmation of Jehovah! I cause not Mine anger to fall upon you, For I kind, an affirmation of Jehovah, I watch not to the age.

Go 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.

13 O nly, know thine iniquity, For against Jehovah thy God thou hast transgressed, And thou dost scatter thy ways to strangers, Under every green tree, And to My voice thou hast not hearkened, An affirmation of Jehovah.

Only 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.

14 T urn back, O backsliding sons, An affirmation of Jehovah. For I have ruled over you, And taken you one of a city, and two of a family, And have brought you to Zion,

Return, 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.

15 A nd I have given to you shepherds According to Mine own heart, And they have fed you with knowledge and understanding.

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

16 A nd it hath come to pass, when ye are multiplied, And have been fruitful in the land, In those days -- an affirmation of Jehovah, They say not any more, `The ark of the covenant of Jehovah,' Nor doth it go up on the heart, Nor do they remember concerning it, Nor do they inspect, nor is it made again.

And 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.

17 A t that time they cry to Jerusalem, `O throne of Jehovah,' And gathered unto her hath been all the nations, For the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem, Nor do they go any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart.

At 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.

18 I n those days do the house of Judah Go unto the house of Israel, And they come together from the land of the south, unto the land That I caused your fathers to inherit.

In 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.

19 A nd I have said, How do I put thee among the sons, And give to thee a desirable land, A beauteous inheritance of the hosts of nations, And I say, My father -- ye do call to Me, And from after Me ye do not turn back.

And 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.

20 B ut -- a woman hath deceived her friend, So ye have dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel, an affirmation of Jehovah.

Surely, 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.

21 A voice on high places is heard -- weeping, Supplications of the sons of Israel, For they have made perverse their way, They have forgotten Jehovah their God.

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.

22 T urn back, O backsliding sons, I cause your backslidings to cease. -- Behold us, we have come to Thee, For Thou Jehovah our God.

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

23 S urely in vain from the heights, The multitude of mountains -- Surely in Jehovah our God the salvation of Israel.

Truly 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.

24 A nd the shameful thing hath devoured The labour of our fathers from our youth, Their flock and their herd, Their sons and their daughters.

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

25 W e have lain down in our shame, and cover us doth our confusion, For against Jehovah our God we have sinned, We, and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, Nor have we hearkened to the voice of Jehovah our God!

Let 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.