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.

God 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.

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 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.

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.

So 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.

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

Have you not just now called to Me? You said, ‘My Father, You have been my friend since I was young.

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 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

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.

The 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.

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 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.

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.

She 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.

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 because this sin was so easy for her, she sinned by worshiping 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.'

Even with all this, her sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but in a false way,” 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, “Israel, who has not been faithful, has shown herself more right and good than Judah who could not be trusted.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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.’

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

Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with much learning and understanding.

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 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.

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 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.

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 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

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.

“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.’

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

For 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.

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 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.

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 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.

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

For sure the hills are a false hope, a noise on the mountains. In truth, the saving of Israel is in the Lord our God.

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.

But 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.

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 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.”