4. “And now you say to me, ‘You are my father, and you have loved me ever since I was a child.
5. You won't always be angry; you won't be cross with me for ever.’ Israel, that is what you said, but you did all the evil you could.”
6. When Josiah was king, the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what Israel, that unfaithful woman, has done? She has turned away from me, and on every high hill and under every green tree she has acted like a prostitute.
7. I thought that after she had done all this, she would surely return to me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it all.
8. Judah also saw that I divorced Israel and sent her away because she had turned from me and had become a prostitute. But Judah, Israel's unfaithful sister, was not afraid. She too became a prostitute
9. and was not at all ashamed. She defiled the land, and she committed adultery by worshipping stones and trees.
10. And after all this, Judah, Israel's unfaithful sister, only pretended to return to me; she was not sincere. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
11. Then the Lord told me that, even though Israel had turned away from him, she had proved to be better than unfaithful Judah.
12. He told me to go and say to Israel, “Unfaithful Israel, come back to me. I am merciful and will not be angry; I will not be angry with you for ever.
13. Only admit that you are guilty and that you have rebelled against the Lord, your God. Confess that under every green tree you have given your love to foreign gods and that you have not obeyed my commands. I, the Lord, have spoken.
14. “Unfaithful people, come back; you belong to me. I will take one of you from each town and two from each clan, and I will bring you back to Mount Zion.
15. I will give you rulers who obey me, and they will rule you with wisdom and understanding.
16. Then when you have become numerous in that land, people will no longer talk about my Covenant Box. They will no longer think about it or remember it; they will not even need it, nor will they make another one.
17. When that time comes, Jerusalem will be called ‘The Throne of the Lord’, and all nations will gather there to worship me. They will no longer do what their stubborn and evil hearts tell them.
18. Israel will join with Judah, and together they will come from exile in the country in the north and will return to the land that I gave your ancestors as a permanent possession.”
19. The Lord says,“Israel, I wanted to accept you as my childand give you a delightful land,the most beautiful land in all the world.I wanted you to call me father,and never again turn away from me.
20. But like an unfaithful wife,you have not been faithful to me.I, the Lord, have spoken.”
21. A noise is heard on the hilltops:it is the people of Israel crying and pleading,because they have lived sinful livesand have forgotten the Lord their God.