1. “If you will come back, Israel,then come back to me,” says the Lord.“Throw away your idols that I hate.Don’t wander away from me.
2. Then you may say when you make a promise,‘As surely as the Lord lives.’And you can say it in a truthful, honest and right way.Then the nations will be blessed by the Lord.And they will praise the Lord for what he has done.”
3. This is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:“Plow your unplowed fields.Don’t plant seeds among the thorns.
4. Give yourselves to the service of the Lord.Decide to obey him.Do this, men of Judah and people of Jerusalem.If you don’t, my anger will spread among you like a fire.No one will be able to put it outbecause of the evil you have done.
5. “Announce this message to Judah and say it in Jerusalem:‘Blow the trumpet throughout the country!’Shout out loud and say,‘Come together!Let’s all escape to the strong, walled cities!’
6. Raise the signal flag toward Jerusalem!Run for your lives! And don’t wait!Do this because I am bringing disaster from the north.It will be terrible destruction.”