7. For my people are determined to desert me.They call me the Most High,but they don’t truly honor me.
8. “Oh, how can I give you up, Israel?How can I let you go?How can I destroy you like Admahor demolish you like Zeboiim?My heart is torn within me,and my compassion overflows.
9. No, I will not unleash my fierce anger.I will not completely destroy Israel,for I am God and not a mere mortal.I am the Holy One living among you,and I will not come to destroy.
10. For someday the people will follow me.I, the lord, will roar like a lion.And when I roar,my people will return trembling from the west.
11. Like a flock of birds, they will come from Egypt.Trembling like doves, they will return from Assyria.And I will bring them home again,”says the lord.
12. Israel surrounds me with lies and deceit,but Judah still obeys Godand is faithful to the Holy One.