1
They say If a man put away his wife and she go from him and become another man’s shall he return unto her again shall not that land be greatly polluted but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers yet return again to me saith the LORD
2
Lift up thine eyes unto the high places and see where thou hast not been lien with In the ways hast thou sat for them as the Arabian in the wilderness and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness
3
Therefore the showers have been withholden and there hath been no latter rain and thou hadst a whore’s forehead thou refusedst to be ashamed
4
Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me My father thou art the guide of my youth
5
Will he reserve his anger for ever will he keep it to the end Behold thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest
6
The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree and there hath played the harlot
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And I said after she had done all these things Turn thou unto me But she returned not And her treacherous sister Judah saw it
8
And I saw when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away and given her a bill of divorce yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not but went and played the harlot also
9
And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and with stocks
10
And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart but feignedly saith the LORD
11
And the LORD said unto me The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah
12
Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say Return thou backsliding Israel saith the LORD and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you for I am merciful saith the LORD and I will not keep anger for ever
13
Only acknowledge thine iniquity that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree and ye have not obeyed my voice saith the LORD
14
Turn O backsliding children saith the LORD for I am married unto you and I will take you one of a city and two of a family and I will bring you to Zion
15
And I will give you pastors according to mine heart which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding
16
And it shall come to pass when ye be multiplied and increased in the land in those days saith the LORD they shall say no more The ark of the covenant of the LORD neither shall it come to mind neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it neither shall that be done any more
17
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD and all the nations shall be gathered unto it to the name of the LORD to Jerusalem neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart
18
In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers
19
But I said How shall I put thee among the children and give thee a pleasant land a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations and I said Thou shalt call me My father and shalt not turn away from me
20
Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband so have ye dealt treacherously with me O house of Israel saith the LORD
21
A voice was heard upon the high places weeping and supplications of the children of Israel for they have perverted their way and they have forgotten the LORD their God
22
Return ye backsliding children and I will heal your backslidings Behold we come unto thee for thou art the LORD our God
23
Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills and from the multitude of mountains truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel
24
For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth their flocks and their herds their sons and their daughters
25
We lie down in our shame and our confusion covereth us for we have sinned against the LORD our God we and our fathers from our youth even unto this day and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God