And the sons of Judah and the sons of Israel will be gathered together, And they will appoint for themselves one leader, And they will go up from the land, For great will be the day of Jezreel.
Or I will strip her naked And expose her as on the day when she was born. I will also make her like a wilderness, Make her like desert land And slay her with thirst.
“For their mother has played the harlot; She who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, ‘I will go after my lovers, Who give me my bread and my water, My wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.’
“For she does not know that it was I who gave her the grain, the new wine and the oil, And lavished on her silver and gold, Which they used for Baal.
“And then I will uncover her lewdness In the sight of her lovers, And no one will rescue her out of My hand.
“I will destroy her vines and fig trees, Of which she said, ‘These are my wages Which my lovers have given me.’ And I will make them a forest, And the beasts of the field will devour them.
“I will punish her for the days of the Baals When she used to offer sacrifices to them And adorn herself with her earrings and jewelry, And follow her lovers, so that she forgot Me,” declares the LORD.
“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Bring her into the wilderness And speak kindly to her.
“Then I will give her her vineyards from there, And the valley of Achor as a door of hope. And she will sing there as in the days of her youth, As in the day when she came up from the land of Egypt.
“It will come about in that day,” declares the LORD, “That you will call Me Ishi And will no longer call Me Baali.
“For I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth, So that they will be mentioned by their names no more.
“In that day I will also make a covenant for them With the beasts of the field, The birds of the sky And the creeping things of the ground. And I will abolish the bow, the sword and war from the land, And will make them lie down in safety.
And I will betroth you to Me in faithfulness. Then you will know the LORD.
“It will come about in that day that I will respond,” declares the LORD. “I will respond to the heavens, and they will respond to the earth,
And the earth will respond to the grain, to the new wine and to the oil, And they will respond to Jezreel.
“I will sow her for Myself in the land. I will also have compassion on her who had not obtained compassion, And I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they will say, ‘You are my God!’”
Then the LORD said to me, “Go again, love a woman who is loved by her husband, yet an adulteress, even as the LORD loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin cakes.”
Then I said to her, “You shall stay with me for many days. You shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man; so I will also be toward you.”
For the sons of Israel will remain for many days without king or prince, without sacrifice or sacred pillar and without ephod or household idols.
Afterward the sons of Israel will return and seek the LORD their God and David their king; and they will come trembling to the LORD and to His goodness in the last days.
Listen to the word of the LORD, O sons of Israel, For the LORD has a case against the inhabitants of the land, Because there is no faithfulness or kindness Or knowledge of God in the land.
Therefore the land mourns, And everyone who lives in it languishes Along with the beasts of the field and the birds of the sky, And also the fish of the sea disappear.
Yet let no one find fault, and let none offer reproof; For your people are like those who contend with the priest.
So you will stumble by day, And the prophet also will stumble with you by night; And I will destroy your mother.
My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being My priest. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.
The more they multiplied, the more they sinned against Me; I will change their glory into shame.
They feed on the sin of My people And direct their desire toward their iniquity.
They will eat, but not have enough; They will play the harlot, but not increase, Because they have stopped giving heed to the LORD.
Harlotry, wine and new wine take away the understanding.
My people consult their wooden idol, and their diviner’s wand informs them; For a spirit of harlotry has led them astray, And they have played the harlot, departing from their God.
They offer sacrifices on the tops of the mountains And burn incense on the hills, Under oak, poplar and terebinth, Because their shade is pleasant. Therefore your daughters play the harlot And your brides commit adultery.
I will not punish your daughters when they play the harlot Or your brides when they commit adultery, For the men themselves go apart with harlots And offer sacrifices with temple prostitutes; So the people without understanding are ruined.
Though you, Israel, play the harlot, Do not let Judah become guilty; Also do not go to Gilgal, Or go up to Beth-aven And take the oath: “As the LORD lives!”
Since Israel is stubborn Like a stubborn heifer, Can the LORD now pasture them Like a lamb in a large field?
Their liquor gone, They play the harlot continually; Their rulers dearly love shame.
The wind wraps them in its wings, And they will be ashamed because of their sacrifices.
Hear this, O priests! Give heed, O house of Israel! Listen, O house of the king! For the judgment applies to you, For you have been a snare at Mizpah And a net spread out on Tabor.
The revolters have gone deep in depravity, But I will chastise all of them.
I know Ephraim, and Israel is not hidden from Me; For now, O Ephraim, you have played the harlot, Israel has defiled itself.
Their deeds will not allow them To return to their God. For a spirit of harlotry is within them, And they do not know the LORD.
Moreover, the pride of Israel testifies against him, And Israel and Ephraim stumble in their iniquity; Judah also has stumbled with them.
They will go with their flocks and herds To seek the LORD, but they will not find Him; He has withdrawn from them.
They have dealt treacherously against the LORD, For they have borne illegitimate children. Now the new moon will devour them with their land.
Blow the horn in Gibeah, The trumpet in Ramah. Sound an alarm at Beth-aven: “Behind you, Benjamin!”
Ephraim will become a desolation in the day of rebuke; Among the tribes of Israel I declare what is sure.
The princes of Judah have become like those who move a boundary; On them I will pour out My wrath like water.
Therefore I am like a moth to Ephraim And like rottenness to the house of Judah.
For I will be like a lion to Ephraim And like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear to pieces and go away, I will carry away, and there will be none to deliver.
“Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.
“He will revive us after two days; He will raise us up on the third day, That we may live before Him.
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995
For Permission to Quote information visit http://www.lockman.org by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif.
All rights reserved.