If you return, I will take you back;
you will stand in my presence.
And if you speak noble words,
rather than worthless ones,
you will be my spokesman.^(A)
It is they who must return to you;
you must not return to them.

¹⁸ I have surely heard Ephraim moaning,
“You disciplined me, and I have been disciplined
like an untrained calf.^(A)
Take me back, so that I can return,
for you, Lord, are my God.^(B)