^1 [a]If a man divorces his wife,
    and she leaves him
    and marries another man,
does he have the right to return to her?
    Would not that land be completely defiled?
But, says the Lord,
    you have been unfaithful with many lovers,
    and yet you would return to me?
² Lift up your eyes to the barren heights
    and recall whether there is any place
    that you have not offered your body to another.
By the waysides you waited for lovers
    like an Arab in the desert.
You defiled the land
    with your harlotry and wickedness.
³ Therefore, the rain showers were withheld
    and the spring rains have not fallen.
Yet you have the brazen boldness of a prostitute,
    and you refuse to blush with shame.
⁴ Not so long ago you addressed me,
    “My Father, the beloved friend of my youth,
⁵ will you be angry with me forever
    and continue your wrath toward me to the end?”
This is how you speak,
    but you continue to be obstinate
    and to do every evil you can.

Return, rebel Israel, says the Lord.
    I will not look upon you in anger.
For I am merciful, says the Lord;
    my wrath will not continue forever.
¹³ Simply acknowledge your guilt
    and your rebellion against the Lord, your God,
how you prostituted yourself with strangers
    under every green tree
and refused to listen to my voice,
    says the Lord.

^{19     [c]}I then gave consideration
    as to how I would treat you as sons
and give you a pleasant land,
    the most beautiful heritage of all the nations.
Further, I thought that you would call me “Father” and never cease to follow me.
²⁰ But like a woman who is unfaithful to her husband,
    so you have been unfaithful to me,
    O house of Israel, says the Lord.
²¹ A cry on the bare heights is heard,
    the plaintive weeping of Israel’s children,
because they have perverted their ways
    and forgotten the Lord, their God.
²² Return, you rebellious children,
    and I will forgive your faithlessness.
Here we are! We are returning to you,
    for you are the Lord, our God.
²³ The hills are truly a delusion,
    as is the tumult on the mountains.
Truly in the Lord, our God alone
    is the salvation of Israel.
²⁴ Ever since we were young,
    Baal has devoured everything
    for which our fathers toiled:
their flocks and their herds,
    their sons and their daughters.
²⁵ Let us lie down in our shame
    and let our dishonor cover us.
For we have sinned against the Lord, our God,
    we and our ancestors,
from our youth even to this very day,
    and we failed to obey the voice of the Lord, our God.