If a man divorces his wife
    and she leaves him and marries another man,
        her first husband shouldn’t go back to her again.
            The land would become thoroughly polluted.
    “You have acted like a prostitute who has many lovers.
    And now you want to come back to me!” declares Yahweh.

² “Look at the bare hills, and see.
    You have had sex with men in every place.
    You sat by the roadside waiting for them like a nomad in the desert.
    You have polluted the land with your prostitution and wickedness.
³ So the rain has been withheld, and there have been no spring showers.
    Yet, you have the shameless look of a prostitute,
    and you refuse to blush.
⁴ But now you are calling to me.
    You say, ‘Ab! You have been my companion
        ever since I was young.
⁵             He won’t hold a grudge forever.
            He won’t always be angry.’
    You have said and done all the evil things that you could.”

“‘Come back, unfaithful Israel.
    It is Yahweh speaking.
        I will no longer frown on you
            because I’m merciful,’ declares Yahweh.
        ‘I will no longer be angry with you.
¹³ Admit that you’ve done wrong!
    You have rebelled against Yahweh your Elohim.
    You have given yourself to strangers under every large tree.
    You have not obeyed me,’ declares Yahweh.

¹⁹ “I wanted to treat you like children
    and give you a pleasant land,
        the most beautiful property among the nations.
    I thought that you would call me Ab and wouldn’t turn away from me.
²⁰ But like a wife who betrays her husband,
    so you, nation of Israel, betrayed me,” declares Yahweh.

²¹ The sound of crying is heard on the hills.
    It is the crying and the pleading of the people of Israel.
        They have become crooked
            and have forgotten Yahweh their Elohim.
²² “Come back, you rebellious people,
    and I will forgive you for being unfaithful.”

Here we are!
    We have come to you because you are Yahweh our Elohim.
²³ Truly, the noise from the hills, from the mountains,
    is the noise of false worship.
    Truly, Yahweh our Elohim will rescue us.
²⁴ Ever since we were young,
    the shameful worship of Baal
        has taken everything our ancestors worked for,
            their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters.
²⁵ We must lie down in our shame
    and be covered by our disgrace.
    Ever since we were young, we and our ancestors have sinned
    against Yahweh our Elohim.
        We haven’t obeyed Yahweh our Elohim.