3 “If a man divorces^(A) his wife
    and she leaves him and marries another man,
should he return to her again?
    Would not the land be completely defiled?^(B)
But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers^(C)—
    would you now return to me?”^(D)
declares the Lord.
² “Look up to the barren heights^(E) and see.
    Is there any place where you have not been ravished?
By the roadside^(F) you sat waiting for lovers,
    sat like a nomad in the desert.
You have defiled the land^(G)
    with your prostitution^(H) and wickedness.
³ Therefore the showers have been withheld,^(I)
    and no spring rains^(J) have fallen.
Yet you have the brazen^(K) look of a prostitute;
    you refuse to blush with shame.^(L)
4 Have you not just called to me:
    ‘My Father,^(M) my friend from my youth,^(N)
5 will you always be angry?^(O)
    Will your wrath continue forever?’
This is how you talk,
    but you do all the evil you can.”

“‘Return,^(AJ) faithless^(AK) Israel,’ declares the Lord,
    ‘I will frown on you no longer,
for I am faithful,’^(AL) declares the Lord,
    ‘I will not be angry^(AM) forever.
¹³ Only acknowledge^(AN) your guilt—
    you have rebelled against the Lord your God,
you have scattered your favors to foreign gods^(AO)
    under every spreading tree,^(AP)
    and have not obeyed^(AQ) me,’”
declares the Lord.

“‘How gladly would I treat you like my children
    and give you a pleasant land,^(BF)
    the most beautiful inheritance^(BG) of any nation.’
I thought you would call me ‘Father’^(BH)
    and not turn away from following me.
²⁰ But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,
    so you, Israel, have been unfaithful^(BI) to me,”
declares the Lord.

²¹ A cry is heard on the barren heights,^(BJ)
    the weeping^(BK) and pleading of the people of Israel,
because they have perverted their ways
    and have forgotten^(BL) the Lord their God.

²² “Return,^(BM) faithless people;
    I will cure^(BN) you of backsliding.”^(BO)

“Yes, we will come to you,
    for you are the Lord our God.
²³ Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills^(BP)
    and mountains is a deception;
surely in the Lord our God
    is the salvation^(BQ) of Israel.
²⁴ From our youth shameful^(BR) gods have consumed
    the fruits of our ancestors’ labor—
their flocks and herds,
    their sons and daughters.
²⁵ Let us lie down in our shame,^(BS)
    and let our disgrace cover us.
We have sinned^(BT) against the Lord our God,
    both we and our ancestors;^(BU)
from our youth^(BV) till this day
    we have not obeyed^(BW) the Lord our God.”

4 “If you, Israel, will return,^(BX)
    then return to me,”
declares the Lord.
“If you put your detestable idols^(BY) out of my sight
    and no longer go astray,
² and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
    you swear,^(BZ) ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’^(CA)
then the nations will invoke blessings^(CB) by him
    and in him they will boast.^(CC)”

“Break up your unplowed ground^(CD)
    and do not sow among thorns.^(CE)
4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,
    circumcise your hearts,^(CF)
    you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,
or my wrath^(CG) will flare up and burn like fire^(CH)
    because of the evil^(CI) you have done—
    burn with no one to quench^(CJ) it.

⁷ A lion^(CQ) has come out of his lair;^(CR)
    a destroyer^(CS) of nations has set out.
He has left his place
    to lay waste^(CT) your land.
Your towns will lie in ruins^(CU)
    without inhabitant.
⁸ So put on sackcloth,^(CV)
    lament^(CW) and wail,
for the fierce anger^(CX) of the Lord
    has not turned away from us.

⁹ “In that day,” declares the Lord,
    “the king and the officials will lose heart,^(CY)
the priests will be horrified,
    and the prophets will be appalled.”^(CZ)

¹³ Look! He advances like the clouds,^(DF)
    his chariots^(DG) come like a whirlwind,^(DH)
his horses^(DI) are swifter than eagles.^(DJ)
    Woe to us! We are ruined!^(DK)
14 Jerusalem, wash^(DL) the evil from your heart and be saved.^(DM)
    How long^(DN) will you harbor wicked thoughts?
¹⁵ A voice is announcing from Dan,^(DO)
    proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.^(DP)
16 “Tell this to the nations,
    proclaim concerning Jerusalem:
‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,^(DQ)
    raising a war cry^(DR) against the cities of Judah.^(DS)
17 They surround^(DT) her like men guarding a field,
    because she has rebelled^(DU) against me,’”
declares the Lord.
¹⁸ “Your own conduct and actions^(DV)
    have brought this on you.^(DW)
This is your punishment.
    How bitter^(DX) it is!
    How it pierces to the heart!”

¹⁹ Oh, my anguish, my anguish!^(DY)
    I writhe in pain.^(DZ)
Oh, the agony of my heart!
    My heart pounds^(EA) within me,
    I cannot keep silent.^(EB)
For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;^(EC)
    I have heard the battle cry.^(ED)
20 Disaster follows disaster;^(EE)
    the whole land lies in ruins.^(EF)
In an instant my tents^(EG) are destroyed,
    my shelter in a moment.
²¹ How long must I see the battle standard^(EH)
    and hear the sound of the trumpet?^(EI)

²² “My people are fools;^(EJ)
    they do not know me.^(EK)
They are senseless children;
    they have no understanding.^(EL)
They are skilled in doing evil;^(EM)
    they know not how to do good.”^(EN)

²³ I looked at the earth,
    and it was formless and empty;^(EO)
and at the heavens,
    and their light^(EP) was gone.
²⁴ I looked at the mountains,
    and they were quaking;^(EQ)
    all the hills were swaying.
²⁵ I looked, and there were no people;
    every bird in the sky had flown away.^(ER)
26 I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;^(ES)
    all its towns lay in ruins^(ET)
    before the Lord, before his fierce anger.^(EU)

“The whole land will be ruined,^(EV)
    though I will not destroy^(EW) it completely.
²⁸ Therefore the earth will mourn^(EX)
    and the heavens above grow dark,^(EY)
because I have spoken and will not relent,^(EZ)
    I have decided and will not turn back.^(FA)”

²⁹ At the sound of horsemen and archers^(FB)
    every town takes to flight.^(FC)
Some go into the thickets;
    some climb up among the rocks.^(FD)
All the towns are deserted;^(FE)
    no one lives in them.

³⁰ What are you doing,^(FF) you devastated one?
    Why dress yourself in scarlet
    and put on jewels^(FG) of gold?
Why highlight your eyes with makeup?^(FH)
    You adorn yourself in vain.
Your lovers^(FI) despise you;
    they want to kill you.^(FJ)

³¹ I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,^(FK)
    a groan as of one bearing her first child—
the cry of Daughter Zion^(FL) gasping for breath,^(FM)
    stretching out her hands^(FN) and saying,
“Alas! I am fainting;
    my life is given over to murderers.”^(FO)

³ Lord, do not your eyes^(FW) look for truth?
    You struck^(FX) them, but they felt no pain;
    you crushed them, but they refused correction.^(FY)
They made their faces harder than stone^(FZ)
    and refused to repent.^(GA)
4 I thought, “These are only the poor;
    they are foolish,^(GB)
for they do not know^(GC) the way of the Lord,
    the requirements of their God.
⁵ So I will go to the leaders^(GD)
    and speak to them;
surely they know the way of the Lord,
    the requirements of their God.”
But with one accord they too had broken off the yoke
    and torn off the bonds.^(GE)
6 Therefore a lion from the forest^(GF) will attack them,
    a wolf from the desert will ravage^(GG) them,
a leopard^(GH) will lie in wait near their towns
    to tear to pieces any who venture out,
for their rebellion is great
    and their backslidings many.^(GI)

⁷ “Why should I forgive you?
    Your children have forsaken me
    and sworn^(GJ) by gods that are not gods.^(GK)
I supplied all their needs,
    yet they committed adultery^(GL)
    and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.^(GM)
8 They are well-fed, lusty stallions,
    each neighing for another man’s wife.^(GN)
9 Should I not punish them for this?”^(GO)
    declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge^(GP) myself
    on such a nation as this?

¹⁰ “Go through her vineyards and ravage them,
    but do not destroy them completely.^(GQ)
Strip off her branches,
    for these people do not belong to the Lord.
¹¹ The people of Israel and the people of Judah
    have been utterly unfaithful^(GR) to me,”
declares the Lord.

¹² They have lied^(GS) about the Lord;
    they said, “He will do nothing!
No harm will come to us;^(GT)
    we will never see sword or famine.^(GU)
13 The prophets^(GV) are but wind^(GW)
    and the word is not in them;
    so let what they say be done to them.”

“Because the people have spoken these words,
    I will make my words in your mouth^(GX) a fire^(GY)
    and these people the wood it consumes.^(GZ)
15 People of Israel,” declares the Lord,
    “I am bringing a distant nation^(HA) against you—
an ancient and enduring nation,
    a people whose language^(HB) you do not know,
    whose speech you do not understand.
¹⁶ Their quivers^(HC) are like an open grave;
    all of them are mighty warriors.
¹⁷ They will devour^(HD) your harvests and food,
    devour^(HE) your sons and daughters;
they will devour^(HF) your flocks and herds,
    devour your vines and fig trees.^(HG)
With the sword^(HH) they will destroy
    the fortified cities^(HI) in which you trust.^(HJ)

²⁰ “Announce this to the descendants of Jacob
    and proclaim^(HO) it in Judah:
²¹ Hear this, you foolish and senseless people,^(HP)
    who have eyes^(HQ) but do not see,
    who have ears but do not hear:^(HR)
22 Should you not fear^(HS) me?” declares the Lord.
    “Should you not tremble^(HT) in my presence?
I made the sand a boundary for the sea,^(HU)
    an everlasting barrier it cannot cross.
The waves may roll, but they cannot prevail;
    they may roar,^(HV) but they cannot cross it.
²³ But these people have stubborn and rebellious^(HW) hearts;
    they have turned aside^(HX) and gone away.
²⁴ They do not say to themselves,
    ‘Let us fear^(HY) the Lord our God,
who gives autumn and spring rains^(HZ) in season,
    who assures us of the regular weeks of harvest.’^(IA)
25 Your wrongdoings have kept these away;
    your sins have deprived you of good.^(IB)

²⁶ “Among my people are the wicked^(IC)
    who lie in wait^(ID) like men who snare birds
    and like those who set traps^(IE) to catch people.
²⁷ Like cages full of birds,
    their houses are full of deceit;^(IF)
they have become rich^(IG) and powerful
²⁸     and have grown fat^(IH) and sleek.
Their evil deeds have no limit;
    they do not seek justice.
They do not promote the case of the fatherless;^(II)
    they do not defend the just cause of the poor.^(IJ)
29 Should I not punish them for this?”
    declares the Lord.
“Should I not avenge^(IK) myself
    on such a nation as this?

³⁰ “A horrible^(IL) and shocking thing
    has happened in the land:
³¹ The prophets prophesy lies,^(IM)
    the priests^(IN) rule by their own authority,
and my people love it this way.
    But what will you do in the end?^(IO)