Then God said: “Call his name Lo-Ammi, For you are not My people, And I will not be your God.

The Restoration of Israel

“Yet the number of the children of Israel Shall be as the sand of the sea, Which cannot be measured or numbered. And it shall come to pass In the place where it was said to them, ‘You are not My people,’ There it shall be said to them, ‘You are sons of the living God.’

The Lord’s Love for His Unfaithful People

Say to your brethren, ‘My people,’ And to your sisters, ‘Mercy is shown.’

God’s Unfaithful People

“Bring charges against your mother, bring charges; For she is not My wife, nor am I her Husband! Let her put away her harlotries from her sight, And her adulteries from between her breasts;

God’s Mercy on His People

“Therefore, behold, I will allure her, Will bring her into the wilderness, And speak comfort to her.

Then I will sow her for Myself in the earth, And I will have mercy on her who had not obtained mercy; Then I will say to those who were not My people, ‘You are My people!’ And they shall say, ‘You are my God!’ ”

“Now let no man contend, or rebuke another; For your people are like those who contend with the priest.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I also will reject you from being priest for Me; Because you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children.

They eat up the sin of My people; They set their heart on their iniquity.

And it shall be: like people, like priest. So I will punish them for their ways, And reward them for their deeds.

My people ask counsel from their wooden idols, And their staff informs them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to stray, And they have played the harlot against their God.

“I will not punish your daughters when they commit harlotry, Nor your brides when they commit adultery; For the men themselves go apart with harlots, And offer sacrifices with a ritual harlot. Therefore people who do not understand will be trampled.

Also, O Judah, a harvest is appointed for you, When I return the captives of My people.

“Ephraim has mixed himself among the peoples; Ephraim is a cake unturned.

Judgment of Israel’s Sin

Do not rejoice, O Israel, with joy like other peoples, For you have played the harlot against your God. You have made love for hire on every threshing floor.

The inhabitants of Samaria fear Because of the calf of Beth Aven. For its people mourn for it, And its priests shriek for it— Because its glory has departed from it.

When it is My desire, I will chasten them. Peoples shall be gathered against them When I bind them for their two transgressions.

Therefore tumult shall arise among your people, And all your fortresses shall be plundered As Shalman plundered Beth Arbel in the day of battle— A mother dashed in pieces upon her children.

My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they call to the Most High, None at all exalt Him.