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24 Does a farmer always plow and never sow?
    Is he forever cultivating the soil and never planting?

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11 “Israel[a] is like a trained heifer treading out the grain—
    an easy job she loves.
    But I will put a heavy yoke on her tender neck.
I will force Judah to pull the plow
    and Israel[b] to break up the hard ground.
12 I said, ‘Plant the good seeds of righteousness,
    and you will harvest a crop of love.
Plow up the hard ground of your hearts,
    for now is the time to seek the Lord,
that he may come
    and shower righteousness upon you.’

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Footnotes

  1. 10:11a Hebrew Ephraim, referring to the northern kingdom of Israel.
  2. 10:11b Hebrew Jacob. The names “Jacob” and “Israel” are often interchanged throughout the Old Testament, referring sometimes to the individual patriarch and sometimes to the nation.

Coming Judgment against Judah

This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem:

“Plow up the hard ground of your hearts!
    Do not waste your good seed among thorns.

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