But I will show love to the people of Judah. I will free them from their enemies—not with weapons and armies or horses and charioteers, but by my power as the Lord their God.”

Charges against an Unfaithful Wife

“But now bring charges against Israel—your mother— for she is no longer my wife, and I am no longer her husband. Tell her to remove the prostitute’s makeup from her face and the clothing that exposes her breasts.

When she runs after her lovers, she won’t be able to catch them. She will search for them but not find them. Then she will think, ‘I might as well return to my husband, for I was better off with him than I am now.’

She doesn’t realize it was I who gave her everything she has— the grain, the new wine, the olive oil; I even gave her silver and gold. But she gave all my gifts to Baal.

“But now I will take back the ripened grain and new wine I generously provided each harvest season. I will take away the wool and linen clothing I gave her to cover her nakedness.

I will punish her for all those times when she burned incense to her images of Baal, when she put on her earrings and jewels and went out to look for her lovers but forgot all about me,” says the Lord.

The Lord’s Love for Unfaithful Israel

“But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there.

But afterward the people will return and devote themselves to the Lord their God and to David’s descendant, their king. In the last days, they will tremble in awe of the Lord and of his goodness.

But why should I punish them for their prostitution and adultery? For your men are doing the same thing, sinning with whores and shrine prostitutes. O foolish people! You refuse to understand, so you will be destroyed.

You have dug a deep pit to trap them at Acacia Grove. But I will settle with you for what you have done.

“When Israel and Judah saw how sick they were, Israel turned to Assyria— to the great king there— but he could neither help nor cure them.

But like Adam, you broke my covenant and betrayed my trust.

Israel’s Love for Wickedness

“I want to heal Israel, but its sins are too great. Samaria is filled with liars. Thieves are on the inside and bandits on the outside!

Worshiping foreign gods has sapped their strength, but they don’t even know it. Their hair is gray, but they don’t realize they’re old and weak.

But as they fly about, I will throw my net over them and bring them down like a bird from the sky. I will punish them for all the evil they do.

“What sorrow awaits those who have deserted me! Let them die, for they have rebelled against me. I wanted to redeem them, but they have told lies about me.

But it is too late. The people of Israel have rejected what is good, and now their enemies will chase after them.

But though they have sold themselves to many allies, I will now gather them together for judgment. Then they will writhe under the burden of the great king.

“Israel has built many altars to take away sin, but these very altars became places for sinning!

The people love to offer sacrifices to me, feasting on the meat, but I do not accept their sacrifices. I will hold my people accountable for their sins, and I will punish them. They will return to Egypt.

There you will make no offerings of wine to the Lord. None of your sacrifices there will please him. They will be unclean, like food touched by a person in mourning. All who present such sacrifices will be defiled. They may eat this food themselves, but they may not offer it to the Lord.

The Lord says, “O Israel, when I first found you, it was like finding fresh grapes in the desert. When I saw your ancestors, it was like seeing the first ripe figs of the season. But then they deserted me for Baal-peor, giving themselves to that shameful idol. Soon they became vile, as vile as the god they worshiped.

I have watched Israel become as beautiful as Tyre. But now Israel will bring out her children for slaughter.”

The Lord’s Judgment against Israel

How prosperous Israel is— a luxuriant vine loaded with fruit. But the richer the people get, the more pagan altars they build. The more bountiful their harvests, the more beautiful their sacred pillars.

Then they will say, “We have no king because we didn’t fear the Lord. But even if we had a king, what could he do for us anyway?”

“Israel 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 to break up the hard ground.

“But you have cultivated wickedness and harvested a thriving crop of sins. You have eaten the fruit of lies— trusting in your military might, believing that great armies could make your nation safe.

But the more I called to him, the farther he moved from me, offering sacrifices to the images of Baal and burning incense to idols.

I myself taught Israel how to walk, leading him along by the hand. But he doesn’t know or even care that it was I who took care of him.

“But since my people refuse to return to me, they will return to Egypt and will be forced to serve Assyria.

For my people are determined to desert me. They call me the Most High, but they don’t truly honor me.

Charges against Israel and Judah

Israel surrounds me with lies and deceit, but Judah still obeys God and is faithful to the Holy One.

But no, the people are like crafty merchants selling from dishonest scales— they love to cheat.

“But I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from slavery in Egypt. And I will make you live in tents again, as you do each year at the Festival of Shelters.

But the people of Gilead are worthless because of their idol worship. And in Gilgal, too, they sacrifice bulls; their altars are lined up like the heaps of stone along the edges of a plowed field.

But the people of Israel have bitterly provoked the Lord, so their Lord will now sentence them to death in payment for their sins.

The Lord’s Anger against Israel

When the tribe of Ephraim spoke, the people shook with fear, for that tribe was important in Israel. But the people of Ephraim sinned by worshiping Baal and thus sealed their destruction.

“I have been the Lord your God ever since I brought you out of Egypt. You must acknowledge no God but me, for there is no other savior.

But when you had eaten and were satisfied, you became proud and forgot me.

Pain has come to the people like the pain of childbirth, but they are like a child who resists being born. The moment of birth has arrived, but they stay in the womb!

Ephraim was the most fruitful of all his brothers, but the east wind—a blast from the Lord— will arise in the desert. All their flowing springs will run dry, and all their wells will disappear. Every precious thing they own will be plundered and carried away.

Let those who are wise understand these things. Let those with discernment listen carefully. The paths of the Lord are true and right, and righteous people live by walking in them. But in those paths sinners stumble and fall.