I’m going to publicly charge your mother, Israel, with being unfaithful to Me. But you must bring the accusation against her—you bring it— Because she’s not My wife anymore and I’m not her husband. Look at her! She must cease from her whoring ways, even her adulteries from her breasts; she must remove her lovers.

Their mother was a prostitute; she brought shame on herself when she had these children. She chased her customers, saying, “I’m going to go looking for my lovers. They’re the ones who give me my bread and water, my wool and flax, my oil and wine.”

and she will wander after her lovers like a dumb sheep. She’ll chase after them, but she won’t catch them. She’ll look for them, but she won’t find them. Then she’ll say, “I’m going to go back to my original husband because I was better off then than I am now!”

The land will be stripped bare, and this unfaithful wife of Mine will be walking around Embarrassingly naked in the sight of her lovers, and none of them will be able to rescue her from Me.

She says she’s entitled to her vines and fig trees because they’re her wages from prostitution; they’re gifts from her lovers. But I’m going to destroy them all. I’ll turn them into a tangle of brush, and wild animals will eat up the fruit.

I swear that I’ll punish her for honoring other masters on My special days, even her burning incense to those false gods. She got dressed up in her rings and jewelry; she went after her lovers, and she forgot about Me.

(to His reclaimed bride) I’m going to marry you, and this time it’ll be forever in righteousness and justice. Our covenant will reflect a loyal love and great mercy;

The Eternal spoke with me again. Eternal One: Go and love a woman who is loved by someone else and is adulterous. Care for her and protect her, just as I love the people of Israel even though they’re unfaithfully turning to other gods and selfishly eating sacred raisin cakes in their honor.

When they’ve finished drinking, they turn to prostitution to sate their thirst. Their rulers love shame rather than living decently.

All alone like a wild donkey, Ephraim went up to Assyria and had to hire her own lovers!

Eternal One: When I discovered Israel, he was a rare find, like grapes in the wilderness, like early figs on a young fig tree. I met your ancestors; when they came to Baal-peor, They dedicated themselves through their worship to an object of shame, and they became as detestable as the thing they loved.

There was a time when I saw Ephraim like Tyre, a pleasant palm planted in a lovely meadow, But now Ephraim must bring out her children to be slaughtered.

Eternal One: In Gilgal My hatred grew for them because of all their evil that was there. I will force them out of My temple because of the depths of their wickedness. I won’t love them anymore; all of their leaders have rebelled against Me!

Ephraim was a trained heifer who loved to tread on the threshing floor. Now I have lashed a yoke to her fair neck. Judah will plow, and Jacob will break up the hard, compacted soil.

Plant a crop of righteousness for yourselves, harvest the fruit of unfailing love, And break up your hard soil, because it’s time to seek the Eternal until He comes and waters your fields with justice.

Eternal One: When Israel was a child, I loved him; and out of Egypt I called My son.

I led them along with leather cords; with ropes of love I showed them the way. As I dealt with them, I lifted the yoke from their neck; I bent down to give them their food.

Like Canaan, Israel is a merchant who uses dishonest scales— he loves to cheat people!

Eternal One: I’ll heal their apostate hearts so they won’t turn away from Me again; I’ll love them freely because I won’t be angry with them anymore.