Go and carry this message to those living in the north:
“ ‘YAHWEH is speaking to you, unfaithful Israel:
Return to me. For my faithful love for you never ends.
No frown of mine awaits you,
declares YAHWEH.
I will not remain angry with you forever,
for I am merciful, declares YAHWEH.
Only admit your guilt!
You have rebelled against YAHWEH your God.
You have lavished your love on foreign gods under every green tree.
You have not listened to my voice.
I, YAHWEH, have spoken.’ ”
“ ‘I say to you,
Come back to me, my wayward children,
and I will restore you.
I will take you, one from each city and two from each clan,
and bring you home to Zion
because I alone am your true husband.’ ”
“ ‘I will give you true shepherds who follow my heart, and they will feed you with revelation-knowledge and deep understanding.’ ”
YAHWEH says, “When my children have increased and prospered in the land, then no one will mention the ark of the covenant of YAHWEH. It will never even come to mind. No one will remember it, miss it, or make another one. When that day comes, they will call Jerusalem the throne of YAHWEH. All nations will be drawn there to be in the presence of YAHWEH. They will no longer stubbornly follow their own evil hearts. In those days, the nation of Judah will unite with the nation of Israel. And together, they will return from the northern lands to the land that I gave your ancestors as your own inheritance.”
“I, YAHWEH, said:
“ ‘What bliss would fill my heart to treat you like an honored son!
What joy would fill my heart to give you a land of delights,
the most glorious and beautiful inheritance among the nations.’
I longed for the day when you would call me ‘Father’
and not turn away from me.
Instead, as a treacherous wife betrays her husband,
so, you, nation of Israel, have betrayed me.
I, YAHWEH, have spoken.”
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