Therefore, I have withheld the rains,
and the spring showers have not come.
Yet, there you sit with the shameless, brazen look of a prostitute
who refuses to blush.
And yet you have the nerve to say to me,
‘Father! You’ve been my trusted companion as long as I’ve lived.
Surely, you won’t hold a grudge against me forever, right?
You won’t always be angry with me, will you?’
This is only what you say,
but you keep on doing all the evil you can get away with!”
During Josiah’s reign as king of Judah, YAHWEH asked me, “Did you see what unfaithful Israel has done? Like an adulterous wife, she has turned away from me. In every high place and under every green tree, she has prostituted herself to worship other gods. I thought that after all she had done, she would return to me, but she did not return. Meanwhile her treacherous sister, Judah, looked on. She saw me give unfaithful Israel her divorce papers and send her away because of her continued adultery. Her treacherous sister, Judah, likewise had no fear; she, too, acted like a prostitute. Her infidelity mattered little to her. She polluted the land and committed adultery by worshiping idolatrous stone and wood pillars. Even after all this, Israel’s treacherous sister, Judah, refused to return to me with her whole heart; instead, she came with only deceitful lies,” declared YAHWEH.
And YAHWEH continued, “Even unfaithful Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 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.’ ”
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