Jeremiah 3:19-25

“I, the LORD, said, ‘How happy I would be to treat you as my own children and give you a pleasant land, a land more beautiful than that of any other nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘My Father’ and not turn away from me. But like a woman who is unfaithful to her husband, family of Israel, you have been unfaithful to me,” says the LORD. You can hear crying on the bare hilltops. It is the people of Israel crying and praying for mercy. They have become very evil and have forgotten the LORD their God. “Come back to me, you unfaithful children, and I will forgive you for being unfaithful.” “Yes, we will come to you, because you are the LORD our God. It was foolish to worship idols on the hills and on the mountains. Surely the salvation of Israel comes from the LORD our God. Since our youth, shameful gods have eaten up in sacrifice everything our ancestors worked for— their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our disgrace cover us like a blanket. We have sinned against the LORD our God, both we and our ancestors. From our youth until now, we have not obeyed the LORD our God.”