22 “Return, you backsliding children,

And I will theal your backslidings.”

“Indeed we do come to You,

For You are the Lord our God.

23 uTruly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills,

And from the multitude of mountains;

vTruly, in the Lord our God

Is the salvation of Israel.

24 wFor shame has devoured

The labor of our fathers from our youth—

Their flocks and their herds,

Their sons and their daughters.

25 We lie down in our shame,

And our 5reproach covers us.

xFor we have sinned against the Lord our God,

We and our fathers,

From our youth even to this day,

And yhave not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”

4 “If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord,

a“Return to Me;

And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight,

Then you shall not be moved.

2 bAnd you shall swear, ‘The Lord lives,’

cIn truth, in 1judgment, and in righteousness;

dThe nations shall bless themselves in Him,

And in Him they shall eglory.”

3 For thus says the Lord to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

f“Break up your 2fallow ground,

And gdo not sow among thorns.

4 hCircumcise yourselves to the Lord,

And take away the foreskins of your hearts,

You men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

Lest My fury come forth like fire,

And burn so that no one can quench it,

Because of the evil of your doings.”

An Imminent Invasion

5 Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say:

i“Blow the trumpet in the land;

Cry, ‘Gather together,’

And say, j‘Assemble yourselves,

And let us go into the fortified cities.’

6 Set up the 3standard toward Zion.

Take refuge! Do not delay!

For I will bring disaster from the knorth,

And great destruction.”

7 lThe lion has come up from his thicket,

And mthe destroyer of nations is on his way.

He has gone forth from his place

nTo make your land desolate.

Your cities will be laid waste,

Without inhabitant.

8 For this, oclothe yourself with sackcloth,

Lament and wail.

For the fierce anger of the Lord—

Has not turned back from us.