22 Return, you faithless children.

I will heal your unfaithfulness.am

“Here we are, coming to you,

for you are the Lord our God.

23 Surely, falsehood comes from the hills,

commotion from the mountains,a

but the salvation of Israel

is only in the Lord our God.b

24 From the time of our youth

the shameful oneA has consumed

what our ancestors have worked for—

their flocks and their herds,

their sons and their daughters.

25 Let us lie down in our shame;

let our disgrace cover us.c

We have sinned against the Lord our God,d

both we and our ancestors,

from the time of our youth even to this day.e

We have not obeyed the Lord our God.”

BLESSING OR CURSE

4 If you return,B Israel—

this is the Lord’s declaration—

you will return to me,f

if you remove your abhorrent idolsg

from my presence

and do not waver,

2 then you can swear, “As the Lord lives,”h

in truth,i justice, and righteousness,j

and then the nations will be blessedC by himk

and will boast in him.l

3 For this is what the Lord says to the men of Judah and Jerusalem:

Break up the unplowed ground;m

do not sow among the thorns.n

4 Circumcise yourselves to the Lord;

remove the foreskin of your hearts,o

men of Judah and residents of Jerusalem.

Otherwise, my wrath will break out like fire

and burn with no one to extinguish itp

because of your evil deeds.

JUDGMENT FROM THE NORTH

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

Blow the trumpet throughout the land.q

Cry out loudly and say,

“Assemble yourselves,

and let’s flee to the fortified cities.”

6 Lift up a signal flag toward Zion.r

Run for cover! Don’t stand still!

For I am bringing disaster from the north—

a crushing blow.s

7 A lion has gone up from his thicket;t

a destroyer of nations has set out.

He has left his lair

to make your land a waste.

Your cities will be reduced to uninhabited ruins.u

8 Because of this, put on sackcloth;

mourn and wail,v

for the Lord’s burning angerw

has not turned away from us.