18 In those days the people of Judah will join the people of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your ancestors as an inheritance.

19 “I myself said,

“ ‘How gladly would I treat you like my children

and give you a pleasant land,

the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’

I thought you would call me ‘Father’

and not turn away from following me.

20 But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,

so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,”

declares the Lord.

21 A cry is heard on the barren heights,

the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel,

because they have perverted their ways

and have forgotten the Lord their God.

18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. 19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me. 20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord.

21 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the Lord their God.

18 In those days the people of Judah and Israel will return together from exile in the north. They will return to the land I gave your ancestors as an inheritance forever.

19 “I thought to myself,

‘I would love to treat you as my own children!’

I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land—

the finest possession in the world.

I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father,’

and I wanted you never to turn from me.

20 But you have been unfaithful to me, you people of Israel!

You have been like a faithless wife who leaves her husband.

I, the Lord, have spoken.”

21 Voices are heard high on the windswept mountains,

the weeping and pleading of Israel’s people.

For they have chosen crooked paths

and have forgotten the Lord their God.

18 “In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers.

19 “But I said:

‘How can I put you among the children

And give you a pleasant land,

A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’

“And I said:

‘You shall call Me, “My Father,”

And not turn away from Me.’

20 Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband,

So have you dealt treacherously with Me,

O house of Israel,” says the Lord.

21 A voice was heard on the desolate heights,

Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel.

For they have perverted their way;

They have forgotten the Lord their God.

18 In those days the family of Judah will join the family of Israel. They will come together from a land in the north to the land I gave their ancestors.

19 “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.

20 But like a woman who is unfaithful to her husband,

family of Israel, you have been unfaithful to me,” says the Lord.

21 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.

18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers.

19 But I said, How I will put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations! and I said, Ye shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away from following me. 20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah. 21 A voice is heard upon the bare heights, the weeping and the supplications of the children of Israel; because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten Jehovah their God.

18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel; and they shall come together out of the land of the north, to the land which I caused your fathers to inherit. 19 And as for me, I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee the pleasant land, the goodly inheritance of the hosts of the nations? And I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from following me.

20 Surely as a woman treacherously departeth from her companion, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah. 21 A voice is heard upon the heights, the weeping supplications of the children of Israel; for they have perverted their way, they have forgotten Jehovah their God.

18 In those days the nation of Judah will live with the nation of Israel. They will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave their ancestors as their own property. 

19 “I wanted to treat you like children 

and give you a pleasant land, 

the most beautiful property among the nations. 

I thought that you would call me Father and wouldn’t turn away from me. 

20 But like a wife who betrays her husband, 

so you, nation of Israel, betrayed me,” declares the Lord. 

21 The sound of crying is heard on the hills. 

It is the crying and the pleading of the people of Israel. 

They have become crooked 

and have forgotten the Lord their God. 

18 In those days the house of Judah will join with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land I have given your ancestors to inherit.”

19 I thought: How I long to make you My sons

and give you a desirable land,

the most beautiful inheritance of all the nations.

I thought: You will call Me, my Father,

and never turn away from Me.

20 However, as a woman may betray her lover,

so you have betrayed Me, house of Israel.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

21 A sound is heard on the barren heights,

the children of Israel weeping and begging for mercy,

for they have perverted their way;

they have forgotten the Lord their God.

18 In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your ancestors for a heritage.

19 I thought

how I would set you among my children,

and give you a pleasant land,

the most beautiful heritage of all the nations.

And I thought you would call me, My Father,

and would not turn from following me.

20 Instead, as a faithless wife leaves her husband,

so you have been faithless to me, O house of Israel,

says the Lord.

21 A voice on the bare heights is heard,

the plaintive weeping of Israel’s children,

because they have perverted their way,

they have forgotten the Lord their God:

18 In those days the house of Judah will walk along with the house of Israel and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave as an inheritance to your ancestors.

19 Then I thought, ‘How I would set you among the children,

and I would give you a land of desire,

an inheritance of the glory of the hosts of nations.’

And I thought, ‘You would call me, “My father,”

and you would not turn back from behind me.’

20 However, as a wife departs treacherously from her lover,

so you have dealt treacherously with me,

O house of Israel,” declares Yahweh.

21 “A voice is heard on the barren heights,

the weeping of the pleas for mercy of the children of Israel,

because they have perverted their way,

they have forgotten Yahweh their God.

18 “In those days the people of Judah will join the people of Israel. Together they will come from a land in the north. They will come to the land I gave to your people long ago. I wanted them to have it as their very own.

19 “I myself said,

“ ‘I would gladly treat you like my children.

I would give you a pleasant land.

It is the most beautiful land any nation could have.’

I thought you would call me ‘Father.’

I hoped you would always follow me.

20 But you people are like a woman who is not faithful to her husband.

Israel, you have not been faithful to me,”

announces the Lord.

21 A cry is heard on the bare hilltops.

The people of Israel are sobbing and praying.

That’s because their lives are so twisted.

They’ve forgotten the Lord their God.

18 “In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.

19 “Then I said,

‘How I would set you among My sons

And give you a pleasant land,

The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’

And I said, ‘You shall call Me, My Father,

And not turn away from following Me.’

20 “Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her lover,

So you have dealt treacherously with Me,

O house of Israel,” declares the Lord.

21 A voice is heard on the bare heights,

The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel;

Because they have perverted their way,

They have forgotten the Lord their God.