“I’m in a desperate situation,” David told Gad. “Please let us fall into the Lord’s hands because he is very merciful. But don’t let me fall into human hands.”
Go and proclaim these things to the north: “ ‘Come back, unfaithful Israel. It is the Lord speaking. I will no longer frown on you because I’m merciful,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will no longer be angry with you.
I am with you, and I will rescue you,” declares the Lord. “I will completely destroy all the nations where I scattered you, but I will not completely destroy you. I will correct you with justice. I won’t let you go entirely unpunished.
Is Ephraim my dear son? Is he a pleasant child? Even though I have often spoken against him, I still think fondly of him. That is why my heart longs for him, and I will certainly have compassion on him,” declares the Lord.