The Lord is the defender of Israel, its Holy One. This is what the Lord says to the despised one, to the one scorned by the nation, to the slave of rulers: Kings will see ⌞you⌟ and stand. Princes will see ⌞you⌟ and bow. The Lord is faithful. The Holy One of Israel has chosen you.
You are your mother’s daughter. She rejected her husband and her children. You are exactly like your sisters. They rejected their husbands and their children. Your mother was a Hittite, and your father was an Amorite.
I will destroy my people because they are ignorant. You have refused to learn, so I will refuse to let you be my priests. You have forgotten the teachings of your God, so I will forget your children.
“All Ephraim’s wickedness began in Gilgal; I hated the people there. I will force them out of my temple because of their wickedness, and I won’t love them anymore. All their officials are rebellious.
Even when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not reject them or look at them with disgust. I will not reject or cancel my promise to them, because I am the Lord their God.
“The citizens of his own country hated him. They sent representatives to follow him and say ⌞to the person who was going to appoint him⌟, ‘We don’t want this man to be our king.’