Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus says the Lord: I remember you, the kindness of your youth, the love of your espousals, when you followed Me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
say to a tree, “You are my father.” And to a stone, “You gave birth to me.” For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they will say, “Arise and save us.”
But I said: How can I put 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 shall not turn away from Me.
They will come with weeping, and with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, in a straight way in which they shall not stumble. For I am a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is My firstborn.
From there, I will give her vineyards to her, and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope. She will respond there as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
A son honors his father, and a servant his master. If then I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is My fear? says the Lord of Hosts to you, O priests, who despise My name. But you say, “How have we despised Your name?”
Yet you say, “Why?” It is because the Lord has been a witness between you and the wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously. Yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant.