So My peopleare benton turningfrom Me. Though they callthem to [the One] on high,Noneat allexalts[Him].
"Whythen has thispeople,Jerusalem,Turnedawayin continualapostasy?They holdfastto deceit,They refuseto return.
I will healtheir apostasy,I will lovethem freely,For My angerhas turnedawayfrom them.
The more they calledthem, The morethey wentfrom them; They kept sacrificingto the BaalsAnd burningincenseto idols.
They turn,[but] not upward,They are like a deceitfulbow;Their princeswill fallby the swordBecauseof the insolenceof their tongue.This[will be] their derisionin the landof Egypt.
And the LORDsaidto me, "FaithlessIsraelhas provedherselfmorerighteousthantreacherousJudah.
The backsliderin heartwill havehis fillof his own ways,But a goodmanwill [be satisfied] with his.
"But My peopledid not listento My voice,And Israeldid not obeyMe.
SinceIsraelis stubbornLike a stubbornheifer,Can the LORDnowpasturethem Like a lambin a largefield?
"Althoughour iniquitiestestifyagainst us, O LORD,actfor Your name'ssake!Trulyour apostasieshave beenmany,We have sinnedagainst You.
[Though] the wickedis shownfavor,He does not learnrighteousness;He dealsunjustlyin the landof uprightness,And does not perceivethe majestyof the LORD.
"Your own wickednesswill correctyou, And your apostasieswill reproveyou; Knowtherefore and seethat it is eviland bitterFor you to forsakethe LORDyour God,And the dreadof Me is not in you," declaresthe LordGODof hosts.
"Sincethe daythat your fatherscameout of the landof Egyptuntilthisday,I have sentyou allMy servantsthe prophets,dailyrisingearlyand sending[them].
"Yet they did not listento Me or inclinetheir ear,but stiffenedtheir neck;they did moreevilthantheir fathers.
