"Then I said,'HowI would setyou among My sonsAnd giveyou a pleasantland,The mostbeautifulinheritanceof the nations!'And I said,'You shall callMe, My Father,And not turnawayfrom followingMe.'
Then they despisedthe pleasantland;They did not believein His word,
The lineshave fallento me in pleasantplaces; Indeed,my heritageis beautifulto me.
"He will cryto Me, 'You are my Father,My God,and the rockof my salvation.'
The wisewill inherithonor,But foolsdisplaydishonor.
For You are our Father,thoughAbrahamdoes not knowus And Israeldoes not recognizeus. You, O LORD,are our Father,Our Redeemerfrom of oldis Your name.
But now,O LORD,You are our Father,We are the clay,and You our potter;And allof us are the workof Your hand.
"Manyshepherdshave ruinedMy vineyard,They have trampleddownMy field;They have madeMy pleasantfieldA desolatewilderness.
"At that timethey will callJerusalemThe Throneof the LORD,'and allthe nationswill be gatheredto it, to Jerusalem,for the nameof the LORD;norwill they walkanymoreafterthe stubbornnessof their evilheart.
"Have you not just nowcalledto Me, 'My Father,You are the friendof my youth?
"Is EphraimMy dearson?Is he a delightfulchild?Indeed,as oftenas I have spokenagainst him, I certainly[still] rememberhim; ThereforeMy heartyearnsfor him; I will surelyhavemercyon him," declaresthe LORD.
"With weepingthey will come,And by supplicationI will leadthem; I will make them walkby streamsof waters,On a straightpathin which they will not stumble;For I ama fatherto Israel,And Ephraimis My firstborn."
It will be to Me a nameof joy,praiseand glorybefore allthe nationsof the earthwhichwill hearof allthe goodthat I dofor them, and they will fearand tremblebecauseof allthe goodand allthe peacethat I makefor it.'
"Whyshould I pardonyou? Your sonshave forsakenMe And swornby those who are not gods.When I had fedthem to the full,They committedadulteryAnd troopedto the harlot'shouse.
on that dayI sworeto them, to bringthem out from the landof Egyptinto a landthat I had selectedfor them, flowingwith milkand honey,whichis the gloryof alllands.
"But he who comesagainsthim will doas he pleases,and noonewill [be able to] withstandhim; he will also stay[for a time] in the BeautifulLand,with destructionin his hand.
"He will also enterthe BeautifulLand,and many[countries] will fall;but thesewill be rescuedout of his hand:Edom,Moaband the foremostof the sonsof Ammon.
"He will pitchthe tentsof his royalpavilionbetweenthe seasand the beautifulHolyMountain;yet he will cometo his end,and noonewill helphim.
Out of oneof them camefortha rather smallhornwhich grewexceedinglygreattowardthe south,towardthe east,and towardthe Beautiful[Land].
Howcan I giveyou up, O Ephraim?How can I surrenderyou, O Israel?Howcan I makeyou like Admah?How can I treatyou like Zeboiim?My heartis turnedoverwithinMe, AllMy compassionsare kindled.
For you are allsonsof Godthroughfaithin ChristJesus.
He predestinedus to adoption as sonsthroughJesusChristto Himself,accordingto the kind intentionof His will,
"You are the sonsof the LORDyour God;you shall not cutyourselves norshaveyour foreheadfor the sake of the dead.
But we are not of those who shrink backto destruction,but of those who have faithto the preservingof the soul.
Ifyou addressas Fatherthe One who impartiallyjudgesaccordingto each one'swork,conductyourselves in fearduring the timeof your stay[on earth];
