This is what the Lord says: “People of Israel, you say I divorced your mother. Then where is the paper that proves it? Or do you think I sold you to pay a debt? Because of the evil things you did, I sold you. Because of the times she turned against me, your mother was sent away.
I came home and found no one there; I called, but no one answered. Do you think I am not able to save you? Do I not have the power to save you? Look, I need only to shout and the sea becomes dry. I change rivers into a desert, and their fish rot because there is no water; they die of thirst.
Then you will call out, and the Lord will answer. You will cry out, and he will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you stop making trouble for others, if you stop using cruel words and pointing your finger at others,
Make the minds of these people dumb. Shut their ears. Cover their eyes. Otherwise, they might really understand what they see with their eyes and hear with their ears. They might really understand in their minds and come back to me and be healed.”
Who is this coming from Edom, from the city of Bozrah, dressed in red? Who is this dressed in fine clothes and marching forward with his great power? He says, “I, the Lord, speak what is right. I have the power to save you.”
Why are you like someone who has been attacked by surprise, like a warrior who is not able to save anyone? But you are among us, Lord, and we are called by your name so don’t leave us without help!
For the minds of these people have become stubborn. They do not hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might really understand what they see with their eyes and hear with their ears. They might really understand in their minds and come back to me and be healed.’
When some Israelite soldiers went back to their camp, the elders of Israel asked, “Why did the Lord let the Philistines defeat us? Let’s bring the Ark of the Agreement with the Lord here from Shiloh and take it with us into battle. Then God will save us from our enemies.”