I will give them a willing heart to know that I am Yahweh. They will be my beloved people, and I will be their loving God, for they will return to me with every passion of their heart.
For here is the covenant I will one day establish with the people of Israel: I will embed my laws within their thoughts and fasten them onto their hearts. I will be their loyal God and they will be my loyal people.
Never again will they defile themselves with their disgusting idols, their detestable things, and rebellions. I will save them from always turning back and repeating their old sins. I will cleanse and purify them. They will be my people, and I shall be their God.
And thanks be to God, for in the past you were servants of sin, but now your obedience is heart deep, and your life is being molded by truth through the teaching you are devoted to.
Even after all this, Israel’s treacherous sister, Judah, refused to return to me with her whole heart; instead, she came with only deceitful lies,” declared Yahweh.
“I have placed my words in your mouth and have hidden you in the hollow of my hand to establish the heavens and make the earth rock solid. You will say to Zion, ‘You are my people!’ ”
But they couldn’t turn back for their hearts were fixed on what was far greater, that is, the heavenly realm! So because of this God is not ashamed in any way to be called their God, for he has prepared a heavenly city for them.
Rather, I commanded them: “Listen to my voice, and I will be your God, and you will be my people. Live your lives according to what I command you that all may go well with you.”
that I made with your ancestors when I freed them from the fiery, iron furnace of their suffering in Egypt. Now, listen to my voice and do all that I commanded you, and you will be a beloved people to me, and I, I will be your God,
I say to you: After Babylon has ruled over you for seventy years, I will show compassion to you and will fulfill my promise of giving you good things, and I will bring you back to your land.”
I will do this so that they will never stray from me again or defile themselves with their rebellion. Then they will be my faithful people, and I will be their faithful God. For I, Lord Yahweh, have spoken.’ ”
And tell them, ‘The Lord Yahweh says this: I will gather you back from the peoples, and draw you together from the countries where you have been scattered and give you the land of Israel.