For their mother has committed adultery; she who conceived them has acted shamefully. For she said, "I will seek out my lovers; they are the ones who give me my bread and my water, my wool, my flax, my olive oil, and my wine.

And she shall pursue after her lovers, and shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, and shall not find them: and she shall say, I will go and return to my first husband, for then was it better with me than now.

I will sow them upon earth, for a seed to mine own self, and will have mercy upon her, that was without mercy. And to them which were not my people, I will say, 'Thou art my people.' And he shall say, 'Thou art my God.'"

and said unto her, "Thou shalt bide with me a long season, but see that thou playest not the harlot, and look thou meddle with none other man, and then will I keep myself for thee."

Afterwards shall the children of Israel return, and seek Jehovah their God, and David their king; and shall turn with fear toward Jehovah and toward his goodness, at the end of the days.

My people seek advice from their wooden idols, and their rod declares to them. For the spirit of harlotry has caused them to go astray, and they have gone lusting away from under their God.

Therefore commit whoredom do your daughters, And your spouses commit adultery, I do not see after your daughters when they commit whoredom, And after your spouses when they commit adultery, For they with the harlots are separated, And with the whores they do sacrifice, A people that doth not understand kicketh.

They shall go with their flocks and with their herds to seek Jehovah; but they shall not find him: he hath withdrawn himself from them.

And see doth Ephraim his sickness, and Judah his wound, And Ephraim goeth unto Asshur, And sendeth unto a warlike king, And he is not able to give healing to you, Nor doth he remove from you a scar.

I will go away, I will return to my place, till they acknowledge their trespass, and seek my face: in their affliction they will seek me early.

In their adversity they shall seek me, and say, "Come, let us turn again to the LORD: for he hath smitten us, and he shall heal us;

Then let us know - let us press on to know - Yahweh, Like the dawn, is his coming forth assured, - that he may come like a down-pour upon us, like the harvest-rain, and the seed-rain of the land.

For it is love that I seek, and not sacrifice; knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.

In the house of Israel have I seen a horrible thing: the whoredom of Ephraim is there; Israel is defiled.

They consider not in their hearts that I remember all their wickedness. They go about with their own inventions, but I see them well enough.

And the pride of Israel testifieth to his face; and they do not return to Jehovah their God, nor seek him for all this.

They have sown wind, therefore shall they reap a whirlwind. Their seed shall bear no corn, there shall no meal be made of their increase: though they reap, yet shall strangers devour it up.

They won't present wine offerings to the LORD, nor will they please him. Their sacrifices will seem like food for mourners everyone who eats them will become unclean; none of them will enter the Temple of the LORD.

For see, they are going away into Assyria; Egypt will get them together, Memphis will be their last resting-place; their fair silver vessels will be covered over with field plants, and thorns will come up in their tents.

As grapes in a wilderness I found Israel, As the first-fruit in a fig-tree, at its beginning, I have seen your fathers, They -- they have gone in to Baal-Peor, And are separated to a shameful thing, And are become abominable like their love.

Ephraim, just as I have seen Tyre, is planted in a pleasant place, but Ephraim shall bring out his sons to the slayer.

Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap according to mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek Jehovah, till he come and rain righteousness upon you.

And Ephraim said, Now I have got wealth and much property; in all my works no sin may be seen in me.

Yet can I see no comfort, for when he is now the goodliest among the brethren, the East wind, even the wind of the LORD, shall come down from the wilderness, and dry up his conduits, and drink up his wells: he shall spoil the treasure of all pleasant vessels.

He who is wise will see these things; he who has good sense will have knowledge of them. For the ways of the Lord are straight, and the upright will go in them, but sinners will be falling in them.