Unfaithful Israel
1 The Lord says, “If a man divorces his wife, and she leaves him and becomes another man's wife, he cannot take her back again. This would completely defile the land. But, Israel, you have had many lovers, and now you want to return to me! 2 Look up at the hilltops. Is there any place where you have not acted like a prostitute? You waited for lovers along the roadside, as an Arab waits for victims in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution. 3 That is why the rains were held back, and the spring showers did not come. You even look like a prostitute; you have no shame.
4 “And now you say to me, ‘You are my father, and you have loved me ever since I was a child. 5 You won't always be angry; you won't be mad at me forever.’ Israel, that is what you said, but you did all the evil you could.”
Israel and Judah Must Repent
6 When Josiah was king, the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what Israel, that unfaithful woman, has done? She has turned away from me, and on every high hill and under every green tree she has acted like a prostitute. 7 I thought that after she had done all this, she would surely return to me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it all. 8 Judah also saw that I divorced Israel and sent her away because she had turned from me and had become a prostitute. But Judah, Israel's unfaithful sister, was not afraid. She too became a prostitute 9 and was not at all ashamed. She defiled the land, and she committed adultery by worshiping stones and trees. 10 And after all this, Judah, Israel's unfaithful sister, only pretended to return to me; she was not sincere. I, the Lord, have spoken.”
11 Then the Lord told me that, even though Israel had turned away from him, she had proved to be better than unfaithful Judah. 12 He told me to go and say to Israel, “Unfaithful Israel, come back to me. I am merciful and will not be angry; I will not be angry with you forever. 13 Only admit that you are guilty and that you have rebelled against the Lord, your God. Confess that under every green tree you have given your love to foreign gods and that you have not obeyed my commands. I, the Lord, have spoken.
14 “Unfaithful people, come back; you belong to me. I will take one of you from each town and two from each clan, and I will bring you back to Mount Zion. 15 I will give you rulers who obey me, and they will rule you with wisdom and understanding. 16 Then when you have become numerous in that land, people will no longer talk about my Covenant Box. They will no longer think about it or remember it; they will not even need it, nor will they make another one. 17 When that time comes, Jerusalem will be called ‘The Throne of the Lord,’ and all nations will gather there to worship me. They will no longer do what their stubborn and evil hearts tell them. 18 Israel will join with Judah, and together they will come from exile in the country in the north and will return to the land that I gave your ancestors as a permanent possession.”
The Idolatry of God's People
19 The Lord says,
“Israel, I wanted to accept you as my child
and give you a delightful land,
the most beautiful land in all the world.
I wanted you to call me father
and never again turn away from me.
20 But like an unfaithful wife,
you have not been faithful to me.
I, the Lord, have spoken.”
21 A noise is heard on the hilltops:
it is the people of Israel crying and pleading
because they have lived sinful lives
and have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 Return, all of you who have turned away from the Lord;
he will heal you and make you faithful.
You say, “Yes, we are coming to the Lord because he is our God. 23 We were not helped at all by our pagan worship on the hilltops. Help for Israel comes only from the Lord our God. 24 But the worship of Baal, the god of shame, has made us lose flocks and herds, sons and daughters—everything that our ancestors have worked for since ancient times. 25 We should lie down in shame and let our disgrace cover us. We and our ancestors have always sinned against the Lord our God; we have never obeyed his commands.”
إسرائيل الخائنة
1 وخاطَبَني الرّبُّ: «إذا سَرَّحَ الرَّجلُ امرأتَهُ فذَهَبَت مِنْ عِندِهِ وتَزَوَّجَت رَجُلا آخَرَ فهل يَرجِـعُ إليها مِنْ بَعدُ؟ ألا تـتَدَنَّسُ تَدَنُّسا؟ وكذلِكَ تِلكَ الأرضُ. فأنتِ يا أرضَ إِسرائيلَ زنَيتِ معَ عُشَّاقٍ كثيرينَ، ومعَ ذلِكَ يقولُ لكِ الرّبُّ إِرجِعي إليَّ. 2 إِرفَعي عينَيكِ إلى الرَّوابـي وانظُري! هل مِنْ مكانٍ إلاَّ وضاجَعْتِ فيهِ؟ قعَدْتِ لهُم في جوانِبِ الطُّرقاتِ كالأعرابـي في الصَّحراءِ ودَنَّسْتِ الأرضَ بِزناكِ وفُجورِكِ. 3 فامتَنَعَ المَطَرُ حتّى في أوَّلِ الرَّبـيعِ ومعَ ذلِكَ بَقيَت جَبهَتُكِ جَبهَةَ امرأةٍ زانيةٍ ورَفَضْتِ أنْ تَستَحي.
4 «ثُمَّ صَرَخْتِ إليَّ: يا أبـي، أنتَ رفيقُ صِبايَ!: 5 هل تَحتَفِظُ بِــغضَبِكَ على الدَّوامِ؟ هكذا قُلتِ، ولكِنَّكِ أخذتِ تَفعَلينَ الشَّرَّ بِــعنادٍ شديدٍ».
6 وقالَ ليَ الرّبُّ في أيّامِ يوشيَّا المَلِكِ: «هل رأيتَ ما فعَلَتِ السَّائبةُ إِسرائيلُ؟ كيفَ انطَلَقَت إلى كُلِّ جبَلٍ عالٍ، وإلى تَحتِ كُلِّ شجَرةٍ خضراءَ وزَنَت هُناكَ؟ 7 وبَعدَ أنْ صَنَعَتْ هذا كُلَّهُ قُلتُ لها: إِرجعي إليَّ فما رجَعَت. ورَأت هذا أُختُها الخائِنَةُ يَهوذا. 8 أنِّي بِسبَبِ زِنى السَّائِبةِ إِسرائيلَ سَرَّحْتُها وأعطَيتُها كتابَ الطَّلاقِ، فما خافَتِ الخائِنةُ يَهوذا، بل ذَهَبَت وزَنَت هيَ أيضا. 9 واستَسهَلَتِ الزِّنى، فنَجَّسَتِ الأرض وزَنَت فعبَدَتِ الحجَرَ والخشَبَ. 10 وإذا كانَت رَجَعَت إليَّ، فَنِفاقا لا بِكُلِّ قلبِها». هكذا يقولُ الرّبُّ.
11 وقالَ ليَ الرّبُّ: «السَّائِبةُ إِسرائيلُ بَرَّرَت نفسَها أكثَر مِنَ الخائِنةِ يَهوذا. 12 إِذهَبْ ونادِ بِهذِهِ الكَلِماتِ في أرضِ الشِّمالِ وقُلْ: إرجِعي أيَّتُها السَّائِبةُ إِسرائيلُ يقولُ الرّبُّ. فلا يَعبِسُ وجهي غضَبا علَيكِ لأنِّي رحيمٌ ولا أحقِد إلى الأبدِ. 13 إعتَرِفي أنَّكِ أذنَبتِ حينَ عصَيتِ الرّبَّ إلهَكِ وتَفَنَّنْتِ في حُبِّكِ لآلِهَةٍ غريـبةٍ تَحتَ كُلِّ شجَرَةٍ خضراءَ دُونَ أنْ تسمَعي لِصَوتي».
رجوع يهوذا
14 وقالَ الرّبُّ: «إِرجِعوا أيُّها البَنونَ الشَّارِدونَ، فأنا سيِّدُكُم. آخُذُكُم واحدا مِن مدينةٍ واثنَينِ مِن عَشيرةٍ وأجيءُ بِكُم إلى صِهيَونَ. 15 وأُعطيكُم حُكّاما على مُشتَهى قلبـي، فيَحكُمونَكُم بِمَعرِفةٍ وفَهْمٍ. 16 وحينَ تَكثُرونَ وتُثمِرونَ في الأرضِ لا يتَحَدَّثونَ بَعدُ عَن تابوتِ عَهدِ الرّبِّ؟ ولا يَخطُرُ لهُم بِبالٍ ولا يَذكُرونَهُ ولا يَفتَقِدونَهُ ولا صَنَعَهُ أحدٌ ثانيةً. 17 لأنَّ أورُشليمَ في تِلكَ الأيّامِ تُدعى عرشَ الرّبِّ، وتجتَمِعُ إليها كُلُّ الأُمَمِ باسمِ الرّبِّ ولا يَنساقونَ مِنْ بَعدُ وراءَ نِـيَّاتِ قُلوبِهِمِ الشِّرِّيرةِ.
18 وفي تِلكَ الأيّامِ ينضَمُّ بَيتُ يَهوذا إلى بَيتِ إِسرائيلَ ويَجيئُونَ معا مِنْ أرضِ الشِّمالِ إلى الأرضِ الّتي امتَلَكَها آباؤُهُم.
19 ولكِنِّي أقولُ لكِ أحسبُكِ مِنَ البَنينَ وأُعطيكِ تِلكَ الأرضَ الطَّيِّبةَ مُلكا ولا أجمَلَ بَينَ الأمَمِ؟ وظَنَنتِ أنَّكِ تَدعينَني يا أبـي ولا تَرتدِّينَ مِنَ السَّيرِ ورائي. 20 لكِنْ كما تغدُرُ المرأةُ الخائِنةُ بِزَوجِها، كذلِكَ غَدَرْتُم بـي يا بَيتَ إِسرائيلَ».
21 صوتٌ سُمِعَ في الرَّوابـي،
بكاءُ تَضَرُّعٍ مِنْ بَني إِسرائيلَ
لأنَّهُم حادوا عَنْ طريقِهِم.
ونسَوا الرّبَّ إلَهَهُم.
22 فارجِعوا أيُّها البَنونَ الشَّاردونَ،
فيَغفِرَ الرّبُّ لكُم شُرورَكُم.
ها نحنُ نأتي إليكَ،
فأنتَ الرّبُّ إلهُنا.
23 فيكَ حَقًّا خلاصُ إِسرائيلَ
وباطِلٌ ما يجري في الرَّوابـي
مِنْ فُجورٍ تَضِـجُّ مِنهُ الجِبالُ.
24 لكِنْ عارُ عِبادَتِنا لآلِهَةٍ غريـبةٍ أكَلَ تعَبَ أبائِنا مُنذُ فَجرِ أيّامِنا: غنَمَهُم وبقَرَهُم، بَنيهِم وبناتِهِم. 25 والآنَ نَضطَجِـعُ في عارِنا ويُغَطِّينا خجَلُنا، لأنَّنا خَطِئْنا إلى الرّبِّ إلَهِنا ورَفَضْنا أنْ نسمَعَ لِصوتِهِ، نحنُ وآباؤُنا مُنذُ فَجرِ أيّامِنا إلى يومِنا هذا.