⁴² Jie ginkluoti lankais ir ietimis, žiaurūs bei negailestingi. Jie atūžia kaip jūra, joja ant žirgų, pasirengę kovai prieš tave, Babilono dukra!

¹ Kas ateina raudonais drabužiais iš Edomo miesto Bocros, apsirengęs šlovingais rūbais eina savo jėgos pilnatvėje? “Aš, kuris skelbiu teisumą ir turiu galią išgelbėti”.

² Kodėl tavo apsiaustas raudonas ir tavo drabužiai tarsi minančių vyno spaustuvą?

³ “Aš vienas myniau spaustuvą, nė vieno iš žmonių nebuvo su manimi. Aš mindžiojau juos įtūžęs ir trypiau savo rūstybėje. Jų kraujas aptaškė mano drabužius ir sutepė juos.

⁴ Keršto diena buvo mano širdyje, ir išgelbėjimo metas atėjo.

⁵ Aš apsidairiau­ir nebuvo, kas padėtų, Aš stebėjausi, kad niekas nepalaikė. Todėl mano paties ranka atnešė man išgelbėjimą ir mano įtūžis palaikė mane.

⁶ Aš įnirtęs mindžiojau tautas, daviau joms paragauti savo rūstybės ir nubloškiau žemėn jų galybę”.

⁷ Atsimenu Viešpaties mums parodytą malonę ir Jo šlovę, ir visa, ką Jis mums suteikė; Viešpats labai gailestingas Izraelio namams. Jis visa tai darė iš savo malonės, pasigailėdamas mūsų.

⁸ Viešpats tarė: “Jie yra mano tauta, mano vaikai, kurie nemeluos”. Jis buvo jiems gelbėtoju.

⁹ Jis patyrė visą jų vargą ir angelas, esantis Jo akivaizdoje, jiems padėjo. Iš meilės ir pasigailėjimo jiems Jis atpirko juos, pakėlė juos ir nešė per visas praeities dienas.

¹⁰ Jie maištavo ir vargino Jo šventą Dvasią, todėl Jis apsigręžė ir tapo jų priešu, Jis kovojo prieš juos.

¹¹ Jie atsiminė senas praeities dienas, Jo tarno Mozės laikus, kai Jis vedė savo tautą. Kur yra Tas, kas išvedė iš jūros savo bandą kartu su jų ganytoju? Kur yra Tas, kas davė jam savo šventą Dvasią?

¹² Kas savo galinga dešine vedė Mozę, perskyrė vandenį pirma jų ir įsigijo amžiną vardą?

¹³ Kas vedė juos per gelmes lyg žirgą dykumoje, kad jie nesukluptų?

¹⁴ Kaip kaimenė eina į slėnį, taip Viešpaties Dvasia davė jiems poilsį. Taip Tu vedei savo tautą ir įsigijai šlovingą vardą.

¹⁵ Pažvelk iš dangaus, iš savo šventos ir šlovingos buveinės. Kur Tavo uolumas ir galia? Kur Tavo širdies ilgesys ir gailestingumas? Ar jie paliovė?

¹⁶ Tik Tu esi mūsų tėvas. Abraomas nepažįsta mūsų, Izraelis nieko nežino apie mus. Tu, Viešpatie, esi mūsų tėvas, mūsų atpirkėjas. Tavo vardas yra amžinas.

¹⁷ Viešpatie, kodėl leidai mums nuklysti nuo Tavo kelių, sukietinai mūsų širdį, kad Tavęs nebijotume? Sugrįžk dėl savo tarnų, savo paveldėtų giminių.

¹⁸ Tavo šventa tauta tik trumpai čia gyveno; mūsų priešai mindžiojo Tavo šventyklą.

¹⁹ Mes esame tokie, lyg niekad nebūtume Tau priklausę ir Tavo vardu nesivadinę.

¹ "They say, 'If a man puts away his wife, and she goes from him, and become another man's, will he return to her again?' Wouldn't that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the prostitute with many lovers; yet return again to me," says Yahweh.

² "Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see! Where have you not been lain with? You have sat for them by the ways, as an Arabian in the wilderness. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and with your wickedness.

³ Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain; yet you have a prostitute's forehead, you refused to be ashamed.

⁴ Will you not from this time cry to me, 'My Father, you are the guide of my youth?'

⁵ "'Will he retain [his anger] forever? Will he keep it to the end?' Behold, you have spoken and have done evil things, and have had your way."

⁶ Moreover, Yahweh said to me in the days of Josiah the king, "Have you seen that which backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there has played the prostitute.

⁷ I said after she had done all these things, 'She will return to me;' but she didn't return; and her treacherous sister Judah saw it.

⁸ I saw, when, for this very cause that backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorce, yet treacherous Judah, her sister, didn't fear; but she also went and played the prostitute.

⁹ It happened through the lightness of her prostitution, that the land was polluted, and she committed adultery with stones and with stocks.

¹⁰ Yet for all this her treacherous sister, Judah, has not returned to me with her whole heart, but only in pretense," says Yahweh.

¹¹ Yahweh said to me, "Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.

¹² Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, 'Return, you backsliding Israel,' says Yahweh; 'I will not look in anger on you; for I am merciful,' says Yahweh. 'I will not keep [anger] forever.

¹³ Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against Yahweh your God, and have scattered your ways to the strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed my voice,' says Yahweh."

¹⁴ "Return, backsliding children," says Yahweh; "for I am a husband to you. I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

¹⁵ I will give you shepherds according to my heart, who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

¹⁶ It shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land, in those days," says Yahweh, "they shall say no more, 'The ark of the covenant of Yahweh!' neither shall it come to mind; neither shall they remember it; neither shall they miss it; neither shall it be made any more.

¹⁷ At that time they shall call Jerusalem 'The throne of Yahweh;' and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh, to Jerusalem. Neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart.

¹⁸ In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance to your fathers.

¹⁹ "But I said, 'How I would put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the armies of the nations!' and I said, 'You shall call me "My Father," and shall not turn away from following me.'

²⁰ "Surely as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so you have dealt treacherously with me, house of Israel," says Yahweh.

²¹ A voice is heard on the bare heights, the weeping [and] the petitions of the children of Israel; because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten Yahweh their God.

²² Return, you backsliding children, I will heal your backsliding. "Behold, we have come to you; for you are Yahweh our God.

²³ Truly in vain is [the help that is looked for] from the hills, the tumult on the mountains. Truly the salvation of Israel is in Yahweh our God.

²⁴ But the shameful thing has devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

²⁵ Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us; for we have sinned against Yahweh our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day. We have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh our God."