God’s Love for Israel
11 “When Israel was a child, I loved him,
and I called my son out of Egypt.
2 But when I called the people of Israel,
they went away from me.
They offered sacrifices to the Baals
and burned incense to the idols.
3 It was I who taught Israel to walk,
and I took them by the arms,
but they did not understand
that I had healed them.
4 I led them with cords of human kindness,
with ropes of love.
I lifted the yoke from their neck
and bent down and fed them.
5 “The Israelites will become captives again, as they were in Egypt,
and Assyria will become their king,
because they refuse to turn back to God.
6 War will sweep through their cities
and will destroy them
and kill them because of their wicked plans.
7 My people have made up their minds
to turn away from me.
The prophets call them to turn to me,
but none of them honors me at all.
8 “Israel, how can I give you up?
How can I give you away, Israel?
I don’t want to make you like Admah
or treat you like Zeboiim.
My heart beats for you,
and my love for you stirs up my pity.
9 I won’t punish you in my anger,
and I won’t destroy Israel again.
I am God and not a human;
I am the Holy One, and I am among you.
I will not come against you in anger.
10 They will go after the Lord,
and he will roar like a lion.
When he roars,
his children will hurry to him from the west.
11 They will come swiftly
like birds from Egypt
and like doves from Assyria.
I will settle them again in their homes,”
says the Lord.
The Lord Is Against Israel
12 Israel has surrounded me with lies;
the people have made evil plans.
And Judah turns against God,
the faithful Holy One.
Footnotes
- 11:8
