18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of

Egypt,

To drink the waters of Sihor?

Or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, To drink the waters of the river [Euphrates]? 19 Thine adversity shall chasten thee, and bring thee to a sense of thy backslidings;

Know also and perceive, that it is a thing evil and
bitter,

That thou hast forsaken JEHOVAH thy God,
And that the fear of me is not with thee,

Saith the Lord JEHOVAH of hosts.

20 Surely of a long time thou hast broken thy yoke, Thou hast burst thy bands, and hast said, I will

not be in subjection:

For upon every high hill,

And under every green tree,

Will I prostitute myself, playing the harlot. 21 And though I had planted thee a vine of Sorek, Altogether a seed of genuine quality;

22

Yet how do I find thee changed!
Depart, O vine of spurious growth.
For though thou wash thee with nitre,
And take unto thee much sope,

Thine iniquity is marked with a blot before me,
Saith the Lord JEHOVAH.

23 How canst thou say, I am not polluted,

After Baalim have I not gone?

Behold thy ways in the valley;

Acknowledge what thou hast done.

24 A fleet dromedary, that hath taken to company with her

A wild ass accustomed to the wilderness,

In the desire of her soul snuffeth up the wind

;

In her occasion who can turn her aside?
None will weary themselves in seeking her;
When her heat is over, they will find her.
25 Keep back thy foot from being unshod,
And thy throat from thirst.

But thou hast said, It is past remedy. No;
For I have loved strangers,

26 As a thief is ashamed when he is taken :

So have the house of Israel been put to shame,
They, their kings, and their princes,

And their priests, and their prophets :

27 Who say to a piece of wood, Thou art my father; And to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth; Surely they have turned unto me the back, and not the face;

But in the time of their trouble they will say,
Arise, and save us.

28 But where are thy gods, whom thou hast made for thyself?

Let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble:

For according to the number of thy cities

Have been thy gods, O Judah.

29 To what end will ye enter into controversy with me? All of you have rebelled against me, saith JEHOVAH,

30 In vain have I smitten your children;

They have not received instruction.

Your own sword hath devoured your prophets,
Like a destroying lion.

31 O

ye

of this generation, behold ye the cause of JEHOVAH :

Have I been a wilderness unto Israel?
Or a land of darkness?

32

Wherefore hath my people said, We are our own

masters;

We will not come any more unto thee?

Can a virgin forget her ornaments? a bride her attire?

Yet my people have forgotten me days without number.

33 Why wilt thou direct thy way to the seeking of love?

Therefore also have I taught calamities thy ways. 34 Also in thy skirts is found blood,

The lives of poor innocents;

I have not found it in a digged hole,

But upon every oak.

35 Yet hast thou said, Because I am innocent,
Surely his wrath shall turn from me.

Behold I will enter into judgment with thee,
Because thou sayest, I have not sinned.

36 Why wilt thou make thyself exceedingly vile,
In repeating over again thy ways?

By means of Egypt also shalt thou be put to shame, Even as thou hast been put to shame by Assyria. 37 Yea from hence too shalt thou go forth,

1

With thy hands upon thy head:

Because JEHOVAH hath reprobated the objects of thy trust,

And thou shalt not prosper in them.

CHAP. III.

Whilst thou sayest, If a man put away his wife, And she depart from him, and become another

man's;

Shall he return unto her again?

Shall not that land be defiled?

Even thou hast played the harlot with many

lovers

Yet return unto me, saith JEHOVAH.

2 Lift up thine eyes upon the open plains, and see; Where hast thou not been defiled in the highways? Thou hast sat waiting in them like an Arabian in the desert;

And hast polluted the land by thy whoredoms and by thy wickedness.

3 And although the showers have been withholden, And there hath been no latter rain; Yet thou hast had a harlot's forehead,

Thou hast resolved not to be ashamed.

4 Wilt thou not from henceforward call upon me, (Saying) My father, the guide of my youth wert thou?

5 Shall displeasure be kept in view for ever?

6

Or shall there be a marking of offences for evermore ?

Behold, thou hast spoken, and done,

Thou hast wrought wickedness, and hast prevailed.

JEHOVAH also said unto me in the days of king Josiah; Hast thou seen what revolted Israel hath done? She hath gone upon every high mountain, and to the foot of every green tree, and hath 7 played the harlot there. And I said after she had

done all these things, Return thou unto me. But she returned not. And her faithless sister Judah 8 saw it. And I saw, when because of all the a

dulteries, which revolted Israel had committed, I had put her away, and had given her a bill of divorce, that her faithless sister Judah was not afraid, but went and played the harlot also herself.

9 And it came to pass, through the wantonness of her prostitution, that she polluted the land, and com10 mitted adultery with stone and with wood. And also after all this, her faithless sister Judah returned not to me with her whole heart, but feignedly, said JEHOVAH. Therefore said JEHOVAH unto me, Revolted Israel hath justified herself more 12 than faithless Judah. Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say,

11

RETURN, O revolted Israel, saith JEHOVAH ; I will not look down upon you with a lowring brow;

For I am merciful, saith JEHOVAH,

I will not keep displeasure in view for ever. 18 Only acknowledge thine iniquity,

That thou hast rebelled against JEHOVAH thy
God;

And hast been liberal of thy ways to strangers,
Under every green tree;

And ye have not hearkened unto my voice, saith
JEHOVAH.

14 Return, O revolted children, saith JEHOVAH,
For I have been a husband among you:

15

And I will take you one out of a city, and two out of a tribe,

And I will bring you to Sion.

And I will give you rulers after mine own heart,
And they shall rule you with knowledge and dis-

cretion.

16 And it shall be when ye shall have multiplied and increased in the land,

In those days, saith JEHOVAH,

.E