Jeremiah 3:6-14

6When Josiah was king, the Lord asked me, “Did you see what unfaithful Israel did? She went up every high mountain and under every large tree, and she acted like a prostitute there.

7I thought that after she had done all this that she would come back to me. But she didn’t come back, and her treacherous sister Judah saw her.

8Judah saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away because of her adultery and that I gave Israel her divorce papers. But treacherous Judah, her sister, wasn’t afraid. She also acted like a prostitute.

9Because she wasn’t concerned about acting like a prostitute, she polluted the land and committed adultery with standing stones and wood pillars.

10Even after all this, Israel’s treacherous sister Judah didn’t wholeheartedly come back to me. She was deceitful,” declares the Lord.

11Then the Lord said to me, “Unfaithful Israel was less guilty than treacherous Judah.

12Go and proclaim these things to the north: “ ‘Come back, unfaithful Israel. It is the Lord speaking. I will no longer frown on you because I’m merciful,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will no longer be angry with you.

13Admit that you’ve done wrong! You have rebelled against the Lord your God. You have given yourself to strangers under every large tree. You have not obeyed me,’ declares the Lord.

14“Come back, you rebellious people,” declares the Lord. “I’m your husband. I will take you, one from every city and two from every family, and bring you to Zion.