לֵאמֹר הֵן יְשַׁלַּח אִישׁ אֶת־אִשְׁתּוֹ וְהָלְכָה מֵאִתּוֹ וְהָיְתָה לְאִישׁ־אַחֵר – הֲיָשׁוּב אֵלֶיהָ עוֹד! הֲלוֹא חָנוֹף תֶּחֱנַף הָאָרֶץ הַהִיא וְאַתְּ זָנִית רֵעִים רַבִּים וְשׁוֹב אֵלַי נְאֻם־ה'

It is to say, all will be saying, based on a Torah law: Behold, if a man sent his wife away in divorce, and she departed from him, and she was then married to another man, may he, the first husband, return to her again? If he does so, will that land not be polluted? But you, the people of Israel, acted licentiously with many lovers, and yet you can return to Me – the utterance of the Lord. It is not too late to repent.

שְׂאִי־עֵינַיִךְ עַל־שְׁפָיִם וּרְאִי אֵיפֹה לֹא שֻׁכַּבְתְּ עַל־דְּרָכִים יָשַׁבְתְּ לָהֶם כַּעֲרָבִי בַּמִּדְבָּר וַתַּחֲנִיפִי אֶרֶץ בִּזְנוּתַיִךְ וּבְרָעָתֵךְ

Lift your eyes to the bare hills and see: Where have you not been lain with? This earthy and tangible metaphor embodies the sin of idol worship. By the paths you sat and waited for them, your lovers, like an Arab who sits and waits in the wilderness for convoys of merchants, and you tarnished the land with your licentiousness and with your evildoing.

וַיִּמָּנְעוּ רְבִבִים וּמַלְקוֹשׁ לוֹא הָיָה ומֵצַח אִשָּׁה זוֹנָה הָיָה לָךְ מֵאַנְתְּ הִכָּלֵם

Therefore, the raindrops were withheld, and there was no late rain. The drought should have moved you to repent, but you ignored it, as you had the brazenness of a harlot, and therefore you refused to be humiliated. You are not embarrassed by your actions at all.

הֲלוֹא מֵעַתָּה קָרָאת לִי אָבִי אַלּוּף נְעֻרַי אָתָּה

Not only that, but truly, from this time of the drought, you called to Me, saying: My Father, You are the Master of my youth. Even after betraying Me with your lovers, you continue to call out to Me with names of affection. Alternatively, if only you had called to me in the wake of the drought and repented.

הֲיִנְטֹר ה' לְעוֹלָם אִם־יִשְׁמֹר לָנֶצַח! הִנֵּה דִבַּרְתְּ וַתַּעֲשִׂי הָרָעוֹת וַתּוּכָל

You sin because you know that when you will later repent, you will surely be forgiven. You reason: Will He bear a grudge forever? Will He keep it, His resentment, for eternity? Behold, you spoke this way, and you performed the evils and prevailed.

וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֵלַי בִּימֵי יֹאשִׁיָּהוּ הַמֶּלֶךְ הֲרָאִיתָ אֲשֶׁר עָשְׂתָה מְשֻׁבָה יִשְׂרָאֵל ! הֹלְכָה הִיא עַל־כָּל־־־־־הַר גָּבֹהַּ וְאֶל־תַּחַת כָּל־עֵץ רַעֲנָן וַתִּזְנִי שָׁם

The Lord said to me in the days of King Yoshiyahu: Have you seen that which the deviant Kingdom of Israel did? She went to every high mountain and under every flourishing tree and engaged in licentiousness there. This refers primarily to religious licentiousness, that is, idol worship.

וָאֹמַר אַחֲרֵי עֲשֹׂתָהּ אֶת־כָּל־אֵלֶּה אֵלַי תָּשׁוּב וְלֹא־שָׁבָה וַתֵּרֶא בָּגוֹדָה אֲחוֹתָהּ יְהוּדָה

I said, hoping: After she performed all these, she will return to me; but she did not return. There were certainly individuals who repented after the destruction, but the kingdom as a whole did not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw her behavior. If the Kingdom of Israel is deemed deviant due to her reckless behavior, Judah, who learned nothing from the consequences of her sister’s actions, is described more harshly, as treacherous.

וָאֵרֶא כִּי עַל־כָּל־אֹדוֹת אֲשֶׁר נִאֲפָה מְשֻׁבָה יִשְׂרָאֵל שִׁלַּחְתִּיהָ וָאֶתֵּן אֶת־סֵפֶר כְּרִיתֻתֶיהָ אֵלֶיהָ וְלֹא יָרְאָה בֹּגֵדָה יְהוּדָה אֲחוֹתָהּ וַתֵּלֶךְ וַתִּזֶן גַּם־הִיא

I perceived that because of all the adultery that deviant Israel had committed, I sent her away from her home, the Land of Israel, and gave her bill of divorce to her; but nevertheless, when treacherous Judah, her sister, saw the destruction of the Kingdom of Israel, she did not fear, and she too went and engaged in licentiousness.

וְהָיָה מִקֹּל זְנוּתָהּ וַתֶּחֱנַף אֶת־הָאָרֶץ וַתִּנְאַף אֶת הָאֶבֶן וְאֶת הָעֵץ

It was from the casualness of her licentiousness that the land was polluted and made impure, and she committed adultery with idols made of stone and with wood. In many places in the Bible, idols are scornfully referred to by the names of the materials from which they are made.

וְגַם־בְּכָל־זֹאת לֹא־שָׁבָה אֵלַי בָּגוֹדָה אֲחוֹתָהּ יְהוּדָה בְּכָל־לִבָּהּ כִּי אִם־בְּשֶׁקֶר נְאֻם־ה'

Despite all this, her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me wholeheartedly but only insincerely – the utterance of the Lord. Even if Judah seems to be repenting, her repentance is not genuine.

וַיֹּאמֶר ה' אֵלַי צִדְּקָה נַפְשָׁהּ מְשֻׁבָה יִשְׂרָאֵל מִבֹּגֵדָה יְהוּדָה

The Lord said to me: Deviant Israel justified herself more than treacherous Judah. In the Kingdom of Israel, sins were committed publicly and brazenly, but the Kingdom of Judah added hypocrisy.

הָלֹךְ וְקָרָאתָ אֶת־הַדְּבָרִים הָאֵלֶּה צָפוֹנָה וְאָמַרְתָּ שׁוּבָה מְשֻׁבָה יִשְׂרָאֵל נְאֻם־ה' לוֹא־אַפִּיל פָּנַי בָּכֶם כִּי־חָסִיד אֲנִי נְאֻם־ה' לֹא אֶטּוֹר לְעוֹלָם

Go and proclaim these matters to the north, the former Kingdom of Israel, and say: Return, deviant Israel – the utterance of the Lord; I will not bring down my wrath upon you, as I am virtuous and forgiving even toward the undeserving – the utterance of the Lord; I will not bear a grudge forever. Return to Me, and I will forgive you.

אַךְ דְּעִי עֲוֹנֵךְ כִּי בַּה' אֱלֹהַיִךְ פָּשָׁעַתְּ וַתְּפַזְּרִי אֶת־דְּרָכַיִךְ לַזָּרִים תַּחַת כָּל־עֵץ רַעֲנָן וּבְקוֹלִי לֹא־שְׁמַעְתֶּם נְאֻם־ה'

However, acknowledge your iniquity, for you transgressed, rebelled, against the Lord your God, and you wantonly spread your ways to the strangers under every flourishing tree like a promiscuous woman, and you did not heed My voice – the utterance of the Lord.

שׁוּבוּ בָנִים שׁוֹבָבִים נְאֻם־ה' כִּי אָנֹכִי בָּעַלְתִּי בָכֶם וְלָקַחְתִּי אֶתְכֶם אֶחָד מֵעִיר וּשְׁנַיִם מִמִּשְׁפָּחָה וְהֵבֵאתִי אֶתְכֶם צִיּוֹן

Return, deviant [shovavim] children – the utterance of the Lord. The word shovav as used in the Bible means disobedient and deviant, as opposed to the meaning of the word in modern Hebrew, which is mischievous and playful. For I have espoused you, and I will take you one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

וְנָתַתִּי לָכֶם רֹעִים כְּלִבִּי וְרָעוּ אֶתְכֶם דֵּעָה וְהַשְׂכֵּיל

I will give you shepherds, fit leaders, after My heart, and they will herd you with knowledge and understanding.

וְהָיָה כִּי תִרְבּוּ וּפְרִיתֶם בָּאָרֶץ בַּיָּמִים הָהֵמָּה נְאֻם־ה' לֹא־יֹאמְרוּ עוֹד אֲרוֹן בְּרִית־ה' וְלֹא יַעֲלֶה עַל־לֵב וְלֹא יִזְכְּרוּ־בוֹ וְלֹא יִפְקֹדוּ וְלֹא יֵעָשֶׂה עוֹד

It shall be when you, Israel, multiply and are fruitful in the land, in those days – the utterance of the Lord – that they will not say anymore: The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord as a solution for all problems and as a free guarantee of safety. And it will not come to mind, and they will not mention it, and they will not remember it, and it will not be done anymore as it is done now in Judah. True repentance demands upright behavior and faith in God, not clinging to sacred objects.

בָּעֵת הַהִיא יִקְרְאוּ לִירוּשָׁלִַם כִּסֵּא ה' וְנִקְווּ אֵלֶיהָ כָל־הַגּוֹיִם לְשֵׁם ה' לִירוּשָׁלִָם וְלֹא־יֵלְכוּ עוֹד אַחֲרֵי שְׁרִרוּת לִבָּם הָרָע

At that time, they will call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord, and all the nations will be gathered to it in the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem; and they will not follow the desire, or, alternatively, the force, of their evil heart anymore.

בַּיָּמִים הָהֵמָּה יֵלְכוּ בֵית־יְהוּדָה עַל בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל וְיָבֹאוּ יַחְדָּו מֵאֶרֶץ צָפוֹן עַל הָאָרֶץ אֲשֶׁר הִנְחַלְתִּי אֶת־אֲבוֹתֵיכֶם

In those days, the house of Judah will walk together with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers. Israel, who was exiled to the north, will return to the land.

וְאָנֹכִי אָמַרְתִּי אֵיךְ אֲשִׁיתֵךְ בַּבָּנִים וְאֶתֶּן־לָךְ אֶרֶץ חֶמְדָּה נַחֲלַת צְבִי צִבְאוֹת גּוֹיִם וָאֹמַר אָבִי תִּקְרְאִי־לִי וּמֵאַחֲרַי לֹא תָשׁוּבִי

I said: How shall I place you among the sons, the nations? I designated a particular land for you and decided to give you a desired land, a magnificent [tzevi] inheritance of the hosts of nations. Tzevi means glorious or desired. And I said: My Father is the name you shall lovingly call Me, and from following Me you shall not turn back again.

אָכֵן בָּגְדָה אִשָּׁה מֵרֵעָהּ כֵּן בְּגַדְתֶּם בִּי בֵּית יִשְׂרָאֵל נְאֻם־ה'

Indeed, as a woman has betrayed and left her lover, her husband, so you have betrayed Me, house of Israel – the utterance of the Lord. Israel’s abandonment of the worship of God is as grave an offense as the betrayal of one’s loving spouse and the resulting dissolution of one’s family.

קוֹל עַל־שְׁפָיִים נִשְׁמָע בְּכִי תַחֲנוּנֵי בְּנֵי יִשְׂרָאֵל כִּי הֶעֱווּ אֶת־דַּרְכָּם שָׁכְחוּ אֶת־ה' אֱלֹהֵיהֶם

A voice on the bare hills is heard; it is the weeping of the supplications of the children of Israel, for they distorted their way, and they forgot the Lord their God.

שׁוּבוּ בָּנִים שׁוֹבָבִים אֶרְפָּה מְשׁוּבֹתֵיכֶם

God responds to Israel’s weeping: Return, deviant children; I will heal your deviances. Alternatively, I will let go of, or overlook, your deviances. The children of Israel will respond: Here we are; we have come to You, for You are the Lord our God.

הִנְנוּ אָתָנוּ לָךְ כִּי אַתָּה ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ אָכֵן לַשֶּׁקֶר מִגְּבָעוֹת הָמוֹן הָרִים אָכֵן בַּה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ תְּשׁוּעַת יִשְׂרָאֵל

Indeed, it is to falsehood that we directed our hopes, seeking salvation from the hills, from the thronging multitude worshipping idols on the mountains, but we realize now that they are false. Indeed, in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel. From now on, we shall follow Him alone.

וְהַבֹּשֶׁת אָכְלָה אֶת יְגִיעַ אֲבוֹתֵינוּ מִנְּעוּרֵינוּ אֶת־צֹאנָם וְאֶת־בְּקָרָם אֶת־בְּנֵיהֶם וְאֶת־בְּנוֹתֵיהֶם

But the shame, the idol worship, has consumed the fruit of the toil of our fathers from our youth: their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. Idol worship is also referred to as shame in 11:13 and in Hosea 9:10.

נִשְׁכְּבָה בְּבָשְׁתֵּנוּ וּתְכַסֵּנוּ כְּלִמָּתֵנוּ כִּי לַה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ חָטָאנוּ אֲנַחְנוּ וַאֲבוֹתֵינוּ מִנְּעוּרֵינוּ וְעַד־הַיּוֹם הַזֶּה וְלֹא שָׁמַעְנוּ בְּקוֹל ה' אֱלֹהֵינוּ

When we examine our past and review our lives until now, we will lie in our shame, and our humiliation will cover us from all sides, as we have sinned to the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth until this day, and we did not heed the voice of the Lord our God.