God disinherits the Jews
1There’s coming a day when you’ll call your brothers Ammi, “My People,” and your sisters Ruhamah, “Beloved.” [1]2Confront your mother. Tell her off.
She’s not my wife anymore.
I’m not her husband.
Tell her to stop hooking up with other men
And to stop wearing their necklaces [2]
Dangling between her breasts.
3If she doesn’t straighten up
I’ll strip naked as the day she was born.
Then I’ll desert her, and she’ll have nothing.
She’ll become as desolate as the badlands.
And I’ll let her die of thirst.
4Then I’ll disinherit her children.
Who knows who their fathers are, anyhow.
5Their mother was a hooker.
Shameless, she got pregnant by other men.
She said, “I’m sticking with my lovers.
Why not? Look what they give me:
Food, water,
Wool, linen,
Olive oil, and wine.”
6I’ll box her in with thorn bushes,
And block her path with barriers.
She won’t find her way
Through my obstacle course.
7She’ll chase her lovers.
But she won’t catch up.
She’ll look for them.
But she won’t find them.
Lost, she’ll finally say to herself,
“I’ll go back to my husband.
He’s better than nothing.”
8She never realized I’m the one who gave her:
Grain, wine, olive oil,
And the gold and silver she donated to Baal. [3]
9So, I’ll take it all back: [4]
Grain from the spring harvest,
Wine from the summer harvest,
And the wool and flax linen
I gave to cover her naked body.
10I’ll strip her and show everyone what she’s ashamed of.
And I’ll do it right in front of her lovers.
No one will lift a finger to save her.
Day the Sabbath dies
11I’ll put an end to her religious holidays.No more seasonal festivals,
New moon celebrations,
Saturday Sabbath worship.
Jewish festivals are history.
12I’ll destroy her vineyards and fig orchards.
She thought her lovers gave them to her
As payment for services she provided.
I’ll make those crops worthless as a briar patch.
Wild animals will eat the fruit.
13I’ll punish her
For honoring Baal holidays,
incense she burned,
rings and jewelry she wore,
And lovers she hooked up with.
Then I’ll punish her
For turning her back on me, the LORD.
God reconciles with the Jews
14Afterward, I’ll speak gently to her.I’ll lead her home, through the desert,
Speaking tenderly along the way.
15I’ll give her back her vineyards
And Trouble Valley [5] as a sign of hope.
She’ll respond like she did in the early days
When she came up out of Egypt on the Exodus.
16When that time comes,
You’ll call me “my husband”
And you won’t call me “Baal.” [6]
17I’ll erase “Baal” from the vocabulary.
You’ll never speak the word again.
18When that day comes, I’ll secure your safety.
I’ll make a peace treaty with
Wild animals, birds, and crawling critters.
I’ll ban war and weapons of war:
Battlefield bows and swords.
You’ll finally be able to live in peace.
19You’ll become my forever wife.
I’ll treat you with goodness and justice.
I’ll show you mercy and persistent love.
20I’ll remain faithful to you
And you’ll remain devoted to me.
21The LORD says:
When that time comes,
I’ll answer when I’m called.
I’ll answer the sky when it wants rainclouds,
Then it can answer the earth when it wants rain.
22The earth will answer grain, grapes, and olives
When they want nourishment.
And everyone will say, “God planted it.” [7]
23I’ll bring you back home
And plant you there.
I’ll show mercy to Lo-Ruhamah, “Not Loved.”
I’ll tell Lo-Ammi, “Not Mine,” that he’s mine,
And he will say, “You are my God.”
