18. In those days the family of Judah will join the family of Israel. They will come together from a land in the north to the land I gave their ancestors.
19. “I, the Lord, said,‘How happy I would be to treat you as my own childrenand give you a pleasant land,a land more beautiful than that of any other nation.’I thought you would call me ‘My Father’and not turn away from me.
20. But like a woman who is unfaithful to her husband,family of Israel, you have been unfaithful to me,” says the Lord.
21. You can hear crying on the bare hilltops.It is the people of Israel crying and praying for mercy.They have become very eviland have forgotten the Lord their God.
22. “Come back to me, you unfaithful children,and I will forgive you for being unfaithful.”“Yes, we will come to you,because you are the Lord our God.