Jeremiah 3:19

19 “‘I said,
How I would set you among my sons,
and give you a pleasant land,
a heritage most beautiful of all nations.
And I thought you would acall me, My Father,
and would not turn from following me.

Jeremiah 31:9

9 bWith weeping they shall come,
cand with pleas for mercy I will lead them back,
I will make them dwalk by brooks of water,
ein a straight path in which they shall not stumble,
for fI am a father to Israel,
and Ephraim is gmy firstborn.

Jeremiah 31:18-20

18I have heard hEphraim grieving,
‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
like an untrained calf;
ibring me back that I may be restored,
for you are the Lord my God.
19For after jI had turned away, I relented,
and after I was instructed, kI struck my thigh;
lI was ashamed, and I was confounded,
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
20 mIs Ephraim my dear son?
nIs he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
I do remember him still.
oTherefore my heart
Hebrew bowels
yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,

declares the Lord.

Hosea 14:1-3

A Plea to Return to the Lord

1 qReturn, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for ryou have stumbled because of your iniquity.
2Take with you words
and return to the Lord;
say to him,
Take away all iniquity;
accept swhat is good,
and we will pay with bulls
tthe vows
Septuagint, Syriac  pay the fruit
of our lips.
3 vAssyria shall not save us;
wwe will not ride on horses;
and xwe will say no more, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
yIn you the orphan finds mercy.”
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