Jer 31:18-20, 50:4-5, Lam 3:39-41, Hos 14:1-3, 8, Jon 3:7-9 | ESV | STEP | I have heard Ephraim grieving , You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined , like an untrained calf ; bring me back that I may be restored , for you are the Lord my God .

18 I have heard ^aEphraim grieving,
‘You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined,
like an untrained calf;
^bbring me back that I may be restored,
for you are the Lord my God.
19 For after ^cI had turned away, I relented,
and after I was instructed, ^dI struck my thigh;
^eI was ashamed, and I was confounded,
because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’
20 ^fIs Ephraim my dear son?
^gIs he my darling child?
For as often as I speak against him,
I do remember him still.
^hTherefore my heart ^{▼▼Hebrew bowels} yearns for him;
I will surely have mercy on him,

declares the Lord.

Jeremiah 50:4-5

4 ^j“In those days and in that time, declares the Lord, ^kthe people of Israel and the people of Judah shall come together, ^lweeping as they come, and they ^mshall seek the Lord their God. 5 ⁿThey shall ask the way to Zion, with faces turned toward it, ^osaying, ‘Come, let us join ourselves to the Lord in an ^peverlasting covenant that will never be forgotten.’

Lamentations 3:39-41

39 ^qWhy should a living man complain,
a man, about the punishment of his sins?
40 Let us test and examine our ways,
^rand return to the Lord!
41 ^sLet us lift up our hearts and hands
to God in heaven:

Hosea 14:1-3

A Plea to Return to the Lord

1 ^tReturn, O Israel, to the Lord your God,
for ^uyou have stumbled because of your iniquity.
2 Take with you words
and return to the Lord;
say to him,
“Take away all iniquity;
accept ^vwhat is good,
and we will pay with bulls
^wthe vows ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac pay the fruit} of our lips.
3 ^yAssyria shall not save us;
^zwe will not ride on horses;
and ^aawe will say no more, ‘Our God,’
to the work of our hands.
^abIn you the orphan finds mercy.”

Hosea 14:8

8 O ^acEphraim, what have I to do with idols?
It is I who answer and look after you. ^{▼▼Hebrew him}
I am like an evergreen cypress;
^aefrom me comes your fruit.

Jonah 3:7-9

7 And he issued a proclamation and published through Nineveh, ^af“By the decree of the king and his nobles: Let neither man nor ^agbeast, herd nor flock, taste anything. Let them not feed or drink water, 8 but let man and ^ahbeast be covered with sackcloth, and let them call out mightily to God. ^aiLet everyone turn from his evil way and from ^ajthe violence that is in his hands. 9 ^akWho knows? God may turn and relent ^aland turn from his fierce anger, so that we may not perish.”