For my people are determined to desert me. They call me the Most High, but they don’t truly honor me.

我的民偏要背道离开我；众先知虽然招呼他们归向至上的主，却无人尊崇主。

我的百姓偏要背离我，他们虽向至高者呼求，他却不抬举他们。

我的百姓偏要背离我，他们虽向至高者呼求，他却不抬举他们。

我的子民执意离我而去，他们虽然求告至高的我，我也不会拯救他们。

我的子民决要背道离开我，他们因着所负的轭而呼求，却没有人给他们卸下。

我的民偏要背道離開我；眾先知雖然招呼他們歸向至上的主，卻無人尊崇主。

我的百姓偏要背離我，他們雖向至高者呼求，他卻不抬舉他們。

我的百姓偏要背離我，他們雖向至高者呼求，他卻不抬舉他們。

我的子民執意離我而去，他們雖然求告至高的我，我也不會拯救他們。

我的子民決要背道離開我，他們因著所負的軛而呼求，卻沒有人給他們卸下。

我的人民偏要背道離開我；故此他們被派去負軛，沒有人能給除去。

我民決志違離我、雖有召之向上、興者迄無一人、

我民心偏、專背我旨、先知呼民、歸我至上之主、崇我者迄無一人、

我民當歸誠於我、乃游移不定、我民當歸誠於我乃游移不定或作我民專心背叛我先知勸之歸至上之主、無一人奮興、

My people are determined to turn from me. Even though they call me God Most High, I will by no means exalt them.

My people have made up their minds to turn away from me. Even if they call me the Most High God, I will certainly not honor them.”

My people are bent on turning away from me, and though they call out to the Most High, he shall not raise them up at all.

My people are bent on turning from me. Though they call to him on high, he will not exalt them at all.

So My people are determined to turn from Me. Though they call them to the One on high, None at all exalts Him.

My people are bent on backsliding from Me. Though they call to the Most High, None at all exalt Him.

And my people are bent on backsliding from me: though they call them to him that is on high, none at all will exalt him.

My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call to Him on high, He will not exalt them at all.

And my people are bent to backsliding from me: though they called them to the most High, none at all would exalt[ him].

My people are obsessed with turning away from me; they call to Baal, but he will never exalt them!

My people are determined to turn from me. Though they call to the Most High, he certainly won’t exalt them.

Then why do these people stay on their self destructive path? Why do the people of Jerusalem refuse to turn back? They cling tightly to their lies and will not turn around.

They turned back and were as faithless as their parents. They were as undependable as a crooked bow.They angered God by building shrines to other gods; they made him jealous with their idols.

Backsliders get what they deserve; good people receive their reward.

But the more I called to him, the farther he moved from me, offering sacrifices to the images of Baal and burning incense to idols.

“ But no, my people wouldn’t listen. Israel did not want me around.

The Lord says,“ Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; my love will know no bounds, for my anger will be gone forever.

Now this is what the Lord says to the family of Israel:“ Come back to me and live!Don’t worship at the pagan altars at Bethel; don’t go to the shrines at Gilgal or Beersheba. For the people of Gilgal will be dragged off into exile, and the people of Bethel will be reduced to nothing.”Come back to the Lord and live! Otherwise, he will roar through Israel like a fire, devouring you completely. Your gods in Bethel won’t be able to quench the flames.

They look everywhere except to the Most High. They are as useless as a crooked bow. Their leaders will be killed by their enemies because of their insolence toward me. Then the people of Egypt will laugh at them.

Do what is good and run from evil so that you may live! Then the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will be your helper, just as you have claimed.Hate evil and love what is good; turn your courts into true halls of justice. Perhaps even yet the Lord God of Heaven’s Armies will have mercy on the remnant of his people.

During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me,“ Have you seen what fickle Israel has done? Like a wife who commits adultery, Israel has worshiped other gods on every hill and under every green tree.I thought,‘ After she has done all this, she will return to me.’ But she did not return, and her faithless sister Judah saw this.She saw that I divorced faithless Israel because of her adultery. But that treacherous sister Judah had no fear, and now she, too, has left me and given herself to prostitution.

The people say,“ Our wickedness has caught up with us, Lord, but help us for the sake of your own reputation. We have turned away from you and sinned against you again and again.

Then the Lord said to me,“ Even faithless Israel is less guilty than treacherous Judah!

King Hezekiah now sent word to all Israel and Judah, and he wrote letters of invitation to the people of Ephraim and Manasseh. He asked everyone to come to the Temple of the Lord at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the Lord, the God of Israel.The king, his officials, and all the community of Jerusalem decided to celebrate Passover a month later than usual.They were unable to celebrate it at the prescribed time because not enough priests could be purified by then, and the people had not yet assembled at Jerusalem.This plan for keeping the Passover seemed right to the king and all the people.So they sent a proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beersheba in the south to Dan in the north, inviting everyone to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the Lord, the God of Israel. The people had not been celebrating it in great numbers as required in the Law.At the king’s command, runners were sent throughout Israel and Judah. They carried letters that said:“ O people of Israel, return to the Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that he will return to the few of us who have survived the conquest of the Assyrian kings.Do not be like your ancestors and relatives who abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and became an object of derision, as you yourselves can see.Do not be stubborn, as they were, but submit yourselves to the Lord. Come to his Temple, which he has set apart as holy forever. Worship the Lord your God so that his fierce anger will turn away from you.“ For if you return to the Lord, your relatives and your children will be treated mercifully by their captors, and they will be able to return to this land. For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful. If you return to him, he will not continue to turn his face from you.”The runners went from town to town throughout Ephraim and Manasseh and as far as the territory of Zebulun. But most of the people just laughed at the runners and made fun of them.However, some people from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem.

Israel is stubborn, like a stubborn heifer. So should the Lord feed her like a lamb in a lush pasture?