Then he looks at men and says, 'I have sinned, and perverted [what was] right, And it did not profit me.'

He will redeem his soul from going down to the Pit, And his life shall see the light.

For He looked down from the height of His sanctuary; From heaven the LORD viewed the earth,

To hear the groaning of the prisoner, To release those appointed to death,

For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name [is] Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy [place,] With him [who] has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.

For the iniquity of his covetousness I was angry and struck him; I hid and was angry, And he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.

I will return again to My place Till they acknowledge their offense. Then they will seek My face; In their affliction they will earnestly seek Me."

Come, and let us return to the LORD; For He has torn, but He will heal us; He has stricken, but He will bind us up.

After two days He will revive us; On the third day He will raise us up, That we may live in His sight.

"And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

For there shall be a day [When] the watchmen will cry on Mount Ephraim, 'Arise, and let us go up [to] Zion, To the LORD our God.' "

They shall come with weeping, And with supplications I will lead them. I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters, In a straight way in which they shall not stumble; For I am a Father to Israel, And Ephraim [is] My firstborn.

A voice was heard on the desolate heights, Weeping [and] supplications of the children of Israel. For they have perverted their way; They have forgotten the LORD their God.

"Return, you backsliding children, [And] I will heal your backslidings." "Indeed we do come to You, For You are the LORD our God.

" In those days and in that time," says the LORD, "The children of Israel shall come, They and the children of Judah together; With continual weeping they shall come, And seek the LORD their God.

They shall ask the way to Zion, With their faces toward it, [saying,] 'Come and let us join ourselves to the LORD [In] a perpetual covenant [That] will not be forgotten.'

" How can I give you up, Ephraim? [How] can I hand you over, Israel? How can I make you like Admah? [How] can I set you like Zeboiim? My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred.

I will not execute the fierceness of My anger; I will not again destroy Ephraim. For I [am] God, and not man, The Holy One in your midst; And I will not come with terror.

" I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely, For My anger has turned away from him.

His branches shall spread; His beauty shall be like an olive tree, And his fragrance like Lebanon.

" Ephraim [shall say,] 'What have I to do anymore with idols?' I have heard and observed him. I [am] like a green cypress tree; Your fruit is found in Me."

"In vain I have chastened your children; They received no correction. Your sword has devoured your prophets Like a destroying lion.

O LORD, [are] not Your eyes on the truth? You have stricken them, But they have not grieved; You have consumed them, But they have refused to receive correction. They have made their faces harder than rock; They have refused to return.

" Behold, happy [is] the man whom God corrects; Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.

Deliver me from all my transgressions; Do not make me the reproach of the foolish.

I was mute, I did not open my mouth, Because it was You who did [it.]

Blessed [is] the man whom You instruct, O LORD, And teach out of Your law,

I know, O LORD, that Your judgments [are] right, And [that] in faithfulness You have afflicted me.

My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction;

Why should you be stricken again? You will revolt more and more. The whole head is sick, And the whole heart faints.

For the people do not turn to Him who strikes them, Nor do they seek the LORD of hosts.

For the iniquity of his covetousness I was angry and struck him; I hid and was angry, And he went on backsliding in the way of his heart.

Therefore I [will be] to Ephraim like a moth, And to the house of Judah like rottenness.

"When Ephraim saw his sickness, And Judah [saw] his wound, Then Ephraim went to Assyria And sent to King Jareb; Yet he cannot cure you, Nor heal you of your wound.

She has not obeyed [His] voice, She has not received correction; She has not trusted in the LORD, She has not drawn near to her God.

And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.

Do not be like the horse [or] like the mule, [Which] have no understanding, Which must be harnessed with bit and bridle, Else they will not come near you.

A whip for the horse, A bridle for the donkey, And a rod for the fool's back.

He who is often rebuked, [and] hardens [his] neck, Will suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

Your sons have fainted, They lie at the head of all the streets, Like an antelope in a net; They are full of the fury of the LORD, The rebuke of your God.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth.

[It is] good for a man to bear The yoke in his youth.

Let him put his mouth in the dust -- There may yet be hope.

Ephraim [is] a trained heifer That loves to thresh [grain;] But I harnessed her fair neck, I will make Ephraim pull [a plow.] Judah shall plow; Jacob shall break his clods."

Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; Save me, and I shall be saved, For You [are] my praise.

Restore us, O God; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!

Restore us, O God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!

Restore us, O LORD God of hosts; Cause Your face to shine, And we shall be saved!

Restore us, O God of our salvation, And cause Your anger toward us to cease.

Turn us back to You, O LORD, and we will be restored; Renew our days as of old,

And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse."

"He will also go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 'to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children,' and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord."

"To you first, God, having raised up His Servant Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one [of you] from your iniquities."

for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for [His] good pleasure.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.

"Return, you backsliding children, [And] I will heal your backslidings." "Indeed we do come to You, For You are the LORD our God.

We lie down in our shame, And our reproach covers us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, We and our fathers, From our youth even to this day, And have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God."

Doubtless You [are] our Father, Though Abraham was ignorant of us, And Israel does not acknowledge us. You, O LORD, [are] our Father; Our Redeemer from Everlasting [is] Your name.