A Call to Repentance (Jeremiah 3:11–25; Zechariah 1:1–6)
1 UST You people of Israel, begin again to worship and obey Yahweh your God. You must do this because terrible things are happening to you because you have been sinning. BSB BSB: Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity.
2 UST Decide what you will say, and determine that you will obey Yahweh. Say to him,“Please forgive us for all of the wrong things that we have done, and accept what we will do now to please you, and please accept what we say{ as we promise to obey you} instead of sacrifices of animals. BSB BSB: Bring your confessions and return to the LORD. Say to Him: “Take away all our iniquity and receive us graciously, that we may present the fruit of our lips.
3 UST { We know that} Assyria will not save us and it will not benefit us to ride on{ war} horses. We will never again say,‘You are our gods’ to{ the idols} that we have made. You, Yahweh, are the one who acts mercifully toward orphans.” BSB BSB: Assyria will not save us, nor will we ride on horses. We will never again say, ‘Our gods!’ to the work of our own hands. For in You the fatherless find compassion.”
A Promise of God’s Blessing 4 UST { Yahweh says,}“{ When they say that to me,} I will forgive them for turning away from me; I will love them generously, because I will no longer be angry with them. BSB BSB: I will heal their apostasy; I will freely love them, for My anger has turned away from them.
5 UST I will refresh the people of Israel just as dew{ refreshes the ground}. They will prosper and become beautiful and they will become{ as strong and stable} as the trees of Lebanon. BSB BSB: I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like the lily and take root like the cedars of Lebanon.
6 UST They will become widely influential; they will be as majestic as an olive tree, and they will be{ as delightful} as the aroma of{ the cedar trees in} Lebanon.” BSB BSB: His shoots will sprout, and his splendor will be like the olive tree, his fragrance like the cedars of Lebanon.
7 UST The people of Israel will come back and live under Yahweh’ s protection. They will grow abundant grain again; they will become as productive as a vineyard. People will speak well of Yahweh, like they speak well of the{ fine} wine from Lebanon. BSB BSB: They will return and dwell in his shade; they will grow grain and blossom like the vine. His renown will be like the wine of Lebanon.
8 UST { Yahweh says,}“People of Ephraim, I want nothing more to do with idols! I am the one who responds to you and watches over you. I am the source of everything good in your life, like a tree that always stays green and always produces fruit.” BSB BSB: O Ephraim, what have I to do anymore with idols? It is I who answer and watch over him. I am like a flourishing cypress; your fruit comes from Me.
9 UST Anyone who is truly wise should understand these things{ that I have written}. Anyone who has good sense must be sure that he knows them. Because what Yahweh tells us to do is right, and people who do what is right will obey him, but people who rebel against him will ruin themselves by not doing what he tells us to do. BSB BSB: Whoever is wise, let him understand these things; whoever is discerning, let him know them. For the ways of the LORD are right, and the righteous walk in them but the rebellious stumble in them.