19. “I, the Lord, said,‘How happy I would be to treat you as my own childrenand give you a pleasant land,a land more beautiful than that of any other nation.’I thought you would call me ‘My Father’and not turn away from me.
20. But like a woman who is unfaithful to her husband,family of Israel, you have been unfaithful to me,” says the Lord.
21. You can hear crying on the bare hilltops.It is the people of Israel crying and praying for mercy.They have become very eviland have forgotten the Lord their God.