21. “A noise is heard on the hilltops.It is the sound of the people of Israel crying and pleading to their gods.Indeed they have followed sinful ways;they have forgotten to be true to the Lord their God.
22. Come back to me, you wayward people.I want to cure your waywardness.Say, ‘Here we are. We come to youbecause you are the Lord our God.
23. We know our noisy worship of false gods on the hills and mountains did not help us.We know that the Lord our God is the only one who can deliver Israel.
24. From earliest times our worship of that shameful god, Baal, has taken away all that our ancestors worked for.It has taken away our flocks and our herds,and even our sons and daughters.
25. Let us acknowledge our shame.Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve.For we have sinned against the Lord our God,both we and our ancestors.From earliest times to this very daywe have not obeyed the Lord our God.’