16. “And this is what will happen: You will increase and prosper in the land. The time will come”—God’s Decree!—“when no one will say any longer, ‘Oh, for the good old days! Remember the Ark of the Covenant?’ It won’t even occur to anyone to say it—‘the good old days.’ The so-called good old days of the Ark are gone for good.
17. “Jerusalem will be the new Ark—‘God’s Throne.’ All the godless nations, no longer stuck in the ruts of their evil ways, will gather there to honor God.
18. “At that time, the House of Judah will join up with the House of Israel. Holding hands, they’ll leave the north country and come to the land I willed to your ancestors.
19-20. “I planned what I’d say if you returned to me:‘Good! I’ll bring you back into the family.I’ll give you choice land,land that the godless nations would die for.’And I imagined that you would say, ‘Dear father!’and would never again go off and leave me.But no luck. Like a false-hearted woman walking out on her husband,you, the whole family of Israel, have proven false to me.”God’s Decree.
21-22. The sound of voices comes drifting out of the hills,the unhappy sound of Israel’s crying,Israel lamenting the wasted years,never once giving her God a thought.“Come back, wandering children!I can heal your wanderlust!”
22-25. “We’re here! We’ve come back to you.You’re our own true God!All that popular religion was a cheap lie,duped crowds buying up the latest in gods.We’re back! Back to our true God,the salvation of Israel.The Fraud picked us clean, swindled usof what our ancestors bequeathed us,Gypped us out of our inheritance—God-blessed flocks and God-given children.We made our bed and now lie in it,all tangled up in the dirty sheets of dishonor.All because we sinned against our God,we and our fathers and mothers.From the time we took our first steps, said our first words,we’ve been rebels, disobeying the voice of our God.”