3 “Then the few who remain from these wicked people will want to die rather than live where I will scatter them,” declares the Lord of Armies.
4 “Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:When someone falls, he gets back up.When someone turns away from me, he returns.
5 The people of Jerusalem turned away from me without ever returning.They still cling to deceit.They refuse to return.
6 I have paid attention and listened,but they weren’t honest.They don’t turn away from their wickedness and ask,“What have we done?”They go their own ways like horses charging into battle.
7 Even storks know when it’s time to return.Mourning doves, swallows, and cranes knowwhen it’s time to migrate.But my people don’t knowthat I, the Lord, am urging them to return.
8 “‘How can you say that you are wiseand that you have the Lord’s teachings?The scribes have used their pens to turn these teachings into lies.
9 Wise people are put to shame, confused, and trapped.They have rejected the word of the Lord.They don’t really have any wisdom.