1 This message is from the Lord. “Israel, if you want to come back, then come back to me. Throw away your idols. Don’t wander farther away from me.
2 If you do these things, you will be able to use my name to make a promise. You will be able to say, ‘As the Lord lives.’ You will be able to use these words in a truthful, honest, and right way. If you do these things, the nations will be blessed by the Lord. They will brag about what the Lord has done.”
3 This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: “Your fields have not been plowed. Plow those fields! Don’t plant seeds among the thorns.
4 Become the Lord’S people. Change your hearts. Men of Judah and people of Jerusalem, if you don’t change, then I will become very angry. My anger will spread fast like a fire, and it will burn you up. No one will be able to put out that fire because of the evil you have done.”