21 A cry is heard on the barren heights,(A)
    the weeping(B) and pleading of the people of Israel,
because they have perverted their ways
    and have forgotten(C) the Lord their God.

22 “Return,(D) faithless people;
    I will cure(E) you of backsliding.”(F)

“Yes, we will come to you,
    for you are the Lord our God.
23 Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills(G)
    and mountains is a deception;
surely in the Lord our God
    is the salvation(H) of Israel.
24 From our youth shameful(I) gods have consumed
    the fruits of our ancestors’ labor—
their flocks and herds,
    their sons and daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame,(J)
    and let our disgrace cover us.
We have sinned(K) against the Lord our God,
    both we and our ancestors;(L)
from our youth(M) till this day
    we have not obeyed(N) the Lord our God.”

“If you, Israel, will return,(O)
    then return to me,”
declares the Lord.
“If you put your detestable idols(P) out of my sight
    and no longer go astray,
and if in a truthful, just and righteous way
    you swear,(Q) ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’(R)
then the nations will invoke blessings(S) by him
    and in him they will boast.(T)

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