21  “And in that day I will answer, declares the Lord,

I will answer the heavens,

and they shall answer the earth,

22  and the earth shall answer the grain, the wine, and the oil,

and they shall answer ^jJezreel,²

23  and I will sow her for myself in the land.

^kAnd ^lI will have mercy on ^mNo Mercy,³

and I will say to ⁿNot My People,^{4 o}‘You are my people’;

and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’”

4  ^oI will ^pheal their apostasy;

I will love them freely,

for my anger has turned from them.

5  I will be like the dew to Israel;

^qhe shall blossom like the lily;

he shall take root like the trees of Lebanon;

6  his shoots shall spread out;

his beauty shall be like the olive,

and his fragrance like Lebanon.

7  They shall return and dwell beneath my^{1 r}shadow;

they shall flourish like the grain;

they shall blossom like the vine;

their fame shall be like the wine of Lebanon.

8  O Ephraim, what have I to do with idols?

It is I who answer and look after you.²

I am like an evergreen cypress;

from me comes your fruit.

9  ^sWhoever is wise, let him understand these things;

whoever is discerning, let him know them;

for the ways of the Lord are right,

and the upright walk in them,

but transgressors stumble in them.