“Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord.”
The condition for return: 'Only acknowledge your guilt—you have rebelled against the LORD your God, you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree, and have not obeyed me, declares the LORD.' This verse specifies what return requires: honest acknowledgment of guilt, confession of rebellion, and recognition of the sin of idolatry. The phrase 'scattered your favors' invokes the language of sexual infidelity: Israel has distributed her loyalty and devotion to multiple false gods, betraying the exclusiveness demanded by covenant. The reminder 'have not obeyed me' grounds the guilt not in emotion or unconscious failure but in willful disobedience—the refusal to follow God's commandments. Theologically, this verse establishes that repentance begins with confession: the people cannot return without acknowledging their evil, recognizing the specific nature of their violation, and submitting to the authority of God's law.
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