Hosea 11:2-4

The Voice

²    But the more I called to Israel,
        the more they walked away from Me.^[a]
    They kept on sacrificing to other divine masters^[b]
        and burning incense to idols!

³    But I was the one who taught Ephraim to walk, holding him up by his arms,
        but his people didn’t know I was the One who took care of them.
⁴    I led them along with leather cords;
        with ropes of love I showed them the way.
    As I dealt with them, I lifted the yoke from their neck;
        I bent down to give them their food.