11 When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son. 2 The more I[a] called them, the more they went from me;[b] they kept sacrificing to the Baals and offering incense to idols.
3 Yet it was I who taught Ephraim to walk; I took them up in my[c] arms, but they did not know that I healed them. 4 I led them with cords of human kindness, with bands of love. I was to them like those who lift infants to their cheeks.[d] I bent down to them and fed them.
