21 because the sovereignty was divided and a rebel kingdom arose out of Ephraim. 22 But the Lord will never give up his mercy, or cause any of his works to perish; he will never blot out the descendants of his chosen one, or destroy the family line of him who loved him. So he gave a remnant to Jacob, and to David a root from his own family. 23 Solomon rested with his ancestors, and left behind him one of his sons, broad in folly and lacking in sense, Rehoboam, whose policy drove the people to revolt. Then Jeroboam son of Nebat led Israel into sin and started Ephraim on its sinful ways. 24 Their sins increased more and more, until they were exiled from their land. 25 For they sought out every kind of wickedness, until vengeance came upon them.

Let us, then, cover our falls by our subsequent acts; let us purify ourselves by tears, that the Lord our God may hear us when we lament, as He heard Ephraim when weeping, as it is written: I have surely heard Ephraim weeping. And He expressly repeats the very words of Ephraim: You have chastised me and I was chastised, like a calf I was not trained. For a calf disports itself, and leaves its stall, and so Ephraim was untrained like a calf far away from the stall; because he had forsaken the stall of the Lord, followed Jeroboam, and worshipped the calves, which future event was prophetically indicated through Aaron, Exodus xxxi namely, that the people of the Jews would fall after this manner. And so repenting, Ephraim says: Turn me, and I shall be turned, for You are the Lord my God. Surely in the end of my captivity I repented, and after I learned I mourned over the days of confusion, and subjected myself to You because I received reproach and made You known.