God asks to express divine grief and bewilderment at the irrationality of persistent rebellion. By framing covenant unfaithfulness as a question rather than mere accusation, He highlights the unnatural, incomprehensible quality of choosing deceit over restoration.

Israel does not verbally respond to this divine lament. Instead, the text records their ongoing behavior: they hold fast to deceit and refuse to return to God despite His repeated calls through the prophets.

God’s question expresses profound sorrow over Judah’s inexplicable rebellion. Why would a people who experienced covenant love choose perpetual backsliding? The Hebrew meshubah speaks of apostasy, a deliberate turning away from the path of faithfulness. The rhetorical question highlights the irrationality of their choice rather than simply accusing them. By asking rather than declaring, God invites reflection on the absurdity of preferring deceit to divine relationship. They hold fast to tarmith, fraudulent religious practices and self-deception, refusing to return despite prophetic warnings. This question carries theological weight because it reveals God’s emotional investment in His people’s repentance. The perpetual nature of their backsliding, emphasized by netsach, suggests a trajectory toward inevitable judgment, yet the question itself implies that return remains possible even as the window narrows.