That I may take the house of Israel in their own heart,.... By which they are ensnared, and drawn aside to their ruin; being given up to strong delusions, to believe a lie, and worship idols; God threatening to answer them by righteous judgments, and thereby take the wickedness, the hypocrisy, and idolatry, that were in their hearts, and expose and make it manifest unto others; or, by punishing them, to draw out the corruption and sin that were in them, that it might be seen what a wicked people they were.
The Targum interprets the text in another way,"that I may bring near the house of Israel, and put repentance into their hearts;''because they are all estranged from me through their idols; they grew shy of God and his worship, when they fell into idolatry.