Jeremiah 3
3
1“If a man divorces a woman
and she goes and marries someone else,
he will not take her back again,
for that would surely corrupt the land.
But you have prostituted yourself with many lovers,
so why are you trying to come back to me?”
says the Lord.
2“Look at the shrines on every hilltop.
Is there any place you have not been defiled
by your adultery with other gods?
You sit like a prostitute beside the road waiting for a customer.
You sit alone like a nomad in the desert.
You have polluted the land with your prostitution
and your wickedness.
3That’s why even the spring rains have failed.
For you are a brazen prostitute and completely shameless.
4Yet you say to me,
‘Father, you have been my guide since my youth.
5Surely you won’t be angry forever!
Surely you can forget about it!’
So you talk,
but you keep on doing all the evil you can.”
Judah Follows Israel’s Example
6During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what fickle Israel has done? Like a wife who commits adultery, Israel has worshiped other gods on every hill and under every green tree. 7I thought, ‘After she has done all this, she will return to me.’ But she did not return, and her faithless sister Judah saw this. 8She saw#3:8 As in Dead Sea Scrolls, one Greek manuscript, and Syriac version; Masoretic Text reads I saw. that I divorced faithless Israel because of her adultery. But that treacherous sister Judah had no fear, and now she, too, has left me and given herself to prostitution. 9Israel treated it all so lightly—she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been polluted. 10But despite all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
Hope for Wayward Israel
11Then the Lord said to me, “Even faithless Israel is less guilty than treacherous Judah! 12Therefore, go and give this message to Israel.#3:12 Hebrew toward the north. This is what the Lord says:
“O Israel, my faithless people,
come home to me again,
for I am merciful.
I will not be angry with you forever.
13Only acknowledge your guilt.
Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God
and committed adultery against him
by worshiping idols under every green tree.
Confess that you refused to listen to my voice.
I, the Lord, have spoken!
14“Return home, you wayward children,”
says the Lord,
“for I am your master.
I will bring you back to the land of Israel#3:14 Hebrew to Zion.—
one from this town and two from that family—
from wherever you are scattered.
15And I will give you shepherds after my own heart,
who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.
16“And when your land is once more filled with people,” says the Lord, “you will no longer wish for ‘the good old days’ when you possessed the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant. You will not miss those days or even remember them, and there will be no need to rebuild the Ark. 17In that day Jerusalem will be known as ‘The Throne of the Lord.’ All nations will come there to honor the Lord. They will no longer stubbornly follow their own evil desires. 18In those days the people of Judah and Israel will return together from exile in the north. They will return to the land I gave your ancestors as an inheritance forever.
19“I thought to myself,
‘I would love to treat you as my own children!’
I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land—
the finest possession in the world.
I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father,’
and I wanted you never to turn from me.
20But you have been unfaithful to me, you people of Israel!
You have been like a faithless wife who leaves her husband.
I, the Lord, have spoken.”
21Voices are heard high on the windswept mountains,
the weeping and pleading of Israel’s people.
For they have chosen crooked paths
and have forgotten the Lord their God.
22“My wayward children,” says the Lord,
“come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.”
“Yes, we’re coming,” the people reply,
“for you are the Lord our God.
23Our worship of idols on the hills
and our religious orgies on the mountains
are a delusion.
Only in the Lord our God
will Israel ever find salvation.
24From childhood we have watched
as everything our ancestors worked for—
their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters—
was squandered on a delusion.
25Let us now lie down in shame
and cover ourselves with dishonor,
for we and our ancestors have sinned
against the Lord our God.
From our childhood to this day
we have never obeyed him.”
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Jeremiah 3: NLT
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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Jeremiah 3
3
Unfaithful Judah and Unfaithful Israel
1“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to be with another man, will he return to her again? Would not such a land be totally polluted? You are a prostitute with many lovers. Now are you returning to Me?” It is a declaration of Adonai.
2“Lift your eyes to the barren hills and see! Where have you not been violated? By the wayside you sat waiting for them like a nomad in the desert. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and wickedness.
3Therefore showers have been withheld and there has been no spring rain. You have a harlot’s brazen look; you refuse to be ashamed.
4Did you not just now call to Me: ‘Avi! You are a friend of my youth.
5Would He keep a grudge forever? Would He keep it to the end?’ So you said—yet you have done all the evil things you could.”
6Then Adonai said to me in the days of King Josiah: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel did? She went up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there she committed adultery.
7Yet I thought that after she had done all this she would return to Me. But she did not return. Even her unfaithful sister Judah saw it.
8I noted that when backsliding Israel committed adultery I sent her away and gave her a certificate of divorce. Yet, unfaithful Judah, her sister, did not fear. Instead she also went and committed adultery.
9It happened that through her frivolous prostitution, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and with wood.
10Yet after all this her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to Me with her whole heart, but only insincerely,” It is a declaration of Adonai.
11Then Adonai said to me, “Backsliding Israel has proved herself more righteous than unfaithful Judah.
12Go! Proclaim these words toward the north, saying: “Return backsliding Israel,” says Adonai. “I will no longer frown on you, for I am merciful,” says Adonai. “I will not keep a grudge forever.
13Only acknowledge your iniquity. For you sinned against Adonai your God and scattered your favors to foreign gods under every green tree. You have not obeyed My voice.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
Call to Backsliding Children
14“Return, O backsliding children,” declares Adonai. “For I am your Husband. I will choose you—one from a city and two from a clan— and will bring you to Zion.
15I will give you shepherds after My own heart who will feed you knowledge and understanding.
16It will be in those days when you multiply and become fruitful in the land.” It is a declaration of Adonai. “They will no longer talk about the ark of the covenant of Adonai, nor will it come to mind or be remembered. Neither will it be missed or another one made again.
17At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of Adonai and all the nations will gather into it, to Jerusalem, in the Name of Adonai. No longer will they walk according to the stubbornness of their evil heart.
18In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel. They will come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.”
19“Then I Myself said: ‘How gladly would I make you sons and give you a pleasant land— the most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’ I thought you would call Me—Avi!— and would not turn from following Me.
20Yet as a woman betrays her lover, so have you betrayed Me, O house of Israel.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
21A voice is heard on the barren hills —the weeping and supplication of the children of Israel— because they perverted their way and forgot Adonai their God.
22“Return, backsliding children! I will heal your backsliding.” “Yes, we will come to You for You are Adonai Eloheinu.
23Surely help from the hills is a delusion— the commotion of the mountains! Surely in Adonai Eloheinu is the salvation of Israel.
24But the shame has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth— their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
25Let’s lie down with our shame and let our disgrace cover us! For we have sinned against Adonai Eloheinu —both we and our fathers— from our youth even to this day. We have not paid attention to the voice of Adonai Eloheinu.”
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