Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 3
3
1Elohim said, “If a man puts away his wife, and she goes from him and becomes another man’s, does he return to her again? Would not that land be made greatly unclean? But you have committed whoring with many lovers. And would you return to Me?” declares יהוה.
2“Lift up your eyes to the bare heights and see: where have you not lain with men? Besides the ways you have sat for them like an Araḇian in the wilderness. And you made the land unclean with your whorings and your evil.
3“Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain. You have had a whore’s forehead, you refuse to be ashamed.
4“Shall you not from now on cry to Me, ‘My father, You are the guide of my youth?
5Does one bear a grudge forever? Does one keep it to the end?’ See, you have spoken and done the evils that you could.”
6And יהוה said to me in the days of Yoshiyahu the sovereign, “Have you seen what backsliding Yisra’ĕl has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there committed whoring.
7“And after she had done all these, I said ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Yehuḏah saw it.
8“And I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Yisra’ĕl had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Yehuḏah did not fear, but went and committed whoring too.
9“And it came to be, through her frivolous whoring, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and wood.
10“And yet for all this her treacherous sister Yehuḏah has not turned to Me with all her heart, but falsely,” declares יהוה.
11And יהוה said to me, “Backsliding Yisra’ĕl has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Yehuḏah.
12“Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, ‘Return, O backsliding Yisra’ĕl,’ declares יהוה, ‘I shall not look on you in displeasure, for I am lovingly-committed,’ declares יהוה, ‘and I do not bear a grudge forever.
13Only, acknowledge your crookedness, because you have transgressed against יהוה your Elohim, and have scattered your ways to strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares יהוה.
14“Return, O backsliding children,” declares יהוה, “for I shall rule over you, and shall take you, one from a city and two from a clan,#See Isa. 27:12 and shall bring you to Tsiyon.
15“And I shall give you shepherds according to My heart, and they shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
16“And it shall be, when you have increased, and shall be fruitful in the land in those days,” declares יהוה, “that they no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of יהוה.’ Neither would it come to heart, nor would they remember it, nor would they visit it, nor would it be made again.
17“At that time Yerushalayim shall be called the throne of יהוה, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the Name of יהוה, to Yerushalayim, and no longer walk after the stubbornness of their evil heart.
18“In those days the house of Yehuḏah shall go to the house of Yisra’ĕl, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers.
19“But I said, ‘How would I put you among the children and give you a pleasant land, a splendid inheritance of the hosts of nations?’ ”And I said, ‘Call Me, “My Father,” and do not turn away from Me.’
20“But indeed as a wife betrays her husband, so have you betrayed Me, O house of Yisra’ĕl,” declares יהוה.
21A voice was heard on the bare heights, weeping supplications of the children of Yisra’ĕl, because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten יהוה their Elohim.
22“Return, O backsliding children, I shall make your backslidings cease.” “See, we have come to You, for You are יהוה our Elohim.
23“Truly, delusion comes from the high hills, the noisy throng on the mountains. Truly, in יהוה our Elohim is the deliverance of Yisra’ĕl.
24“For shame has devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
25“We shall lie down in our shame, while our reproach covers us. For we have sinned against יהוה our Elohim, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and have not obeyed the voice of יהוה our Elohim.”
Currently Selected:
Yirmeyahu (Jeremiah) 3: TS2009
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Copyright© 1993 – 2015 by the Institute for Scripture Research (ISR). All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 3
3
1“Suppose a man divorces his wife.
What if she then marries another man?
Should her first husband return to her again?
If he does, won’t the land become completely ‘unclean’?
People of Israel, you have lived like a prostitute.
You have loved many other gods.
So do you think you can return to me now?”
announces the Lord.
2“Look up at the bare hilltops.
Is there any place where you have not worshiped other gods?
You have been unfaithful to me like a wife committing adultery.
By the side of the road you sat waiting for lovers.
You sat there like someone who wanders in the desert.
You have made the land impure.
You are like a sinful prostitute.
3So I have held back the showers.
I have kept the spring rains from falling.
But you still have the bold face of a prostitute.
You refuse to blush with shame.
4You have just now called out to me.
You said,
‘My Father, you have been my friend
ever since I was young.
5Will you always be angry with me?
Will your anger continue forever?’
This is how you talk.
But you do all the evil things you can.”
Israel Is Not Faithful to the Lord
6During the time Josiah was king, the Lord spoke to me. He said, “Have you seen what the people of Israel have done? They have not been faithful to me. They have committed adultery with other gods. They worshiped them on every high hill and under every green tree. 7I thought that after they had done all this, they would return to me. But they did not. Their sister nation Judah saw them doing this. And they were not faithful to me either. 8I gave Israel their letter of divorce. I sent them away because they were unfaithful to me so many times. But I saw that their sister nation Judah did not have any respect for me. They were not faithful to me either. They also went out and committed adultery with other gods. 9Israel was not faithful to me, but that did not bother them at all. They made the land ‘unclean.’ They worshiped gods that were made out of stone and wood. 10In spite of all this, their sister nation Judah did not come back to me. They were not faithful to me either. They did not return with all their heart. They only pretended to,” announces the Lord.
11The Lord said to me, “Israel and Judah have not been faithful to me. But Israel was not as bad as Judah was. 12Go. Announce this message to the people in the north. Tell them,
“ ‘Israel, you have not been faithful,’ announces the Lord.
‘Return to me. Then I will do good things for you again.
That’s because I am faithful,’ announces the Lord.
‘I will not be angry with you forever.
13Admit that you are guilty of doing what is wrong.
You have refused to obey me.
I am the Lord your God.
You have committed adultery with other gods.
You worshiped them under every green tree.
And you have not obeyed me,’ ”
announces the Lord.
14“You people have not been faithful,” announces the Lord. “Return to me. I am your husband. I will choose one of you from each town. I will choose two from each territory. And I will bring you to the city of Zion. 15Then I will give you shepherds who are dear to my heart. Their knowledge and understanding will help them lead you. 16In those days there will be many more of you in the land,” announces the Lord. “Then people will not talk about the ark of the covenant of the Lord anymore. It will never enter their minds. They will not remember it. The ark will not be missed. And another one will not be made. 17At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord. All the nations will gather together there. They will go there to honor me. They will no longer do what their stubborn and evil hearts want them to do. 18In those days the people of Judah will join the people of Israel. Together they will come from a land in the north. They will come to the land I gave to your people of long ago. I wanted them to have it as their very own.
19“I myself said,
“ ‘I would gladly treat you like my children.
I would give you a pleasant land.
It is the most beautiful land any nation could have.’
I thought you would call me ‘Father.’
I hoped you would always obey me.
20But you people are like a woman who is not faithful to her husband.
Israel, you have not been faithful to me,”
announces the Lord.
21A cry is heard on the bare hilltops.
The people of Israel are weeping and begging for help.
That’s because their lives are so twisted.
They’ve forgotten the Lord their God.
22“You have not been faithful,”
says the Lord.
“Return to me. I will heal you.
Then you will not turn away from me anymore.”
“Yes,” the people say. “We will come to you.
You are the Lord our God.
23The gods we worship on the hills
and mountains are useless.
You are the Lord our God.
You are the only one who can save us.
24From our earliest years shameful gods have harmed us.
They have eaten up everything our people of long ago worked for.
They have eaten up our flocks and herds.
They’ve destroyed our sons and daughters.
25Let us lie down in our shame.
Let our dishonor cover us.
You are the Lord our God. But we have sinned against you.
We and our people of long ago have sinned.
We haven’t obeyed you
from our earliest years until now.”
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
Holy Bible, New International Reader’s Version®, NIrV®
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®
Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.