Jeremiah 3
3
1A saying:
If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and marries another man,
her first husband shouldn’t go back to her again.
The land would become thoroughly polluted.
“You have acted like a prostitute who has many lovers.
And now you want to come back to me!” declares the Lord.
2“Look at the bare hills, and see.
You have had sex with men in every place.
You sat by the roadside waiting for them like a nomad in the desert.
You have polluted the land with your prostitution and wickedness.
3So the rain has been withheld, and there have been no spring showers.
Yet, you have the shameless look of a prostitute,
and you refuse to blush.
4But now you are calling to me.
You say, ‘Father! You have been my companion
ever since I was young.
5He won’t hold a grudge forever.
He won’t always be angry.’
You have said and done all the evil things that you could.”
The LORD Offers to Forgive the Ten Tribes of Israel despite Their Idolatry
6When Josiah was king, the Lord asked me, “Did you see what unfaithful Israel did? She went up every high mountain and under every large tree, and she acted like a prostitute there. 7I thought that after she had done all this that she would come back to me. But she didn’t come back, and her treacherous sister Judah saw her. 8Judah saw that I sent unfaithful Israel away because of her adultery and that I gave Israel her divorce papers. But treacherous Judah, her sister, wasn’t afraid. She also acted like a prostitute. 9Because she wasn’t concerned about acting like a prostitute, she polluted the land and committed adultery with standing stones and wood pillars. 10Even after all this, Israel’s treacherous sister Judah didn’t wholeheartedly come back to me. She was deceitful,” declares the Lord.
11Then the Lord said to me, “Unfaithful Israel was less guilty than treacherous Judah. 12Go and proclaim these things to the north:
“ ‘Come back, unfaithful Israel.
It is the Lord speaking.
I will no longer frown on you
because I’m merciful,’ declares the Lord.
‘I will no longer be angry with you.
13Admit that you’ve done wrong!
You have rebelled against the Lord your God.
You have given yourself to strangers under every large tree.
You have not obeyed me,’ declares the Lord.
14“Come back, you rebellious people,” declares the Lord. “I’m your husband. I will take you, one from every city and two from every family, and bring you to Zion. 15I will give you shepherds after my own heart. They will be shepherds who feed you with knowledge and insight. 16In those days you will be fertile, and your population will increase in the land,” declares the Lord. “People will no longer talk about the ark of the Lord’s promise. It will no longer come to mind. They won’t remember it, miss it, or make another one. 17At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord. All nations will gather in Jerusalem because the name of the Lord will be found there. They will no longer follow their own stubborn, evil ways. 18In those days the nation of Judah will live with the nation of Israel. They will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave their ancestors as their own property.
19“I wanted to treat you like children
and give you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful property among the nations.
I thought that you would call me Father and wouldn’t turn away from me.
20But like a wife who betrays her husband,
so you, nation of Israel, betrayed me,” declares the Lord.
21The sound of crying is heard on the hills.
It is the crying and the pleading of the people of Israel.
They have become crooked
and have forgotten the Lord their God.
22“Come back, you rebellious people,
and I will forgive you for being unfaithful.”
Here we are!
We have come to you because you are the Lord our God.
23Truly, the noise from the hills, from the mountains,
is the noise of false worship.
Truly, the Lord our God will rescue us.
24Ever since we were young,
the shameful worship ⌞of Baal⌟
has taken everything our ancestors worked for,
their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters.
25We must lie down in our shame
and be covered by our disgrace.
Ever since we were young, we and our ancestors have sinned
against the Lord our God.
We haven’t obeyed the Lord our God.
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
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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