Jeremiah 3
3
1 A saying:#Literally “to say” ‘Look, if a man divorces his wife,
and she goes from him and she becomes another man’s wife,#Literally “and she becomes to a man another”
will he return to her again?’
Will not that land be greatly defiled?
And you have prostituted yourself with many lovers,
would you now return to me?” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
2“Lift up your eyes at the barren heights,
and see where you have not been ravished.
Beside the roads you sat for them like an Arab in the desert,#Or “wilderness”
and you have defiled the land
with your fornication
and with your wickedness.
3Therefore rain showers have been withheld,
and the spring rain has not come.
Yet you have#Literally “it is for you” the forehead of a woman prostitute,
you refuse to be ashamed.
4Have you not just now called to me,
‘My father, you are the close friend of my youth?
5Will he be angry forever?#Literally “to eternity”
Will he maintain it always’?#Literally “to duration”
Look, you have spoken,
but you have done all the evil that you could.”#Literally “you have done the evil and you were able”
Yahweh Gives Israel a Letter of Divorce
6Then Yahweh said to me in the days of Josiah, the king, “Have you seen what apostate#Or “unfaithful” Israel has done? She has gone on every high hill and under every leafy tree and she has prostituted herself there. 7And I thought, ‘After her doing all these things to me she will return,’ but she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation 8And I saw that for this very reason, that#Literally “because of all” on account of apostate#Or “unfaithful” Israel committing adultery I divorced her and gave the letter of divorce to her. Yet her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid and she went and prostituted herself also. 9And it was because of the frivolity of her fornication that she defiled the land and committed adultery with the stone and with the tree. 10Yet even in all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only#Literally “but if” in pretense,”#Or “deception” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
A Call for Repentance
11Then Yahweh said to me, “Apostate#Or “unfaithful” Israel has proved herself more upright#Or “righteous” than treacherous Judah. 12Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say,
‘Return, apostate#Or “unfaithful” Israel,’ declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
‘I will not cause my anger#Literally “faces” to fall on you.
For I am loyal,’ declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
‘I will not be angry forever.#Literally “to eternity”
13Only acknowledge your guilt,
that against Yahweh your God you have rebelled,
and have scattered your ways to the strangers under every leafy tree,
and you have not obeyed my voice,’ declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.”
14“Return, apostate#Or “unfaithful” children,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh. “For I am your master,#Literally “I rule over among you” and I will take you one from a city and two from a clan,#Or “family” and I will bring you to Zion. 15Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart and they will feed you knowledge and insight. 16And it will be when you have multiplied and become fruitful in the land in those days,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh, “they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of Yahweh.’ And it will not come to mind,#Literally “it shall not go up on heart” nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it,#Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation nor will it be made again. 17At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of Yahweh,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh, to Jerusalem, and they will no longer go after the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18In those days the house of Judah will walk along with the house of Israel and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave as an inheritance to your ancestors.#Or “fathers”
19Then I thought, ‘How I would set you among the children,
and I would give you a land of desire,
an inheritance of the glory of the hosts of nations.’
And I thought, ‘You would call me, “My father,”
and you would not turn back from behind#Or “following” me.’
20However, as a wife departs treacherously from her lover,
so you have dealt treacherously with me,
O house of Israel,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
21“A voice is heard on the barren heights,
the weeping of the pleas for mercy of the children of Israel,
because they have perverted their way,
they have forgotten Yahweh their God.
22Return, O apostate#Or “unfaithful” children,
I will heal your backsliding.
‘Look, we come to you,
for you are Yahweh our God.
23Surely, an illusion comes from the hills,
the turmoil on the mountains.
Surely, in Yahweh our God
is the salvation of Israel.
24But the shameful thing has devoured
the labor of our ancestors#Or “fathers” from our youth,
their flocks, and their cattle,
their sons and their daughters.
25Let us lie down in our shame,
and let our disgrace cover us.
For against Yahweh our God we have sinned,
we and our ancestors,#Or “fathers”
from our youth and until this day.
and we have not obeyed the voice of Yahweh our God.’
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Jeremiah 3: LEB
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Jeremiah 3
3
Judah Is Unfaithful
1“If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and marries another man,
should her first husband come back to her again?
If he went back to her, wouldn’t the land become completely unclean?
But you have acted like a prostitute with many lovers,
and now you want to come back to me?” says the Lord.
2“Look up to the bare hilltops, Judah.
Is there any place where you have not been a prostitute?
You have sat by the road waiting for lovers,
like an Arab in the desert.
You made the land unclean,
because you did evil and were like a prostitute.
3So the rain has not come,
and there have not been any spring rains.
But your face still looks like the face of a prostitute.
You refuse even to be ashamed of what you did.
4Now you are calling to me,
‘My father, you have been my friend since I was young.
5Will you always be angry at me?
Will your anger last forever?’
Judah, you said this,
but you did as much evil as you could!”
Judah and Israel Are like Sisters
6When King Josiah was ruling Judah, the Lord said to me, “Did you see what unfaithful Israel did? She was like a prostitute with her idols on every hill and under every green tree. 7I said to myself, ‘Israel will come back to me after she does this evil,’ but she didn’t come back. And Israel’s wicked sister Judah saw what she did. 8Judah saw that I divorced unfaithful Israel because of her adultery, but that didn’t make Israel’s wicked sister Judah afraid. She also went out and acted like a prostitute! 9And she didn’t care that she was acting like a prostitute. So she made her country unclean and was guilty of adultery, because she worshiped idols made of stone and wood. 10Israel’s wicked sister didn’t even come back to me with her whole heart, but only pretended,” says the Lord.
11The Lord said to me, “Unfaithful Israel had a better excuse than wicked Judah. 12Go and speak this message toward the north:
‘Come back, unfaithful people of Israel,’ says the Lord.
‘I will stop being angry at you,
because I am full of mercy,’ says the Lord.
‘I will not be angry with you forever.
13All you have to do is admit your sin—
that you turned against the Lord your God
and worshiped gods under every green tree
and didn’t obey me,’ ” says the Lord.
14“Come back to me, you unfaithful children,” says the Lord, “because I am your master. I will take one person from every city and two from every family group, and I will bring you to Jerusalem. 15Then I will give you new rulers who will be faithful to me, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. 16In those days there will be many of you in the land,” says the Lord. “At that time people will no longer say, ‘I remember the Ark of the Agreement.’ They won’t think about it anymore or remember it or miss it or make another one. 17At that time people will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord, and all nations will come together in Jerusalem to show respect to the Lord. They will not follow their stubborn, evil hearts anymore. 18In those days the family of Judah will join the family of Israel. They will come together from a land in the north to the land I gave their ancestors.
19“I, the Lord, said,
‘How happy I would be to treat you as my own children
and give you a pleasant land,
a land more beautiful than that of any other nation.’
I thought you would call me ‘My Father’
and not turn away from me.
20But like a woman who is unfaithful to her husband,
family of Israel, you have been unfaithful to me,” says the Lord.
21You can hear crying on the bare hilltops.
It is the people of Israel crying and praying for mercy.
They have become very evil
and have forgotten the Lord their God.
22“Come back to me, you unfaithful children,
and I will forgive you for being unfaithful.”
“Yes, we will come to you,
because you are the Lord our God.
23It was foolish to worship idols on the hills
and on the mountains.
Surely the salvation of Israel
comes from the Lord our God.
24Since our youth, shameful gods have eaten up in sacrifice
everything our ancestors worked for—
their flocks and herds,
their sons and daughters.
25Let us lie down in our shame,
and let our disgrace cover us like a blanket.
We have sinned against the Lord our God,
both we and our ancestors.
From our youth until now,
we have not obeyed the Lord our God.”
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.