Jeremiah 3

Chapter 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.3 That’s why even the spring rains have failed.
For you are a brazen prostitute and completely shameless.4 Yet you say to me,
‘Father, you have been my guide since my youth.5 Surely 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

6 During 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.7 I thought, ‘After she has done all this, she will return to me.’ But she did not return, and her faithless sister Judah saw this.8 She 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.9 Israel 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.

10 But 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

11 Then the LORD said to me, “Even faithless Israel is less guilty than treacherous Judah!

12 Therefore, go and give this message to Israel.t 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.13 Only 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 Israelt—
one from this town and two from that family—
from wherever you are scattered.15 And 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.17 In 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.

18 In those days the people of Judah and Israel will return together from exile in the north. They will return to the land I gave their 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.20 But 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.”21 Voices 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.23 Our 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.24 From childhood we have watched
as everything our ancestors worked for—
their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters—
was squandered on a delusion.25 Let 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.”

JEREMIAH 3

Sin and Shame

1 The [Lord] said to the people of Israel:
If a divorced woman marries,
can her first husband
ever marry her again?
No, because this
would pollute the land.
But you have more gods
than a prostitute has lovers.
Why should I take you back?

2 Just try to find one hilltop
where you haven't gone
to worship other gods
by having sex.t
You sat beside the road
like a robber in ambush,
except you offered yourself
to every passerby.
Your sins of unfaithfulness
have polluted the land.

3 So I, the [Lord], refused
to let the spring rains fall.
But just like a prostitute,
you still have no shame
for what you have done.

4 You call me your father
or your long-lost friend;

5 you beg me to stop being angry,
but you won't stop sinning.

The [Lord] Asks Israel //To Come Back to Him

6  t When Josiaht was king, the [Lord] said:
Jeremiah, the kingdom of Israelt was like an unfaithful wife who became a prostitute on the hilltops and in the shade of large trees.t

7-8 I knew that the kingdom of Israel had been unfaithful and committed many sins, yet I still hoped she might come back to me. But she didn't, so I divorced her and sent her away.
Her sister, the kingdom of Judah, saw what happened, but she wasn't worried in the least, and I watched her become unfaithful like her sister. 9 The kingdom of Judah wasn't sorry for being a prostitute, and she didn't care that she had made both herself and the land unclean by worshiping idols of stone and wood. 10 And worst of all, the people of Judah pretended to come back to me.

11 Even the people of Israel were honest enough not to pretend.

12 Jeremiah, shout toward the north:
Israel, I am your [Lord]—
come back to me!
You were unfaithful
and made me furious,
but I am merciful,
and so I will forgive you.

13 Just admit that you rebelled
and worshiped foreign gods
under large trees everywhere.

14 You are unfaithful children,
but you belong to me.
Come home!
I'll take one or two of you
from each town and clan
and bring you to Zion.

15 Then I'll appoint wise rulers
who will obey me,
and they will care for you
like shepherds.

16 You will increase in numbers,
and there will be no need
to remember the sacred chest
or to make a new one.t

17 The whole city of Jerusalem
will be my throne.t
All nations will come here
to worship me,
and they will no longer follow
their stubborn, evil hearts.

18 Then, in countries to the north,
you people of Judah and Israel
will be reunited,
and you will return to the land
I gave your ancestors.

19 I have always wanted
to treat you as my children
and give you the best land,
the most beautiful on earth.
I wanted you to call me “Father”
and not turn from me.

20 But instead, you are like a wife
who broke her wedding vows.
You have been unfaithful to me.
I, the [Lord], have spoken.

The People Confess //Their Sins

The [Lord] said:

21 Listen to the noise
on the hilltops!
It's the people of Israel,
weeping and begging me
to answer their prayers.
They forgot about me
and chose the wrong path.

22 I will tell them, “Come back,
and I will cure you
of your unfaithfulness.”
They will answer,
“We will come back, because you
are the [Lord] our God.

23 On hilltops, we worshiped idols
and made loud noises,
but it was all for nothing—
only you can save us.

24 Since the days of our ancestors
when our nation was young,
that shameful god Baalt has taken
our crops and livestock,
our sons and daughters.

25 We have rebelled against you
just like our ancestors,
and we are ashamed of our sins.”