Jeremiah 3

1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, will he return unto her again? will not that land be greatly polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith Jehovah.2 Lift up thine eyes unto the bare heights, and see; where hast thou not been lain with? By the ways hast thou sat for them, as an Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.3 Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; yet thou hast a harlot’s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.4 Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My Father, thou art the guide of my youth?5 Will he retain his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and hast done evil things, and hast had thy way.6 Moreover Jehovah said unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.7 And I said after she had done all these things, She will return unto me; but she returned not: and her treacherous sister Judah saw it.8 And I saw, when, for this very cause that backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorcement, yet treacherous Judah her sister feared not; but she also went and played the harlot.9 And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that the land was polluted, and she committed adultery with stones and with stocks.10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not returned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith Jehovah.11 And Jehovah said unto me, Backsliding Israel hath showed herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.12 Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith Jehovah; I will not look in anger upon you; for I am merciful, saith Jehovah, I will not keep anger for ever.13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against Jehovah thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith Jehovah.14 Return, O backsliding children, saith Jehovah; for I am a husband unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:15 and I will give you shepherds according to my heart, who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.16 And it shall come to pass, when ye are multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith Jehovah, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of Jehovah; neither shall it come to mind; neither shall they remember it; neither shall they miss it; neither shall it be made any more.17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart.18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers.19 But I said, How I will put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations! and I said, Ye shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away from following me.20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah.21 A voice is heard upon the bare heights, the weeping and the supplications of the children of Israel; because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten Jehovah their God.22 Return, ye backsliding children, I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we are come unto thee; for thou art Jehovah our God.23 Truly in vain is the help that is looked for from the hills, the tumult on the mountains: truly in Jehovah our God is the salvation of Israel.24 But the shameful thing hath devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.25 Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us; for we have sinned against Jehovah our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day; and we have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God.

Jeremiah 3

1 “If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,
he may not take her back again.ts
Doing that would utterly defile the land.t
But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods.t
So what makes you think you can return to me?”t
says the Lord.

2 “Look up at the hilltops and consider this.t
You have had sex with other gods on every one of them.t
You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the desert.t
You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods.t

3 That is why the rains have been withheld,
and the spring rains have not come.
Yet in spite of this you are obstinate as a prostitute.t
You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done.

4 Even now you say to me, ‘You are my father!t
You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young.

5 You will not always be angry with me, will you?
You will not be mad at me forever, will you?’t
That is what you say,
but you continually do all the evil that you can.”t
6 When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done.t You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods.t7 Yet even after she had done all that, I thought that she might come back to me.ts But she did not. Her sister, unfaithful Judah, saw what she did.t8 She also saws that I gave wayward Israel her divorce papers and sent her away because of her adulterous worship of other gods.t Even after her unfaithful sister Judah had seen this,t she still was not afraid, and she too went and gave herself like a prostitute to other gods.t9 Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the lands through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone.t10 In spite of all this,t Israel’s sister, unfaithful Judah, has not turned back to me with any sincerity; she has only pretended to do so,”t says the Lord.

11 Then the Lord said to me, “Under the circumstances, wayward Israel could even be considered less guilty than unfaithful Judah.ts

The Lord Calls on Israel and Judah to Repent

12 “Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north.t Tell them,
‘Come back to me, wayward Israel,’ says the Lord.
‘I will not continue to look on you with displeasure.t
For I am merciful,’ says the Lord.
‘I will not be angry with you forever.

13 However, you must confess that you have done wrong,t
and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God.
You must confesst that you have given yourself tost foreign gods under every green tree,
and have not obeyed my commands,’ says the Lord.
14 “Come back to me, my wayward sons,” says the Lord, “for I am your true master.ts If you do,t I will take one of you from each town and two of you from each family group, and I will bring you back to Zion.15 I will give you leaderst who will be faithful to me.t They will lead you with knowledge and insight.16 In those days, your population will greatly increaset in the land. At that time,” says the Lord, “people will no longer talk about having the arkt that contains the Lord’s covenant with us.t They will not call it to mind, remember it, or miss it. No, that will not be done any more!t17 At that time the city of Jerusalems will be called the Lord’s throne. All nations will gather there in Jerusalem to honor the Lord’s name.t They will no longer follow the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts.t

18 At that timet the nation of Judah and the nation of Israel will be reunited.t Together they will come back from a land in the north to the land that I gave to your ancestors as a permanent possession. ”t

19 “I thought to myself,t
‘Oh what a joy it would be for me to treat you like a son!ts
What a joy it would be for me to givet you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful piece of property there is in all the world!’t
I thought you would call me, ‘Father’t
and would never cease being loyal to me.t

20 But, you have been unfaithful to me, nation of Israel,t
like an unfaithful wife who has left her husband,”t
says the Lord.

21 “A noise is heard on the hilltops.
It is the sound of the people of Israel crying and pleading to their gods.
Indeed they have followed sinful ways;t
they have forgotten to be true to the Lord their God.t

22 Come back to me, you wayward people.
I want to cure your waywardness.t
Say,t ‘Here we are. We come to you
because you are the Lord our God.

23 We know our noisy worship of false gods
on the hills and mountains did not help us.t
We know that the Lord our God
is the only one who can deliver Israel.t

24 From earliest times our worship of that shameful god, Baal,
has taken awayt all that our ancestorst worked for.
It has taken away our flocks and our herds,
and even our sons and daughters.

25 Let us acknowledget our shame.
Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve.t
For we have sinned against the Lord our God,
both we and our ancestors.
From earliest times to this very day
we have not obeyed the Lord our God.’