Jeremiah 3

1 A saying:If a man divorces his wifeand 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.3 So 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.4 But now you are calling to me.You say, ‘Father! You have been my companionever since I was young.5 He 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

6 When 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.7 I 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.8 Judah 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.9 Because she wasn’t concerned about acting like a prostitute, she polluted the land and committed adultery with standing stones and wood pillars.

10 Even after all this, Israel’s treacherous sister Judah didn’t wholeheartedly come back to me. She was deceitful,” declares the Lord.
11 Then the Lord said to me, “Unfaithful Israel was less guilty than treacherous Judah.

12 Go and proclaim these things to the north:
“ ‘Come back, unfaithful Israel.It is the Lord speaking.I will no longer frown on youbecause I’m merciful,’ declares the Lord.‘I will no longer be angry with you.13 Admit 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.15 I will give you shepherds after my own heart. They will be shepherds who feed you with knowledge and insight.16 In 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.17 At 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.

18 In 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 childrenand 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.20 But like a wife who betrays her husband,so you, nation of Israel, betrayed me,” declares the Lord.21 The sound of crying is heard on the hills.It is the crying and the pleading of the people of Israel.They have become crookedand 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.23 Truly, the noise from the hills, from the mountains,is the noise of false worship.Truly, the Lord our God will rescue us.24 Ever since we were young,the shameful worship of Baalhas taken everything our ancestors worked for,their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters.25 We must lie down in our shameand be covered by our disgrace.Ever since we were young, we and our ancestors have sinnedagainst the Lord our God.We haven’t obeyed the Lord 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.’