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Chapter 3

[a]If a man divorces his wife,
    and she leaves him
    and marries another man,
does he have the right to return to her?
    Would not that land be completely defiled?
But, says the Lord,
    you have been unfaithful with many lovers,
    and yet you would return to me?
Lift up your eyes to the barren heights
    and recall whether there is any place
    that you have not offered your body to another.
By the waysides you waited for lovers
    like an Arab in the desert.
You defiled the land
    with your harlotry and wickedness.
Therefore, the rain showers were withheld
    and the spring rains have not fallen.
Yet you have the brazen boldness of a prostitute,
    and you refuse to blush with shame.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 3:1 “Return” is the key word in the following oracles, which have to do with both the return from exile and the return to God. Jeremiah is a pitiless censor of his people’s sins, but he will not give up the hope of conversion.