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Jeremiah 3:1-3
New English Translation
Jeremiah 3:1-3
New English Translation
3 “If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,
he may not take her back again.[a]
Doing that would utterly defile the land.[b]
But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods.[c]
So what makes you think you can return to me?”[d]
says the Lord.
2 “Look up at the hilltops and consider this.[e]
Where have you not been ravished?[f]
You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the wilderness.[g]
You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods.[h]
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.[i]
You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 3:1 tn Heb “May he go back to her again?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.sn For the legal background for the illustration that is used here, see Deut 24:1-4.
- Jeremiah 3:1 tn Heb “Would the land not be utterly defiled?” The stative is here rendered actively to connect better with the preceding. The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
- Jeremiah 3:1 tn Heb “But you have played the prostitute with many lovers.”
- Jeremiah 3:1 tn Heb “Returning to me.” The form is the bare infinitive, which the KJV and ASV have interpreted as an imperative: “Yet, return to me!” However, it is more likely that a question is intended, expressing surprise in the light of the law alluded to and the facts cited. For the use of the infinitive absolute in the place of a finite verb, cf. GKC 346 §113.ee. For the introduction of a question without a question marker, cf. GKC 473 §150.a.
- Jeremiah 3:2 tn Heb “and see.”
- Jeremiah 3:2 sn The rhetorical question expects the answer “nowhere,” which asserts the widespread nature of the nation’s idolatry. The prophets often compare Judah’s religious infidelity, idolatry, to adultery or prostitution. Jeremiah goes a step further in exposing their folly by portraying their willing acts of idolatry as being sexually violated.
- Jeremiah 3:2 tn Heb “You sat for them [the lovers, i.e., the foreign gods] beside the road like an Arab in the desert.”
- Jeremiah 3:2 tn Heb “by your prostitution and your wickedness.” This is probably an example of hendiadys where, when two nouns are joined by “and,” one expresses the main idea and the other qualifies it.
- Jeremiah 3:3 tn Heb “you have the forehead of a prostitute.”
Jeremiah 3:1-3
New International Version
Jeremiah 3:1-3
New International Version
3 “If a man divorces(A) his wife
and she leaves him and marries another man,
should he return to her again?
Would not the land be completely defiled?(B)
But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers(C)—
would you now return to me?”(D)
declares the Lord.
2 “Look up to the barren heights(E) and see.
Is there any place where you have not been ravished?
By the roadside(F) you sat waiting for lovers,
sat like a nomad in the desert.
You have defiled the land(G)
with your prostitution(H) and wickedness.
3 Therefore the showers have been withheld,(I)
and no spring rains(J) have fallen.
Yet you have the brazen(K) look of a prostitute;
you refuse to blush with shame.(L)
New English Translation (NET)
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