13 (A)Only acknowledge your iniquity,
That you have transgressed against the Lord your God,
And have (B)scattered your [a]charms
To (C)alien deities (D)under every green tree,
And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 3:13 Lit. ways

13 Only acknowledge(A) your guilt—
    you have rebelled against the Lord your God,
you have scattered your favors to foreign gods(B)
    under every spreading tree,(C)
    and have not obeyed(D) me,’”
declares the Lord.

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25 We lie down in our shame,
And our [a]reproach covers us.
(A)For we have sinned against the Lord our God,
We and our fathers,
From our youth even to this day,
And (B)have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 3:25 disgrace

25 Let us lie down in our shame,(A)
    and let our disgrace cover us.
We have sinned(B) against the Lord our God,
    both we and our ancestors;(C)
from our youth(D) till this day
    we have not obeyed(E) the Lord our God.”

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A Call to Repentance

The Lord said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what (A)backsliding Israel has done? She has (B)gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot.

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Unfaithful Israel

During the reign of King Josiah,(A) the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what faithless(B) Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree(C) and has committed adultery(D) there.

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25 Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst.
But you said, (A)‘There is no hope.
No! For I have loved (B)aliens, and after them I will go.’

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25 Do not run until your feet are bare
    and your throat is dry.
But you said, ‘It’s no use!(A)
    I love foreign gods,(B)
    and I must go after them.’(C)

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The Blessing of Returning to God

30 “Now (A)it shall come to pass, when (B)all these things come upon you, the blessing and the (C)curse which I have set before you, and (D)you [a]call them to mind among all the nations where the Lord your God drives you, and you (E)return to the Lord your God and obey His voice, according to all that I command you today, you and your children, with all your heart and with all your soul, (F)that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and (G)gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you.

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 30:1 Lit. cause them to return to your heart

Prosperity After Turning to the Lord

30 When all these blessings and curses(A) I have set before you come on you and you take them to heart wherever the Lord your God disperses you among the nations,(B) and when you and your children return(C) to the Lord your God and obey him with all your heart(D) and with all your soul according to everything I command you today, then the Lord your God will restore your fortunes[a](E) and have compassion(F) on you and gather(G) you again from all the nations where he scattered(H) you.(I)

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Footnotes

  1. Deuteronomy 30:3 Or will bring you back from captivity

(A)You shall utterly destroy all the places where the nations which you shall dispossess served their gods, (B)on the high mountains and on the hills and under every green tree.

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Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains,(A) on the hills and under every spreading tree,(B) where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods.

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If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we (A)confess our sins, He is (B)faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to (C)cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we (D)make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

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If we claim to be without sin,(A) we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.(B) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins(C) and purify us from all unrighteousness.(D) 10 If we claim we have not sinned,(E) we make him out to be a liar(F) and his word is not in us.(G)

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18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, (A)I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants.” ’

20 “And he arose and came to his father. But (B)when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. 21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven (C)and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

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18 I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned(A) against heaven and against you. 19 I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ 20 So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.(B)

21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.(C) I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

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“Lift up your eyes to (A)the desolate heights and see:
Where have you not [a]lain with men?
(B)By the road you have sat for them
Like an Arabian in the wilderness;
(C)And you have polluted the land
With your harlotries and your wickedness.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 3:2 Kt. been violated

“Look up to the barren heights(A) and see.
    Is there any place where you have not been ravished?
By the roadside(B) you sat waiting for lovers,
    sat like a nomad in the desert.
You have defiled the land(C)
    with your prostitution(D) and wickedness.

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20 “For of old I have (A)broken your yoke and burst your bonds;
And (B)you said, ‘I will not [a]transgress,’
When (C)on every high hill and under every green tree
You lay down, (D)playing the harlot.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 2:20 Kt. serve

20 “Long ago you broke off your yoke(A)
    and tore off your bonds;(B)
    you said, ‘I will not serve you!’(C)
Indeed, on every high hill(D)
    and under every spreading tree(E)
    you lay down as a prostitute.(F)

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24 that (A)you also built for yourself a shrine, and (B)made a [a]high place for yourself in every street. 25 You built your high places (C)at the head of every road, and made your beauty to be abhorred. You offered yourself to everyone who passed by, and multiplied your acts of harlotry.

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Footnotes

  1. Ezekiel 16:24 Place for pagan worship

24 you built a mound for yourself and made a lofty shrine(A) in every public square.(B) 25 At every street corner(C) you built your lofty shrines and degraded your beauty, spreading your legs with increasing promiscuity to anyone who passed by.(D)

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Jerusalem’s Harlotry

15 (A)“But you trusted in your own beauty, (B)played the harlot because of your fame, and poured out your harlotry on everyone passing by who would have it.

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15 “‘But you trusted in your beauty and used your fame to become a prostitute. You lavished your favors on anyone who passed by(A) and your beauty became his.(B)

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18 “I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself:
‘You have (A)chastised me, and I was chastised,
Like an untrained bull;
(B)Restore me, and I will return,
For You are the Lord my God.
19 Surely, (C)after my turning, I repented;
And after I was instructed, I struck myself on the thigh;
I was (D)ashamed, yes, even humiliated,
Because I bore the reproach of my youth.’
20 Is Ephraim My dear son?
Is he a pleasant child?
For though I spoke against him,
I earnestly remember him still;
(E)Therefore My [a]heart yearns for him;
(F)I will surely have mercy on him, says the Lord.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 31:20 Lit. inward parts

18 “I have surely heard Ephraim’s moaning:
    ‘You disciplined(A) me like an unruly calf,(B)
    and I have been disciplined.
Restore(C) me, and I will return,
    because you are the Lord my God.
19 After I strayed,(D)
    I repented;
after I came to understand,
    I beat(E) my breast.
I was ashamed(F) and humiliated
    because I bore the disgrace of my youth.’(G)
20 Is not Ephraim my dear son,
    the child(H) in whom I delight?
Though I often speak against him,
    I still remember(I) him.
Therefore my heart yearns for him;
    I have great compassion(J) for him,”
declares the Lord.

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