Jeremiah 3:1

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.

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Jeremiah 3:1 in all English translations

Deuteronomy 24:1-4

New International Version

24 If a man marries a woman who becomes displeasing to him^(A) because he finds something indecent about her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce,^(B) gives it to her and sends her from his house, ²and if after she leaves his house she becomes the wife of another man, ³and her second husband dislikes her and writes her a certificate of divorce, gives it to her and sends her from his house, or if he dies, ⁴then her first husband, who divorced her, is not allowed to marry her again after she has been defiled. That would be detestable in the eyes of the Lord. Do not bring sin upon the land the Lord^(C) your God is giving you as an inheritance.

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Ezekiel 16:26

New International Version

²⁶You engaged in prostitution^(A) with the Egyptians,^(B) your neighbors with large genitals, and aroused my anger^(C) with your increasing promiscuity.^(D)

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Ezekiel 16:26 in all English translations

Jeremiah 4:1

New International Version

4 “If you, Israel, will return,^(A)
then return to me,”
declares the Lord.
“If you put your detestable idols^(B) out of my sight
and no longer go astray,

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Jeremiah 4:1 in all English translations

Jeremiah 2:20

New International Version

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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Jeremiah 2:20 in all English translations

Hosea 14:1-4

New International Version

Repentance to Bring Blessing

14 ^[a]Return,^(A) Israel, to the Lord your God.
    Your sins^(B) have been your downfall!^(C)
²Take words with you
    and return to the Lord.
Say to him:
    “Forgive^(D) all our sins
and receive us graciously,^(E)
    that we may offer the fruit of our lips.^[b]^(F)
³Assyria cannot save us;^(G)
    we will not mount warhorses.^(H)
We will never again say ‘Our gods’^(I)
    to what our own hands have made,^(J)
    for in you the fatherless^(K) find compassion.”

⁴“I will heal^(L) their waywardness^(M)
and love them freely,^(N)
for my anger has turned away^(O) from them.

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Footnotes

Hosea 14:1 In Hebrew texts 14:1-9 is numbered 14:2-10.
Hosea 14:2 Or offer our lips as sacrifices of bulls

Hosea 2:5-7

New International Version

⁵Their mother has been unfaithful
    and has conceived them in disgrace.
She said, ‘I will go after my lovers,^(A)
    who give me my food and my water,
    my wool and my linen, my olive oil and my drink.’^(B)
⁶Therefore I will block her path with thornbushes;
    I will wall her in so that she cannot find her way.^(C)
⁷She will chase after her lovers but not catch them;
    she will look for them but not find them.^(D)
Then she will say,
    ‘I will go back to my husband^(E) as at first,^(F)
    for then I was better off^(G) than now.’

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Luke 15:16-24

New International Version

¹⁶He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

¹⁷“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! ¹⁸I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned^(A) against heaven and against you. ¹⁹I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’ ²⁰So 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.’

²²“But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe^(D) and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger^(E) and sandals on his feet. ²³Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. ²⁴For this son of mine was dead and is alive again;^(F) he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.^(G)

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Zechariah 1:3

New International Version

³Therefore tell the people: This is what the Lord Almighty says: ‘Return^(A) to me,’ declares the Lord Almighty, ‘and I will return to you,’^(B) says the Lord Almighty.

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Zechariah 1:3 in all English translations

Hosea 1:2

New International Version

Hosea’s Wife and Children

²When the Lord began to speak through Hosea, the Lord said to him, “Go, marry a promiscuous^(A) woman and have children with her, for like an adulterous wife this land is guilty of unfaithfulness^(B) to the Lord.”

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Hosea 1:2 in all English translations

Ezekiel 33:11

New International Version

¹¹Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.^(A) Turn!^(B) Turn from your evil ways! Why will you die, people of Israel?’^(C)

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Ezekiel 33:11 in all English translations

Ezekiel 23:4-49

New International Version

⁴The older was named Oholah, and her sister was Oholibah. They were mine and gave birth to sons and daughters. Oholah is Samaria, and Oholibah is Jerusalem.^(A)

⁵“Oholah engaged in prostitution while she was still mine; and she lusted after her lovers, the Assyrians^(B)—warriors^(C) ⁶clothed in blue, governors and commanders, all of them handsome young men, and mounted horsemen. ⁷She gave herself as a prostitute to all the elite of the Assyrians and defiled herself with all the idols of everyone she lusted after.^(D) ⁸She did not give up the prostitution she began in Egypt,^(E) when during her youth men slept with her, caressed her virgin bosom and poured out their lust on her.^(F)

⁹“Therefore I delivered her into the hands^(G) of her lovers,^(H) the Assyrians, for whom she lusted.^(I) ¹⁰They stripped^(J) her naked, took away her sons and daughters and killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women,^(K) and punishment was inflicted^(L) on her.^(M)

¹¹“Her sister Oholibah saw this,^(N) yet in her lust and prostitution she was more depraved than her sister.^(O) ¹²She too lusted after the Assyrians—governors and commanders, warriors in full dress, mounted horsemen, all handsome young men.^(P) ¹³I saw that she too defiled herself; both of them went the same way.^(Q)

¹⁴“But she carried her prostitution still further. She saw men portrayed on a wall,^(R) figures of Chaldeans^[a] portrayed in red,^(S) ¹⁵with belts^(T) around their waists and flowing turbans on their heads; all of them looked like Babylonian chariot officers, natives of Chaldea.^[b] ¹⁶As soon as she saw them, she lusted after them and sent messengers^(U) to them in Chaldea.^(V) ¹⁷Then the Babylonians^(W) came to her, to the bed of love, and in their lust they defiled her. After she had been defiled by them, she turned away from them in disgust.^(X) ¹⁸When she carried on her prostitution openly and exposed her naked body,^(Y) I turned away^(Z) from her in disgust, just as I had turned away from her sister.^(AA) ¹⁹Yet she became more and more promiscuous as she recalled the days of her youth, when she was a prostitute in Egypt. ²⁰There she lusted after her lovers, whose genitals were like those of donkeys and whose emission was like that of horses. ²¹So you longed for the lewdness of your youth, when in Egypt your bosom was caressed and your young breasts fondled.^[c]^(AB)

²²“Therefore, Oholibah, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will stir up your lovers^(AC) against you, those you turned away from in disgust, and I will bring them against you from every side^(AD)— ²³the Babylonians^(AE) and all the Chaldeans,^(AF) the men of Pekod^(AG) and Shoa and Koa, and all the Assyrians with them, handsome young men, all of them governors and commanders, chariot officers and men of high rank, all mounted on horses.^(AH) ²⁴They will come against you with weapons,^[d] chariots and wagons^(AI) and with a throng of people; they will take up positions against you on every side with large and small shields and with helmets. I will turn you over to them for punishment,^(AJ) and they will punish you according to their standards. ²⁵I will direct my jealous anger^(AK) against you, and they will deal with you in fury. They will cut off your noses and your ears, and those of you who are left will fall by the sword. They will take away your sons and daughters,^(AL) and those of you who are left will be consumed by fire.^(AM) ²⁶They will also strip^(AN) you of your clothes and take your fine jewelry.^(AO) ²⁷So I will put a stop^(AP) to the lewdness and prostitution you began in Egypt. You will not look on these things with longing or remember Egypt anymore.

²⁸“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I am about to deliver you into the hands^(AQ) of those you hate, to those you turned away from in disgust. ²⁹They will deal with you in hatred and take away everything you have worked for. They will leave you stark naked,^(AR) and the shame of your prostitution will be exposed.^(AS) Your lewdness^(AT) and promiscuity^(AU) ³⁰have brought this on you, because you lusted after the nations and defiled yourself with their idols.^(AV) ³¹You have gone the way of your sister; so I will put her cup^(AW) into your hand.^(AX)

³²“This is what the Sovereign Lord says:

“You will drink your sister’s cup,
    a cup large and deep;
it will bring scorn and derision,^(AY)
    for it holds so much.^(AZ)
³³You will be filled with drunkenness and sorrow,
    the cup of ruin and desolation,
    the cup of your sister Samaria.^(BA)
³⁴You will drink it^(BB) and drain it dry
    and chew on its pieces—
    and you will tear your breasts.

I have spoken, declares the Sovereign Lord.^(BC)

³⁵“Therefore this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Since you have forgotten^(BD) me and turned your back on me,^(BE) you must bear^(BF) the consequences of your lewdness and prostitution.”

³⁶The Lord said to me: “Son of man, will you judge Oholah and Oholibah? Then confront^(BG) them with their detestable practices,^(BH) ³⁷for they have committed adultery and blood is on their hands. They committed adultery with their idols; they even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to me, as food for them.^(BI) ³⁸They have also done this to me: At that same time they defiled my sanctuary^(BJ) and desecrated my Sabbaths.^(BK) ³⁹On the very day they sacrificed their children to their idols, they entered my sanctuary and desecrated^(BL) it. That is what they did in my house.^(BM)

⁴⁰“They even sent messengers for men who came from far away,^(BN) and when they arrived you bathed yourself for them, applied eye makeup^(BO) and put on your jewelry.^(BP) ⁴¹You sat on an elegant couch,^(BQ) with a table^(BR) spread before it on which you had placed the incense^(BS) and olive oil that belonged to me.^(BT)

⁴²“The noise of a carefree^(BU) crowd was around her; drunkards^(BV) were brought from the desert along with men from the rabble, and they put bracelets^(BW) on the wrists of the woman and her sister and beautiful crowns on their heads.^(BX) ⁴³Then I said about the one worn out by adultery, ‘Now let them use her as a prostitute,^(BY) for that is all she is.’ ⁴⁴And they slept with her. As men sleep with a prostitute, so they slept with those lewd women, Oholah and Oholibah. ⁴⁵But righteous judges will sentence them to the punishment of women who commit adultery and shed blood,^(BZ) because they are adulterous and blood is on their hands.^(CA)

⁴⁶“This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Bring a mob^(CB) against them and give them over to terror and plunder.^(CC) ⁴⁷The mob will stone them and cut them down with their swords; they will kill their sons and daughters^(CD) and burn^(CE) down their houses.^(CF)

⁴⁸“So I will put an end^(CG) to lewdness in the land, that all women may take warning and not imitate you.^(CH) ⁴⁹You will suffer the penalty for your lewdness and bear the consequences of your sins of idolatry.^(CI) Then you will know that I am the Sovereign Lord.^(CJ)”

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Footnotes

Ezekiel 23:14 Or Babylonians
Ezekiel 23:15 Or Babylonia; also in verse 16
Ezekiel 23:21 Syriac (see also verse 3); Hebrew caressed because of your young breasts
Ezekiel 23:24 The meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.

Ezekiel 16:28-29

New International Version

²⁸You engaged in prostitution with the Assyrians^(A) too, because you were insatiable; and even after that, you still were not satisfied.^(B) ²⁹Then you increased your promiscuity to include Babylonia,^[a]^(C) a land of merchants, but even with this you were not satisfied.^(D)

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Footnotes

Ezekiel 16:29 Or Chaldea

Jeremiah 8:4-6

New International Version

Sin and Punishment

⁴“Say to them, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“‘When people fall down, do they not get up?^(A)
    When someone turns away,^(B) do they not return?
⁵Why then have these people turned away?
    Why does Jerusalem always turn away?
They cling to deceit;^(C)
    they refuse to return.^(D)
⁶I have listened^(E) attentively,
    but they do not say what is right.
None of them repent^(F) of their wickedness,
    saying, “What have I done?”
Each pursues their own course^(G)
    like a horse charging into battle.

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Jeremiah 4:14

New International Version

¹⁴Jerusalem, wash^(A) the evil from your heart and be saved.^(B)
How long^(C) will you harbor wicked thoughts?

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Jeremiah 4:14 in all English translations

Jeremiah 3:9

New International Version

⁹Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land^(A) and committed adultery^(B) with stone^(C) and wood.^(D)

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Jeremiah 3:9 in all English translations

Jeremiah 2:23

New International Version

²³“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled;^(A)
    I have not run after the Baals’?^(B)
See how you behaved in the valley;^(C)
    consider what you have done.
You are a swift she-camel
    running^(D) here and there,

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Jeremiah 2:23 in all English translations

Isaiah 55:6-9

New International Version

⁶Seek^(A) the Lord while he may be found;^(B)
    call^(C) on him while he is near.
⁷Let the wicked forsake^(D) their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.^(E)
Let them turn^(F) to the Lord, and he will have mercy^(G) on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.^(H)

⁸“For my thoughts^(I) are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”^(J)
declares the Lord.
⁹“As the heavens are higher than the earth,^(K)
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.^(L)

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Judges 19:2

New International Version

²But she was unfaithful to him. She left him and went back to her parents’ home in Bethlehem, Judah. After she had been there four months,

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Judges 19:2 in all English translations

Deuteronomy 4:29-31

New International Version

²⁹But if from there you seek^(A) the Lord your God, you will find him if you seek him with all your heart^(B) and with all your soul.^(C) ³⁰When you are in distress^(D) and all these things have happened to you, then in later days^(E) you will return^(F) to the Lord your God and obey him. ³¹For the Lord your God is a merciful^(G) God; he will not abandon^(H) or destroy^(I) you or forget^(J) the covenant with your ancestors, which he confirmed to them by oath.

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Micah 2:10

New International Version

¹⁰Get up, go away!
For this is not your resting place,^(A)
because it is defiled,^(B)
it is ruined, beyond all remedy.

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Micah 2:10 in all English translations

Jeremiah 3:22

New International Version

²²“Return,^(A) faithless people;
I will cure^(B) you of backsliding.”^(C)

“Yes, we will come to you,
for you are the Lord our God.

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Jeremiah 3:22 in all English translations

Jeremiah 3:12-14

New International Version

¹²Go, proclaim this message toward the north:^(A)

“‘Return,^(B) faithless^(C) Israel,’ declares the Lord,
    ‘I will frown on you no longer,
for I am faithful,’^(D) declares the Lord,
    ‘I will not be angry^(E) forever.
¹³Only acknowledge^(F) your guilt—
    you have rebelled against the Lord your God,
you have scattered your favors to foreign gods^(G)
    under every spreading tree,^(H)
    and have not obeyed^(I) me,’”
declares the Lord.

¹⁴“Return,^(J) faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband.^(K) I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion.

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Jeremiah 2:7

New International Version

⁷I brought you into a fertile land
to eat its fruit and rich produce.^(A)
But you came and defiled my land
and made my inheritance detestable.^(B)

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Jeremiah 2:7 in all English translations

Isaiah 24:5

New International Version

⁵The earth is defiled^(A) by its people;
they have disobeyed^(B) the laws,
violated the statutes
and broken the everlasting covenant.^(C)

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Isaiah 24:5 in all English translations

New International Version (NIV)

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