God Invites Repentance

11 And the Lord said to me, “(A)Faithless Israel has proved herself to be more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say,

(B)Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord;
(C)I will not [a]look at you in anger.
For I am (D)gracious,’ declares the Lord;
‘I will not be angry forever.
13 Only [b](E)acknowledge your wrongdoing,
That you have revolted against the Lord your God,
And have (F)scattered your [c]favors to the strangers (G)under every leafy tree,
And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the Lord.
14 ‘Return, you faithless sons,’ declares the Lord;
‘For I am a (H)master to you,
And I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
And (I)bring you to Zion.’

15 “Then I will give you (J)shepherds [d]after My own heart, who will (K)feed you knowledge and understanding. 16 And it shall be in those days when you become numerous and are fruitful in the land,” declares the Lord, “they will (L)no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor miss it, nor will it be made again. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The (M)Throne of the Lord,’ and (N)all the nations will assemble at it, at Jerusalem, for the (O)name of the Lord; and they will no longer (P)follow the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18 (Q)In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together (R)from the land of the north to the (S)land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.

19 “Then I said,

‘How I would set you among [e]My sons
And give you a pleasant land,
The most (T)beautiful inheritance of the nations!’
And I said, ‘You shall call Me, (U)My Father,
And not turn away from following Me.’
20 However, as a woman treacherously leaves her lover,
So you have (V)dealt treacherously with Me,
House of Israel,” declares the Lord.

21 A voice is heard on the (W)bare heights,
The weeping, the pleading of the sons of Israel.
Because they have perverted their way,
They have (X)forgotten the Lord their God.
22 “Return, you faithless sons,
(Y)I will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to You;
For You are the Lord our God.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 3:12 Lit make My face fall
  2. Jeremiah 3:13 Lit know
  3. Jeremiah 3:13 Lit ways
  4. Jeremiah 3:15 I.e., with hearts like Mine
  5. Jeremiah 3:19 Lit the

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