Jeremiah 3:6-25
English Standard Version
Faithless Israel Called to Repentance
6 The Lord said to me in the days of (A)King Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, (B)how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there (C)played the whore? 7 And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous (D)sister Judah saw it. 8 She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, (E)I had sent her away with (F)a decree of divorce. (G)Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went (H)and played the whore. 9 Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with (I)stone and tree. 10 Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me (J)with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord.”
11 And the Lord said to me, (K)“Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward (L)the north, and say,
(M)“‘Return, faithless Israel,
declares the Lord.
I will not look on you in anger,
for (N)I am merciful,
declares the Lord;
(O)I will not be angry forever.
13 (P)Only acknowledge your guilt,
that you rebelled against the Lord your God
and scattered your favors among foreigners under (Q)every green tree,
and that you have not obeyed my voice,
declares the Lord.
14 (R)Return, O faithless children,
declares the Lord;
(S)for I am your master;
I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
and I will bring you to Zion.
15 “‘And (T)I will give you shepherds after my own heart, (U)who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again. 17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, (V)and all nations shall gather to it, (W)to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. 18 (X)In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land (Y)of the north to (Z)the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.
19 “‘I said,
How I would set you among my sons,
and give you a pleasant land,
a heritage most beautiful of all nations.
And I thought you would (AA)call me, My Father,
and would not turn from following me.
20 (AB)Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband,
so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel,
declares the Lord.’”
21 A voice on the (AC)bare heights is heard,
(AD)the weeping and pleading of Israel's sons
because they have perverted their way;
they have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 (AE)“Return, O faithless sons;
(AF)I will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to you,
for you are the Lord our God.
23 Truly (AG)the hills are a delusion,
the orgies[a] on the mountains.
(AH)Truly in the Lord our God
is the salvation of Israel.
24 “But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 (AI)Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For (AJ)we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
Read full chapterFootnotes
- Jeremiah 3:23 Hebrew commotion
Jeremiah 3:6-25
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
A Call to Repentance
6 The Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah: Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree and prostituted herself there?(A) 7 And I thought, “After she has done all this she will return to me,” but she did not return, and her false sister Judah saw it.(B) 8 She[a] saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce, yet her false sister Judah did not fear, but she also went and prostituted herself.(C) 9 Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree.(D) 10 Yet for all this her false sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart but only in pretense, says the Lord.(E)
11 Then the Lord said to me: Faithless Israel has shown herself less guilty than false Judah.(F) 12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say:
Return, faithless Israel,
says the Lord.
I will not look on you in anger,
for I am merciful,
says the Lord;
I will not be angry forever.(G)
13 Only acknowledge your guilt,
that you have rebelled against the Lord your God
and scattered your favors among strangers under every green tree
and have not obeyed my voice,
says the Lord.(H)
14 Return, O faithless children,
says the Lord,
for I am your husband;
I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
and I will bring you to Zion.(I)
15 I will give you shepherds after my own heart who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.(J) 16 And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says the Lord, they shall no longer say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed, nor shall another one be made.(K) 17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no longer stubbornly follow their own evil will.(L) 18 In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your ancestors for a heritage.(M)
19 I thought
how I would set you among my children
and give you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful heritage of all the nations.
And I thought you would call to me, “My Father,”
and would not turn from following me.(N)
20 Instead, as a faithless wife leaves her husband,
so you have been faithless to me, O house of Israel,
says the Lord.(O)
21 A voice on the bare heights[b] is heard,
the plaintive weeping of Israel’s children,
because they have perverted their way;
they have forgotten the Lord their God:(P)
22 Return, O faithless children,
I will heal your faithlessness.
“Here we come to you,
for you are the Lord our God.(Q)
23 Truly the hills are[c] a delusion,
a tumult on the mountains.
Truly in the Lord our God
is the salvation of Israel.(R)
24 “But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our ancestors had labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us, for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our ancestors, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”(S)
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New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.