Jeremiah 3
Legacy Standard Bible
The Polluted Land
3 God [a]says, “(A)If a husband divorces his wife
And she goes from him
And belongs to another man,
Will he still return to her?
Will not that land be completely [b]polluted?
But you (B)are a harlot with many [c]lovers;
Yet you (C)turn to Me,” declares Yahweh.
2 “Lift up your eyes to the (D)bare heights and see;
Where have you not been ravished?
By the roads you have (E)sat for them
Like [d]an Arab in the wilderness,
And you have (F)polluted a land
With your harlotry and with your evil.
3 Therefore the (G)showers have been withheld,
And the [e]late rain has not [f]come.
Yet you had a (H)harlot’s forehead;
You refused to feel dishonor.
4 Have you not just now called to Me,
‘(I)My Father, You are the [g](J)close companion of my (K)youth?
5 (L)Will He be angry forever?
Will He keep it to the end?’
Behold, you have spoken
And have done evil things,
And you have [h]had your way.”
Faithless Israel Called to Repentance
6 Then Yahweh said to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She (M)went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she was a harlot there. 7 (N)I said, ‘After she has done all these things, she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her (O)treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and (P)given her a certificate of divorce, yet her (Q)treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. 9 So it was, because of the lightness of her harlotry, that she (R)polluted the land and committed adultery with (S)stones and trees. 10 Yet in spite of all this, her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in (T)lying,” declares Yahweh.
11 And Yahweh said to me, “(U)Faithless Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and call out these words toward the north and say,
‘[i](V)Return, faithless Israel,’ declares Yahweh;
‘(W)I will not [j]look upon you in anger.
For I am (X)One of lovingkindness,’ declares Yahweh;
‘I will not be angry forever.
13 Only [k](Y)acknowledge your iniquity,
That you have transgressed against Yahweh your God
And have (Z)scattered your ways of harlotry to the strangers (AA)under every green tree,
And you have not listened to My voice,’ declares Yahweh.
14 ‘[l]Return, O faithless sons,’ declares Yahweh;
‘For I am a (AB)master to you,
And I will take you one from a city and two from a family,
And (AC)I will bring you to Zion.’
15 “Then I will give you (AD)shepherds after My own heart, who will [m](AE)shepherd you on knowledge and understanding. 16 It shall be in those days when you are multiplied and fruitful in the land,” declares Yahweh, “they will (AF)no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of Yahweh.’ And it will not come upon the heart, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The (AG)Throne of Yahweh,’ and (AH)all the nations will be gathered to it, to Jerusalem, for the (AI)name of Yahweh; nor will they (AJ)walk anymore after the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18 (AK)In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together (AL)from the land of the north to the (AM)land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.
19 “Then I said,
‘How I would set you among [n]My sons
And give you a pleasant land,
The most (AN)beautiful inheritance of the nations!’
And I said, ‘You shall call Me, (AO)“My Father,”
And not turn away from following Me.’
20 Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her [o]lover,
So you have (AP)dealt treacherously with Me,
O house of Israel,” declares Yahweh.
21 A voice is heard on the (AQ)bare heights,
The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel;
Because they have perverted their way,
They have (AR)forgotten Yahweh their God.
22 [p]“Return, O faithless sons;
(AS)I will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to You,
For You are Yahweh our God.
23 Surely, (AT)the hills are a lie,
A tumult on the mountains.
Surely in (AU)Yahweh our God
Is the salvation of Israel.
24 “But (AV)the shameful thing has devoured the labor of our fathers since our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 Let us lie down in our (AW)shame, and let our dishonor cover us; for we have sinned against Yahweh our God, we and our fathers, (AX)from our youth even to this day. And we have not listened to the voice of Yahweh our God.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 3:1 Lit saying
- Jeremiah 3:1 Or alienated
- Jeremiah 3:1 Lit companions
- Jeremiah 3:2 Or a nomad
- Jeremiah 3:3 Spring
- Jeremiah 3:3 Lit been
- Jeremiah 3:4 Lit leader
- Jeremiah 3:5 Lit been able
- Jeremiah 3:12 Or Return, O Israel, who has turned away
- Jeremiah 3:12 Lit cause My countenance to fall upon you
- Jeremiah 3:13 Lit know
- Jeremiah 3:14 Or Return, O sons, who have turned away
- Jeremiah 3:15 Or feed
- Jeremiah 3:19 Lit the
- Jeremiah 3:20 Or companion
- Jeremiah 3:22 Or Return, O sons, who have turned away
Jeremiah 3
Revised Standard Version
Unfaithful Israel
3 “If[a] a man divorces his wife
and she goes from him
and becomes another man’s wife,
will he return to her?
Would not that land be greatly polluted?
You have played the harlot with many lovers;
and would you return to me?
says the Lord.
2 Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see!
Where have you not been lain with?
By the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers
like an Arab in the wilderness.
You have polluted the land
with your vile harlotry.
3 Therefore the showers have been withheld,
and the spring rain has not come;
yet you have a harlot’s brow,
you refuse to be ashamed.
4 Have you not just now called to me,
‘My father, thou art the friend of my youth—
5 will he be angry for ever,
will he be indignant to the end?’
Behold, you have spoken,
but you have done all the evil that you could.”
A Call to Repentance
6 The Lord said to me in the days of King Josi′ah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there played the harlot? 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. 8 She 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 too went and played the harlot. 9 Because harlotry was so light to her, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. 10 Yet for all this her false sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, says the Lord.”
11 And the Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself less guilty than false Judah. 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 for ever.
13 Only acknowledge your guilt,
that you rebelled against the Lord your God
and scattered your favors among strangers under every green tree,
and that you have not obeyed my voice,
says the Lord.
14 Return, O faithless children,
says the Lord;
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 I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And when you have multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says 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, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. 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 fathers for a heritage.
19 “‘I thought
how I would set you among my sons,
and give you a pleasant land,
a heritage most beauteous of all nations.
And I thought you would call me, My Father,
and would not turn from following me.
20 Surely, as a faithless wife leaves her husband,
so have you been faithless to me, O house of Israel,
says the Lord.’”
21 A voice on the bare heights is heard,
the weeping and pleading of Israel’s sons
because they have perverted their way,
they have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 “Return, O faithless sons,
I will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to thee;
for thou art the Lord our God.
23 Truly the hills are a delusion,
the orgies on the mountains.
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 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 fathers, from our youth even to this day; and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 3:1 Gk Syr: Heb Saying, If
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Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright © 1946, 1952, and 1971 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.