Jeremiah 3
New American Standard Bible
The Defiled Land
3 God [a]says, “(A)If a husband divorces his wife
And she leaves him
And becomes another man’s wife,
Will he return to her again?
Would that land not be completely defiled?
But you (B)are a prostitute with many [b]lovers;
Yet you (C)turn to Me,” declares the Lord.
2 “Raise your eyes to the (D)bare heights and see;
Where have you not been violated?
You have (E)sat for them by the roads
Like an Arab in the desert,
And you have (F)defiled a land
With your prostitution and your wickedness.
3 Therefore the (G)showers have been withheld,
And there has been no spring rain.
Yet you had a (H)prostitute’s [c]forehead;
You refused to be ashamed.
4 Have you not just now called to Me,
‘(I)My Father, You are the (J)friend of my (K)youth?
5 (L)Will He be angry forever,
Or keep His anger to the end?’
Behold, you have spoken
And have done evil things,
And you have [d]had your own way.”
Faithless Israel
6 Then the Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She (M)went up on every high hill and under every leafy tree, and she prostituted herself there. 7 Yet (N)I [e]thought, ‘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 [f]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 prostituted herself also. 9 And because of the thoughtlessness of her prostitution, she (R)defiled the land and committed [g]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)deception,” declares the Lord.
God Invites Repentance
11 And the Lord said to me, “(U)Faithless Israel has proved herself to be more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say,
‘(V)Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord;
‘(W)I will not [h]look at you in anger.
For I am (X)gracious,’ declares the Lord;
‘I will not be angry forever.
13 Only [i](Y)acknowledge your wrongdoing,
That you have revolted against the Lord your God,
And have (Z)scattered your [j]favors to the strangers (AA)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 (AB)master to you,
And I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
And (AC)bring you to Zion.’
15 “Then I will give you (AD)shepherds [k]after My own heart, who will (AE)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 (AF)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 (AG)Throne of the Lord,’ and (AH)all the nations will assemble at it, at Jerusalem, for the (AI)name of the Lord; and they will no longer (AJ)follow 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 [l]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 However, as a woman treacherously leaves her lover,
So you have (AP)dealt treacherously with Me,
House of Israel,” declares the Lord.
21 A voice is heard on the (AQ)bare heights,
The weeping, the pleading of the sons of Israel.
Because they have perverted their way,
They have (AR)forgotten the Lord their God.
22 “Return, you faithless sons,
(AS)I will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to You;
For You are the Lord our God.
23 Certainly (AT)the hills are a deception,
[m]Commotion on the mountains.
Certainly in the (AU)Lord our God
Is the salvation of Israel.
24 “But (AV)the shame has consumed the product of our fathers’ labor 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 humiliation cover us; for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, (AX)from our youth even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 3:1 Lit saying
- Jeremiah 3:1 Lit companions
- Jeremiah 3:3 I.e., calloused appearance
- Jeremiah 3:5 Lit been able
- Jeremiah 3:7 Lit said
- Jeremiah 3:8 I.e., idolatry
- Jeremiah 3:9 I.e., idolatry
- Jeremiah 3:12 Lit make My face fall
- Jeremiah 3:13 Lit know
- Jeremiah 3:13 Lit ways
- Jeremiah 3:15 I.e., with hearts like Mine
- Jeremiah 3:19 Lit the
- Jeremiah 3:23 I.e., from idolatrous rituals
Jeremiah 3
International Standard Version
God Contemplates Divorcing Israel
3 “When a man divorces his wife, she leaves him and
becomes another man’s wife,
will the first husband[a] return to her again?
The land would be deeply polluted, would it not?
Since you have committed fornication with many lovers,
would you now return to me?”
declares the Lord.
2 “Look up to the barren heights and see.
Is there any place[b] where you have not been ravished?
You have sat beside the road, waiting[c] for them[d]
like a nomad in the desert.
And you have polluted the land
with your fornication and your wickedness.
3 This is why the rain has been withheld
and there are no spring showers.
Yet you have a harlot’s look[e]
and you refuse to be ashamed.
4 Have you not just called out to me,
‘My father, you are the friend of my youth—
5 will he hold on to his anger forever,
will he persist in his wrath to the end?’
Look, you have spoken and done evil things,
and you have succeeded in it.”[f]
The Example of Samaria
6 In the time of King Josiah the Lord told me, “Have you seen what unfaithful Israel did? She went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and she committed fornication there. 7 I thought,[g] ‘After she has done all these things, she will return to me.’ But she didn’t return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw this. 8 I saw that even though I had sent unfaithful Israel away for all her adulteries and had given her a[h] divorce decree, her treacherous sister Judah didn’t fear, and she, too, committed adultery. 9 She took her fornication so lightly that she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.[i] 10 Yet in all this her treacherous sister Judah didn’t return to me with her whole heart, but rather deceptively,” declares the Lord.
A Call for Repentance
11 Then the Lord told me, “Unfaithful Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, proclaim these words to the north, and say,
‘Return, unfaithful Israel,’
declares the Lord.
‘I won’t look on you in anger,
for I am gracious,’[j]
declares the Lord.
‘I won’t remain angry forever.
13 ‘Only acknowledge your iniquity,
that you have rebelled against the Lord your God,
and have scattered your favors to strangers
under every green tree.
But you haven’t obeyed me,’
declares the Lord.
14 “Return, unfaithful people,”[k] declares the Lord, “for I am your husband.[l] I’ll take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I’ll bring you to Zion. 15 I’ll give you shepherds[m] after my own heart, and they’ll shepherd you with knowledge and good sense.”
16 “And in those days when you increase in numbers and multiply in the land,” declares the Lord, “people will no longer say, ‘The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord,’ and it won’t come to mind, and they won’t remember it or miss it, nor will it be made again. 17 At that time people will call Jerusalem, “The Throne of the Lord,” and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. They’ll no longer stubbornly follow their own evil desires.[n] 18 In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and together they’ll come to the land that I gave your ancestors as an inheritance.”
God’s Desire for His People
19 “I said,
‘How I wanted to treat you like children,
and give you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful inheritance of the nations.’
I said, ‘You will call me, my father,
and won’t turn back from following me.’
20 Instead, like an unfaithful wife leaves her husband,
so you have been unfaithful to me, house of Israel,”
declares the Lord.
Israel Cries for Help
21 “A voice is heard on the barren heights,
the weeping and pleading of the children of Israel
because they have perverted their way.
They have forgotten the Lord their God.”
God Calls for Repentance
22 “Turn back, unfaithful people,[o]
and I’ll heal your unfaithfulness.”
Israel Replies
“Look, we’re coming to you
because you are the Lord our God.
23 Truly the hills are a deception,[p]
and the mountains[q] are confusion.
Truly, in the Lord our God is Israel’s salvation.”
24 Since our youth the false gods have consumed
the products of our ancestors’ hard work,
their sheep and their cattle,
their sons and their daughters.
25 “Let us lie down in our shame,
and let our humiliation cover us,
because both we and our ancestors have sinned
against the Lord our God from our youth
until this present time.
We haven’t obeyed the Lord our God.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 3:1 Lit. he
- Jeremiah 3:2 The Heb. lacks Is there anyplace
- Jeremiah 3:2 The Heb. lacks waiting
- Jeremiah 3:2 I.e. as if waiting for a prostitute
- Jeremiah 3:3 Lit. forehead
- Jeremiah 3:5 The Heb. lacks in it
- Jeremiah 3:7 Lit. I said
- Jeremiah 3:8 The Heb. lacks a
- Jeremiah 3:9 I.e. the Canaanite fertility gods were represented by stones and trees.
- Jeremiah 3:12 I.e. characterized by gracious love
- Jeremiah 3:14 Or sons
- Jeremiah 3:14 Or master
- Jeremiah 3:15 I.e. leaders
- Jeremiah 3:17 Lit. follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts
- Jeremiah 3:22 Or sons
- Jeremiah 3:23 I.e. as a source of deliverance
- Jeremiah 3:23 I.e. where false gods were worshipped
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