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Jeremiah 3
New English Translation
Jeremiah 3
New English Translation
3 “If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,
he may not take her back again.[a]
Doing that would utterly defile the land.[b]
But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods.[c]
So what makes you think you can return to me?”[d]
says the Lord.
2 “Look up at the hilltops and consider this.[e]
Where have you not been ravished?[f]
You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the wilderness.[g]
You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods.[h]
3 That is why the rains have been withheld
and the spring rains have not come.
Yet in spite of this you are obstinate as a prostitute.[i]
You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done.
4 Even now you say to me, ‘You are my father![j]
You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young.
5 You will not always be angry with me, will you?
You will not be mad at me forever, will you?’[k]
That is what you say,
but you continually do all the evil that you can.”[l]
6 When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done.[m] You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods.[n] 7 Yet even after she had done all that, I thought that she might come back to me.[o] But she did not. Her sister, unfaithful Judah, saw what she did.[p] 8 She also saw[q] that, because of wayward Israel’s adulterous worship of other gods,[r] I sent her away and gave her divorce papers. But still her unfaithful sister Judah was not afraid, and she too went and gave herself like a prostitute to other gods.[s] 9 Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the land[t] through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone.[u] 10 In spite of all this,[v] Israel’s sister, unfaithful Judah, has not turned back to me with any sincerity; she has only pretended to do so,”[w] says the Lord. 11 Then the Lord said to me, “Under the circumstances, wayward Israel could even be considered less guilty than unfaithful Judah.[x]
The Lord Calls on Israel and Judah to Repent
12 “Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north.[y] Tell them:
‘Come back to me, wayward Israel,’ says the Lord.
‘I will not continue to look on you with displeasure.[z]
For I am merciful,’ says the Lord.
‘I will not be angry with you forever.
13 However, you must confess that you have done wrong[aa]
and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God.
You must confess[ab] that you have given yourself to[ac] foreign gods under every green tree
and have not obeyed my commands,’ says the Lord.
14 “Come back to me, my wayward sons,” says the Lord, “for I am your true master.[ad] If you do,[ae] I will take one of you from each town and two of you from each family group, and I will bring you back to Zion. 15 I will give you leaders[af] who will be faithful to me.[ag] They will lead you with knowledge and insight. 16 In those days, your population will greatly increase[ah] in the land. At that time,” says the Lord, “people will no longer talk about having the ark[ai] that contains the Lord’s covenant with us.[aj] They will not call it to mind, remember it, or miss it. No, that will not be done anymore![ak] 17 At that time the city of Jerusalem will be called the Lord’s throne. All nations will gather there in Jerusalem to honor the Lord’s name.[al] They will no longer follow the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts.[am] 18 At that time[an] the nation of Judah and the nation of Israel will be reunited.[ao] Together they will come back from a land in the north to the land that I gave to your ancestors as a permanent possession.
19 “I thought to myself,[ap]
‘Oh what a joy it would be for me to treat you like a son![aq]
What a joy it would be for me to give[ar] you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful piece of property there is in all the world!’[as]
I thought you would call me ‘Father’[at]
and would never cease being loyal to me.[au]
20 But, you have been unfaithful to me, nation of Israel,[av]
like an unfaithful wife who has left her husband,”[aw]
says the Lord.
21 “A noise is heard on the hilltops.
It is the sound of the people of Israel crying and pleading to their gods.
Indeed they have followed sinful ways;[ax]
they have forgotten to be true to the Lord their God.[ay]
22 Come back to me, you wayward people.
I want to cure your waywardness.[az]
Say,[ba] ‘Here we are. We come to you
because you are the Lord our God.
23 We know our noisy worship of false gods
on the hills and mountains did not help us.[bb]
We know that the Lord our God
is the only one who can deliver Israel.[bc]
24 From earliest times our worship of that shameful god, Baal,
has taken away[bd] all that our ancestors[be] worked for.
It has taken away our flocks and our herds
and even our sons and daughters.
25 Let us acknowledge[bf] our shame.
Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve.[bg]
For we have sinned against the Lord our God,
both we and our ancestors.
From earliest times to this very day
we have not obeyed the Lord our God.’
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 3:1 tn Heb “May he go back to her again?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.sn For the legal background for the illustration that is used here, see Deut 24:1-4.
- Jeremiah 3:1 tn Heb “Would the land not be utterly defiled?” The stative is here rendered actively to connect better with the preceding. The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
- Jeremiah 3:1 tn Heb “But you have played the prostitute with many lovers.”
- Jeremiah 3:1 tn Heb “Returning to me.” The form is the bare infinitive, which the KJV and ASV have interpreted as an imperative: “Yet, return to me!” However, it is more likely that a question is intended, expressing surprise in the light of the law alluded to and the facts cited. For the use of the infinitive absolute in the place of a finite verb, cf. GKC 346 §113.ee. For the introduction of a question without a question marker, cf. GKC 473 §150.a.
- Jeremiah 3:2 tn Heb “and see.”
- Jeremiah 3:2 sn The rhetorical question expects the answer “nowhere,” which asserts the widespread nature of the nation’s idolatry. The prophets often compare Judah’s religious infidelity, idolatry, to adultery or prostitution. Jeremiah goes a step further in exposing their folly by portraying their willing acts of idolatry as being sexually violated.
- Jeremiah 3:2 tn Heb “You sat for them [the lovers, i.e., the foreign gods] beside the road like an Arab in the desert.”
- Jeremiah 3:2 tn Heb “by your prostitution and your wickedness.” This is probably an example of hendiadys where, when two nouns are joined by “and,” one expresses the main idea and the other qualifies it.
- Jeremiah 3:3 tn Heb “you have the forehead of a prostitute.”
- Jeremiah 3:4 tn Heb “Have you not just now called out to me, ‘[You are] My father!’?” The rhetorical question expects a positive answer.
- Jeremiah 3:5 tn Heb “Will he keep angry forever? Will he maintain [it] to the end?” The questions are rhetorical and expect a negative answer. The change to direct address in the English translation is intended to ease the problem of the rapid transition, common in Hebrew style (but not in English), from second person direct address in the preceding lines to third person indirect address in these two lines. See GKC 462 §144.p.
- Jeremiah 3:5 tn Heb “You do the evil and you are able.” This is an example of hendiadys, meaning, “You do all the evil that you are able to do.”
- Jeremiah 3:6 tn “Have you seen…” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.
- Jeremiah 3:6 tn Heb “she played the prostitute there.” This is a metaphor for Israel’s worship; she gave herself to the worship of other gods like a prostitute gives herself to her lovers. There seems no clear way to completely spell out the metaphor in the translation.
- Jeremiah 3:7 tn Or “I said to her, ‘Come back to me!’” The verb אָמַר (ʾamar) usually means “to say,” but here it means “to think,” of an assumption that turns out to be wrong (so HALOT 66 s.v. אמר 4) (cf. Gen 44:28; Jer 3:19; Pss 82:6; 139:11; Job 29:18; Ruth 4:4; Lam 3:18).sn Open theists suggest that passages such as this indicate God has limited foreknowledge; however, more traditional theologians view this passage as an extended metaphor in which God presents himself as a deserted husband, hoping against hope that his adulterous wife might return to him. The point of the metaphor is not to make an assertion about God’s foreknowledge, but to develop the theme of God’s heartbreak due to Israel’s unrepentance.
- Jeremiah 3:7 tn The words “what she did” are not in the text but are implicit from the context and are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- Jeremiah 3:8 tc Heb “she [‘her sister, unfaithful Judah’ from the preceding verse] saw” with one Hebrew ms, some Greek mss, and the Syriac version. The MT reads, “I saw,” which may be a case of attraction to the verb at the beginning of the previous verse.
- Jeremiah 3:8 tn Heb “because she committed adultery.” The translation is intended to spell out the significance of the metaphor.
- Jeremiah 3:8 tn Heb “she played the prostitute there.” This is a metaphor for Israel’s worship; she gave herself to the worship of other gods like a prostitute gives herself to her lovers. There seems no clear way to completely spell out the metaphor in the translation.
- Jeremiah 3:9 tc The translation reads the form as a causative (Hiphil, תַּהֲנֵף, tahanef) with some of the versions in place of the simple stative (Qal, תֶּחֱנַף, tekhenaf) in the MT.
- Jeremiah 3:9 tn Heb “because of the lightness of her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood.”
- Jeremiah 3:10 tn Heb “And even in all this.”
- Jeremiah 3:10 tn Heb “has not turned back to me with all her heart but only in falsehood.”
- Jeremiah 3:11 tn Heb “Wayward Israel has proven herself to be more righteous than unfaithful Judah.”sn A comparison is drawn here between the greater culpability of Judah, who has had the advantage of seeing how God disciplined her sister nation for having sinned and yet ignored the warning and committed the same sin, and the culpability of Israel, who had no such advantage.
- Jeremiah 3:12 tn Heb “Go and proclaim these words to the north.” The translation assumes that the message is directed toward the exiles of northern Israel who have been scattered in the provinces of Assyria to the north.
- Jeremiah 3:12 tn Heb “I will not cause my face to fall on you.”
- Jeremiah 3:13 tn Heb “Only acknowledge your iniquity.”
- Jeremiah 3:13 tn The words “You must confess” are repeated to convey the connection. The Hebrew text has an introductory “that” in front of the second line and a coordinative “and” in front of the next two lines.
- Jeremiah 3:13 tc MT reads דְּרָכַיִךְ (derakhayikh, “your ways”), but the BHS editors suggest דּוֹדַיִךְ (dodayikh, “your breasts”) as an example of orthographic confusion. While the proposal makes sense, it remains a conjectural emendation since it is not supported by any actual manuscripts or ancient versions.tn Heb “scattered your ways with foreign [gods]” or “spread out your breasts to strangers.”
- Jeremiah 3:14 tn Or “I am your true husband.”sn There is a wordplay between the term “true master” and the name of the pagan god Baal. The pronoun “I” is emphatic, creating a contrast between the Lord as Israel’s true master/husband versus Baal as Israel’s illegitimate lover/master. See 2:23-25.
- Jeremiah 3:14 tn The words “If you do” are not in the text but are implicit in the connection of the Hebrew verb with the preceding.
- Jeremiah 3:15 tn Heb “shepherds.”
- Jeremiah 3:15 tn Heb “after/according to my [own] heart.”
- Jeremiah 3:16 tn Heb “you will become numerous and fruitful.”
- Jeremiah 3:16 tn Or “chest.”
- Jeremiah 3:16 tn Heb “the ark of the covenant.” It is called this because it contained the tables of the law, which in abbreviated form constituted their covenant obligations to the Lord (cf. Exod 31:18; 32:15; 34:29).
- Jeremiah 3:16 tn Or “Nor will another one be made”; Heb “one will not do/make [it?] again.”
- Jeremiah 3:17 tn Heb “will gather to the name of the Lord.”
- Jeremiah 3:17 tn Heb “the stubbornness of their evil hearts.”
- Jeremiah 3:18 tn Heb “In those days.”
- Jeremiah 3:18 tn Heb “the house of Judah will walk together with the house of Israel.”
- Jeremiah 3:19 tn Heb “And I myself said.” See note on “I thought that she might come back to me” in 3:7.
- Jeremiah 3:19 tn Heb “How I would place you among the sons.” Israel appears to be addressed here contextually as the Lord’s wife (see the next verse). The pronouns of address in the first two lines are second feminine singular, as are the readings of the two verbs preferred by the Masoretes (the Qere readings) in the third and fourth lines. The verbs that are written in the text in the third and fourth lines (the Kethib readings) are second masculine plural, as is the verb describing Israel’s treachery in the next verse.sn The imagery here appears to be that of treating the wife as an equal heir with the sons and of giving her the best piece of property.
- Jeremiah 3:19 tn The words “What a joy it would be for me to” are not in the Hebrew text but are implied in the parallel structure.
- Jeremiah 3:19 tn Heb “the most beautiful heritage among the nations.”
- Jeremiah 3:19 tn Heb “my father.”
- Jeremiah 3:19 tn Heb “turn back from [following] after me.”
- Jeremiah 3:20 tn Heb “house of Israel.”
- Jeremiah 3:20 tn Heb “a wife unfaithful from her husband.”
- Jeremiah 3:21 tn Heb “A sound is heard on the hilltops, the weeping of the supplication of the children of Israel because [or indeed] they have perverted their way.” At issue here is whether the supplication is made to Yahweh in repentance because of what they have done or whether it is supplication to the pagan gods that is evidence of their perverted ways. The reference in this verse to the hilltops, where idolatry was practiced according to 3:2, and the reference to Israel’s unfaithfulness in the preceding verse make the latter more likely. For the asseverative use of the Hebrew particle (here rendered “indeed”) where the particle retains some of the explicative nuance, see BDB 472-73 s.v. כִּי 1.e and 3.c.
- Jeremiah 3:21 tn Heb “have forgotten the Lord their God.” But in view of the parallelism and the context, the word “forget” (like “know” and “remember”) involves more than mere intellectual activity.
- Jeremiah 3:22 tn Or “I will forgive your apostasies.” Heb “I will [or want to] heal your apostasies.” For the use of the verb “heal” (רָפָא, rafaʾ) to refer to spiritual healing and forgiveness, see Hos 14:4.
- Jeremiah 3:22 tn Or “They say.” There is an obvious ellipsis of a verb of saying here since the preceding words are those of the Lord and the following are those of the people. However, there is debate about whether the people’s words are a response to the Lord’s invitation, a response which is said to be inadequate according to the continuation in 4:1-4, or whether they are the Lord’s model for Israel’s confession of repentance, to which 4:1-4 adds further instructions about the proper heart attitude that should accompany it. The former implies a dialogue with an unmarked, twofold shift in speaker between 3:22b-25 and 4:1-4, while the latter assumes the same main speaker throughout, with an unmarked instruction only in 3:22b-25. The latter disrupts the flow of the passage less and appears more likely.
- Jeremiah 3:23 tn Heb “Truly in vain from the hills the noise/commotion [and from] the mountains.” The syntax of the Hebrew sentence is very elliptical here.
- Jeremiah 3:23 tn Heb “Truly in the Lord our God is deliverance for Israel.”
- Jeremiah 3:24 tn Heb “From our youth the shameful thing has eaten up….” The shameful thing is specifically identified as Baal in Jer 11:13. Compare also the shift in certain names such as Ishbaal (“man of Baal”) to Ishbosheth (“man of shame”).
- Jeremiah 3:24 tn Heb “fathers” (also in v. 25).
- Jeremiah 3:25 tn Heb “Let us lie down in….”
- Jeremiah 3:25 tn Heb “Let us be covered with disgrace.”
Geremia 3
La Nuova Diodati
Geremia 3
La Nuova Diodati
3 Se un uomo ripudia la propria moglie e questa se ne va da lui e diviene moglie di un altro, tornerà egli forse ancora da lei? Non sarebbe quel paese grandemente profanato? Tu ti sei prostituita, con molti amanti; vorresti però ritornare da me?», dice l'Eterno.
2 «Alza gli occhi verso le alture e guarda: dove non ti sei coricata con loro? Ti sei seduta accanto alle strade ad aspettarli, come un Arabo nel deserto, e hai contaminato il paese con le tue prostituzioni e con le tue malvagità.
3 Perciò le piogge sono state trattenute e l'ultima pioggia, non c'è stata. Ma tu hai avuto una fronte da prostituta e hai rifiutato di vergognarti.
4 Non hai proprio ora gridato a me: "Padre mio, tu sei l'amico della mia giovinezza!
5 Rimarrà egli adirato per sempre? Conserverà l'ira sino alla fine?" Ecco, tu parli cosí, ma intanto commetti tutte le malvagità che puoi».
6 L'Eterno mi disse al tempo del re Giosia: «Hai visto ciò che la ribelle, Israele ha fatto? E' andata sopra ogni alto monte e sotto ogni albero verdeggiante e là si è prostituita.
7 Io dicevo: "Dopo che avrà fatto tutte queste cose ritornerà a me" Ma non è tornata; e la sua perfida sorella Giuda l'ha visto.
8 E sebbene io avessi ripudiato la ribelle Israele a motivo di tutti i suoi adultèri e le avessi dato il libello di divorzio, ho visto che la sua perfida sorella Giuda non ha avuto alcun timore, ma è andata anch'essa a prostituirsi,
9 Cosí con il rumore delle sue prostituzioni ha contaminato il paese e ha commesso adulterio con la pietra e con il legno
10 Nonostante tutto questo, la sua perfida sorella Giuda non è tornata a me con tutto il suo cuore, ma con simulazione», dice l'Eterno.
11 Poi l'Eterno mi disse: «La ribelle Israele si è mostrata piú giusta della perfida Giuda.
12 Va' e proclama queste parole verso il nord, dicendo: "Torna, o ribelle Israele"», dice l'Eterno, «non farò ricadere la mia ira su di voi, perché io sono misericordioso», dice l'Eterno, «e non rimango adirato per sempre.
13 Soltanto riconosci la tua iniquità, perché ti sei ribellata all'Eterno, il tuo DIO; hai profuso i tuoi favori agli stranieri sotto ogni albero verdeggiante e non hai dato ascolto alla mia voce», dice l'Eterno.
14 «Tornate o figli traviati», dice l'Eterno, «perché io ho sovranità su di voi. Vi prenderò uno da una città e due da una famiglia e vi ricondurrò a Sion.
15 Vi darò quindi pastori secondo il mio cuore, che vi pasceranno con conoscenza e con sapienza.
16 E avverrà che quando vi sarete moltiplicati e sarete fecondi nel paese, in quei giorni», dice l'Eterno, «non si dirà piú: "L'arca del patto dell'Eterno". Non verrà piú in mente, non la ricorderanno piú, non andranno piú a vederla, non se ne farà un'altra.
17 Allora Gerusalemme sarà chiamata "Il trono dell'Eterno"; tutte le nazioni si raduneranno presso di essa nel nome dell'Eterno, a Gerusalemme, e non cammineranno piú secondo la caparbietà del loro cuore malvagio.
18 In quei giorni la casa di Giuda camminerà con la casa d'Israele e insieme verranno dal paese del nord al paese che io diedi in eredità ai vostri padri.
19 Io dicevo: "Quanto volentieri ti collocherei tra i miei figli e ti darei un paese delizioso, una splendida eredità fra tutte le nazioni" Dicevo: "Tu mi chiamerai: Padre mio!, e non ti allontanerai piú da me"
20 Ma come una donna è infedele al proprio marito, cosí voi siete stati infedeli a me, o casa d'Israele», dice l'Eterno.
21 Una voce si ode sulle alture; il pianto e le suppliche dei figli d'Israele, perché hanno pervertito la loro via e hanno dimenticato l'Eterno, il loro DIO.
22 «Ritornate, o figli traviati, io guarirò le vostre ribellioni». «Ecco, noi veniamo a te, perché tu sei l'Eterno, il nostro DIO.
23 E' certamente vano l'aiuto che si aspetta dai colli e dal gran numero dei monti; certamente la salvezza, d'Israele è nell'Eterno, il nostro DIO.
24 Quella cosa vergognosa ha divorato il frutto della fatica dei nostri padri fin dalla nostra giovinezza le loro pecore e i loro buoi, i loro figli e le loro figlie.
25 Corichiamoci nella nostra vergogna e ci ricopra la nostra ignominia, perché abbiamo peccato contro l'Eterno il nostro DIO, noi e i nostri padri, dalla nostra giovinezza fino a questo giorno e non abbiamo dato ascolto alla voce dell'Eterno, il nostro DIO».
Jeremiah 3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Jeremiah 3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Chapter 3
1 If a man divorces his wife(A)
and she leaves him
and then becomes the wife of another,
Can she return to the first?[a]
Would not this land be wholly defiled?
But you have played the prostitute with many lovers,
and yet you would return to me!—oracle of the Lord.
2 Raise your eyes to the heights, and look,
where have men not lain with you?
Along the roadways you waited for them
like an Arabian[b] in the wilderness.
You defiled the land
by your wicked prostitution.(B)
3 Therefore the showers were withheld,
the spring rain did not fall.
But because you have a prostitute’s brow,
you refused to be ashamed.(C)
4 Even now do you not call me, “My father,
you are the bridegroom of my youth?
5 Will he keep his wrath forever,
will he hold his grudge to the end?”
This is what you say; yet you do
all the evil you can.
Judah and Israel. 6 The Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah: Do you see what rebellious Israel has done? She has gone up every high mountain, and under every green tree she has played the prostitute.(D) 7 And I thought: After she has done all this, she will return to me. But she did not return. Then, even though that traitor her sister Judah, saw 8 that, in response to all the adulteries rebel Israel had committed, I sent her away and gave her a bill of divorce, nevertheless Judah, the traitor, her sister, was not frightened; she too went off and played the prostitute.(E) 9 With her casual prostitution, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and wood.(F) 10 In spite of all this, Judah, the traitor, her sister, did not return to me wholeheartedly, but insincerely—oracle of the Lord.
Restoration of Israel. 11 Then the Lord said to me: Rebel Israel is more just than traitor Judah.(G) 12 Go, proclaim these words toward the north, and say:
Return, rebel Israel—oracle of the Lord—
I will not remain angry with you;
For I am merciful, oracle of the Lord,
I will not keep my anger forever.(H)
13 Only admit your guilt:
how you have rebelled against the Lord, your God,
How you ran here and there to strangers
under every green tree
and would not listen to my voice—oracle of the Lord.(I)
14 Return, rebellious children—oracle of the Lord—[c]
for I am your master;
I will take you, one from a city, two from a clan,
and bring you to Zion.(J)
15 I will appoint for you shepherds after my own heart,
who will shepherd you wisely and prudently.(K)
16 When you increase in number and are fruitful in the land—
oracle of the Lord—
They will in those days no longer say,
“The ark of the covenant of the Lord!”
They will no longer think of it, or remember it,
or miss it, or make another one.
17 At that time they will call Jerusalem “the Lord’s throne.” All nations will gather together there to honor the name of the Lord at Jerusalem, and they will no longer stubbornly follow their wicked heart.(L) 18 In those days the house of Judah will walk alongside the house of Israel; together they will come from the land of the north to the land which I gave your ancestors as a heritage.(M)
Conditions for Forgiveness
19 I thought:
How I would like to make you my children!
So I gave you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful heritage among the nations!
You would call me, “My Father,” I thought,
and you would never turn away from me.(N)
20 But like a woman faithless to her lover,
thus have you been faithless to me,
house of Israel—oracle of the Lord.(O)
21 A cry is heard on the heights!
the plaintive weeping of Israel’s children,
Because they have perverted their way,
they have forgotten the Lord, their God.
22 Return, rebellious children!
I will heal your rebellions.
“Here we are! We belong to you,
for you are the Lord, our God.(P)
23 Deceptive indeed are the hills,
the mountains, clamorous;
Only in the Lord our God
is Israel’s salvation.(Q)
24 The shameful thing[d] has devoured
our ancestors’ worth from our youth,
Their sheep and cattle,
their sons and daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame,
let our disgrace cover us,
for we have sinned against the Lord, our God,
We and our ancestors, from our youth to this day;
we did not listen to the voice of the Lord, our God.”(R)
Footnotes
- 3:1 Can she return to the first?: i.e., her first husband. Here the Hebrew is emended in light of the Septuagint and Dt 24:1–4, which forbids a man to take back a woman once he has divorced her. The prophet uses this analogy to illustrate the presumption of Judah, the unfaithful wife, who assumes she can easily return to the Lord after worshiping other gods.
- 3:2 An Arabian: here depicted as a marauder lying in wait for caravans.
- 3:14–18 A remnant of Israel (v. 14) will reunite with Judah (v. 18). The former Israelite community, represented by the ark of the covenant, will be replaced by a universal alliance, symbolized by Jerusalem, the Lord’s throne, to which all nations will be gathered (v. 17).
- 3:24 The shameful thing: Heb. bosheth (“shame”), a term often substituted for the name of Baal, a Canaanite god worshiped at local shrines.
Jeremiah 3
New International Version
Jeremiah 3
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.
2 “Look up to the barren heights(E) and see.
Is there any place where you have not been ravished?
By the roadside(F) you sat waiting for lovers,
sat like a nomad in the desert.
You have defiled the land(G)
with your prostitution(H) and wickedness.
3 Therefore the showers have been withheld,(I)
and no spring rains(J) have fallen.
Yet you have the brazen(K) look of a prostitute;
you refuse to blush with shame.(L)
4 Have you not just called to me:
‘My Father,(M) my friend from my youth,(N)
5 will you always be angry?(O)
Will your wrath continue forever?’
This is how you talk,
but you do all the evil you can.”
Unfaithful Israel
6 During the reign of King Josiah,(P) the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what faithless(Q) Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree(R) and has committed adultery(S) there. 7 I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister(T) Judah saw it.(U) 8 I gave faithless Israel(V) her certificate of divorce(W) and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear;(X) she also went out and committed adultery. 9 Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land(Y) and committed adultery(Z) with stone(AA) and wood.(AB) 10 In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return(AC) to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,(AD)” declares the Lord.(AE)
11 The Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel is more righteous(AF) than unfaithful(AG) Judah.(AH) 12 Go, proclaim this message toward the north:(AI)
“‘Return,(AJ) faithless(AK) Israel,’ declares the Lord,
‘I will frown on you no longer,
for I am faithful,’(AL) declares the Lord,
‘I will not be angry(AM) forever.
13 Only acknowledge(AN) your guilt—
you have rebelled against the Lord your God,
you have scattered your favors to foreign gods(AO)
under every spreading tree,(AP)
and have not obeyed(AQ) me,’”
declares the Lord.
14 “Return,(AR) faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband.(AS) I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds(AT) after my own heart,(AU) who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. 16 In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land,” declares the Lord, “people will no longer say, ‘The ark(AV) of the covenant of the Lord.’ It will never enter their minds or be remembered;(AW) it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne(AX) of the Lord, and all nations(AY) will gather in Jerusalem to honor(AZ) the name of the Lord. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.(BA) 18 In those days the people of Judah will join the people of Israel,(BB) and together(BC) they will come from a northern(BD) land to the land(BE) I gave your ancestors as an inheritance.
19 “I myself said,
“‘How gladly would I treat you like my children
and give you a pleasant land,(BF)
the most beautiful inheritance(BG) of any nation.’
I thought you would call me ‘Father’(BH)
and not turn away from following me.
20 But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,
so you, Israel, have been unfaithful(BI) to me,”
declares the Lord.
21 A cry is heard on the barren heights,(BJ)
the weeping(BK) and pleading of the people of Israel,
because they have perverted their ways
and have forgotten(BL) the Lord their God.
“Yes, we will come to you,
for you are the Lord our God.
23 Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills(BP)
and mountains is a deception;
surely in the Lord our God
is the salvation(BQ) of Israel.
24 From our youth shameful(BR) gods have consumed
the fruits of our ancestors’ labor—
their flocks and herds,
their sons and daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame,(BS)
and let our disgrace cover us.
We have sinned(BT) against the Lord our God,
both we and our ancestors;(BU)
from our youth(BV) till this day
we have not obeyed(BW) the Lord our God.”
Jeremiah 3
New International Version - UK
Jeremiah 3
New International Version - UK
3 ‘If a man divorces his wife
and she leaves him and marries another man,
should he return to her again?
Would not the land be completely defiled?
But you have lived as a prostitute 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 where you have not been ravished?
By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers,
sat like a nomad in the desert.
You have defiled the land
with your prostitution and wickedness.
3 Therefore the showers have been withheld,
and no spring rains have fallen.
Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute;
you refuse to blush with shame.
4 Have you not just called to me:
“My Father, my friend from my youth,
5 will you always be angry?
Will your wrath continue for ever?”
This is how you talk,
but you do all the evil you can.’
Unfaithful Israel
6 During the reign of King Josiah, the Lord said to me, ‘Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. 7 I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it. 8 I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. 9 Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. 10 In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretence,’ declares the Lord.
11 The Lord said to me, ‘Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah. 12 Go, proclaim this message towards the north:
‘“Return, faithless Israel,” declares the Lord,
“I will frown on you no longer,
for I am faithful,” declares the Lord,
“I will not be angry for ever.
13 Only acknowledge your guilt –
you have rebelled against the Lord your God,
you have scattered your favours to foreign gods
under every spreading tree,
and have not obeyed me,”’
declares the Lord.
14 ‘Return, faithless people,’ declares the Lord, ‘for I am your husband. I will choose you – one from a town and two from a clan – and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. 16 In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land,’ declares the Lord, ‘people will no longer say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honour the name of the Lord. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. 18 In those days the people of Judah will join the people of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your ancestors as an inheritance.
19 ‘I myself said,
‘“How gladly would I treat you like my children
and give you a pleasant land,
the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.”
I thought you would call me “Father”
and not turn away from following me.
20 But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,
so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,’
declares the Lord.
21 A cry is heard on the barren heights,
the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel,
because they have perverted their ways
and have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 ‘Return, faithless people;
I will cure you of backsliding.’
‘Yes, we will come to you,
for you are the Lord our God.
23 Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills
and mountains is a deception;
surely in the Lord our God
is the salvation of Israel.
24 From our youth shameful gods have consumed
the fruits of our ancestors’ labour –
their flocks and herds,
their sons and daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame,
and let our disgrace cover us.
We have sinned against the Lord our God,
both we and our ancestors;
from our youth till this day
we have not obeyed the Lord our God.’
New English Translation (NET)
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La Nuova Diodati (LND)
Copyright © 1991 by La Buona Novella s.c.r.l.
New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.
New International Version - UK (NIVUK)
Holy Bible, New International Version® Anglicized, NIV® Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.