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.”
Notas al pie
- 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
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
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 such a land be greatly polluted?
You have prostituted yourself with many lovers,
and would you return to me?
says the Lord.(A)
2 Look up to the bare heights[b] and see!
Where have you not been lain with?
By the waysides you sat waiting for lovers,
like a nomad in the wilderness.
You have polluted the land
with your prostitutions and wickedness.(B)
3 Therefore the showers have been withheld,
and the spring rain has not come,
yet you have the forehead of a prostitute;
you refuse to be ashamed.(C)
4 Have you not just now called to me,
“My Father, you are the friend of my youth—(D)
5 will he be angry forever,
will he be indignant to the end?”
This is how you have spoken,
but you have done all the evil that you could.(E)
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?(F) 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.(G) 8 She[c] 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.(H) 9 Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree.(I) 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.(J)
11 Then the Lord said to me: Faithless Israel has shown herself less guilty than false Judah.(K) 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.(L)
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.(M)
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.(N)
15 I will give you shepherds after my own heart who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.(O) 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.(P) 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.(Q) 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.(R)
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.(S)
20 Instead, as a faithless wife leaves her husband,
so you have been faithless to me, O house of Israel,
says the Lord.(T)
21 A voice on the bare heights[d] is heard,
the plaintive weeping of Israel’s children,
because they have perverted their way;
they have forgotten the Lord their God:(U)
22 Return, O faithless children,
I will heal your faithlessness.
“Here we come to you,
for you are the Lord our God.(V)
23 Truly the hills are[e] a delusion,
a tumult on the mountains.
Truly in the Lord our God
is the salvation of Israel.(W)
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.”(X)
Jeremiah 3
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
3 It is commonly said: If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and marry another man, shall he return to her any more? shall not that woman be polluted, and defiled? but thou hast prostituted thyself to many lovers: nevertheless return to me, saith the Lord, and I will receive thee.
2 Lift up thy eyes on high: and see where thou hast not prostituted thyself: Thou didst sit in the ways, waiting for them as a robber in the wilderness: and thou hast polluted the land with thy fornications, and with thy wickedness.
3 Therefore the showers were withholden, and there was no lateward rain: thou hadst a harlot's forehead, thou wouldst not blush.
4 Therefore at least at this time call to me: Thou art my father, the guide of my virginity:
5 Wilt thou be angry for ever, or wilt thou continue until the end? Behold, thou hast spoken, and hast done evil things, and hast been able.
6 And the Lord said to me in the days of king Josias: Hast thou seen what rebellious Israel hast done? she hath gone out of herself upon every high mountain, and under every green tree, and hath played the harlot there.
7 And when she had done all these things, I said: Return to me, and she did not return. And her treacherous sister Juda saw,
8 That because the rebellious Israel had played the harlot, I had put her away, and had given her a bill of divorce: yet her treacherous sister Juda was not afraid, but went and played the harlot also herself.
9 And by the facility of her fornication she defiled the land, and played the harlot with stones and with stocks.
10 And after all this, her treacherous sister Juda hath not returned to me with her whole heart, but with falsehood, saith the Lord.
11 And the Lord said to me: The rebellious Israel hath justified her soul, in comparison of the treacherous Juda.
12 Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and thou shalt say: Return, O rebellious Israel, saith the Lord, and I will not turn away my face from you: for I am holy, saith the Lord, and I will not be angry for ever.
13 But yet acknowledge thy iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God: and thou hast scattered thy ways to strangers under every green tree, and hast not heard my voice, saith the Lord.
14 Return, O ye revolting children, saith the Lord: for I am your husband: and I will take you, one of a city, and two of a kindred, and will bring you into Sion.
15 And I will give you pastors according to my own heart, and they shall feed you with knowledge and doctrine.
16 And when you shall be multiplied, and increase in the land in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more: The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it come upon the heart, neither shall they remember it, neither shall it be visited, neither shall that be done any more.
17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the thrown of the Lord: and all the nations shall be gathered together to it, in the name of the Lord to Jerusalem, and they shall not walk after the perversity of their most wicked heart.
18 In those days the house of Juda shall go to the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land which I gave to your fathers.
19 But I said: How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a lovely land, the goodly inheritance of the armies of the Gentiles? And I said: Thou shalt call me father and shalt cease to walk after me.
20 But as a woman that despiseth her lover, so hath the house of Israel despised me, saith the Lord.
21 A voice was heard in the highways, weeping and howling of the children of Israel: because they have made their way wicked, they have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 Return, you rebellious children, and I will heal your rebellions. Behold we come to thee: for thou art the Lord our God.
23 In very deed the hills were liars. and the multitude of the mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.
24 Confusion hath devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
25 We shall sleep in our confusion, and our shame shall cover us, because we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers from our youth even to this day, and we have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God.
Jeremiah 3
The Message
Your Sex-and-Religion Obsessions
3 God’s Message came to me as follows:
“If a man’s wife
walks out on him
And marries another man,
can he take her back as if nothing had happened?
Wouldn’t that raise a huge stink
in the land?
And isn’t that what you’ve done—
‘whored’ your way with god after god?
And now you want to come back as if nothing had happened.”
God’s Decree.
2-5 “Look around at the hills.
Where have you not had sex?
You’ve camped out like hunters stalking deer.
You’ve solicited many lover-gods,
Like a streetwalking whore
chasing after other gods.
And so the rain has stopped.
No more rain from the skies!
But it doesn’t even faze you. Brazen as whores,
you carry on as if you’ve done nothing wrong.
Then you have the nerve to call out, ‘My father!
You took care of me when I was a child. Why not now?
Are you going to keep up your anger nonstop?’
That’s your line. Meanwhile you keep sinning nonstop.”
Admit Your God-Defiance
6-10 God spoke to me during the reign of King Josiah: “You have noticed, haven’t you, how fickle Israel has visited every hill and grove of trees as a whore at large? I assumed that after she had gotten it out of her system, she’d come back, but she didn’t. Her flighty sister, Judah, saw what she did. She also saw that because of fickle Israel’s loose morals I threw her out, gave her her walking papers. But that didn’t faze flighty sister Judah. She went out, big as you please, and took up a whore’s life also. She took up cheap sex-and-religion as a sideline diversion, an indulgent recreation, and used anything and anyone, flouting sanity and sanctity alike, stinking up the country. And not once in all this did flighty sister Judah even give me a nod, although she made a show of it from time to time.” God’s Decree.
11-12 Then God told me, “Fickle Israel was a good sight better than flighty Judah. Go and preach this message. Face north toward Israel and say:
12-15 “‘Turn back, fickle Israel.
I’m not just hanging back to punish you.
I’m committed in love to you.
My anger doesn’t seethe nonstop.
Just admit your guilt.
Admit your God-defiance.
Admit to your promiscuous life with casual partners,
pulling strangers into the sex-and-religion groves
While turning a deaf ear to me.’”
God’s Decree.
“Come back, wandering children!”
God’s Decree.
“I, yes I, am your true husband.
I’ll pick you out one by one—
This one from the city, these two from the country—
and bring you to Zion.
I’ll give you good shepherd-rulers who rule my way,
who rule you with intelligence and wisdom.
16 “And this is what will happen: You will increase and prosper in the land. The time will come”—God’s Decree!—“when no one will say any longer, ‘Oh, for the good old days! Remember the Ark of the Covenant?’ It won’t even occur to anyone to say it—‘the good old days.’ The so-called good old days of the Ark are gone for good.
17 “Jerusalem will be the new Ark—‘God’s Throne.’ All the godless nations, no longer stuck in the ruts of their evil ways, will gather there to honor God.
18 “At that time, the House of Judah will join up with the House of Israel. Holding hands, they’ll leave the north country and come to the land I willed to your ancestors.
* * *
19-20 “I planned what I’d say if you returned to me:
‘Good! I’ll bring you back into the family.
I’ll give you choice land,
land that the godless nations would die for.’
And I imagined that you would say, ‘Dear father!’
and would never again go off and leave me.
But no luck. Like a false-hearted woman walking out on her husband,
you, the whole family of Israel, have proven false to me.”
God’s Decree.
21-22 The sound of voices comes drifting out of the hills,
the unhappy sound of Israel’s crying,
Israel lamenting the wasted years,
never once giving her God a thought.
“Come back, wandering children!
I can heal your wanderlust!”
* * *
22-25 “We’re here! We’ve come back to you.
You’re our own true God!
All that popular religion was a cheap lie,
duped crowds buying up the latest in gods.
We’re back! Back to our true God,
the salvation of Israel.
The Fraud picked us clean, swindled us
of what our ancestors bequeathed us,
Gypped us out of our inheritance—
God-blessed flocks and God-given children.
We made our bed and now lie in it,
all tangled up in the dirty sheets of dishonor.
All because we sinned against our God,
we and our fathers and mothers.
From the time we took our first steps, said our first words,
we’ve been rebels, disobeying the voice of our God.”
* * *
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