Jeremiah 3:1-5
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]
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 3:1-5
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.”
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
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