Jeremiah 3:11-22
Evangelical Heritage Version
11 Then the Lord said to me:
Unfaithful Israel is more righteous than treacherous Judah.
12 Go, proclaim these words to the north.
Return, unfaithful Israel, declares the Lord.
I will no longer frown on you,
because I am merciful, declares the Lord.
I will not be angry forever.
13 At least acknowledge your guilt.
Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God.
You have distributed your favors to strangers under every green tree,
and you have not listened to me, declares the Lord.
14 Return, unfaithful people, declares the Lord, because I am your husband. I will take you—one from a city, two from a family—and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 In those days, when you have been fruitful and increased in number in the land, declares the Lord, men will no longer say, “The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.” It will not enter their minds. It will not be remembered. It will not be missed, nor will another one be made. 17 Then they will call Jerusalem “The Throne of the Lord.” All nations will gather there in Jerusalem for the sake of the name of the Lord. No longer will they stubbornly follow their own evil hearts.
18 In those days the house of Judah will join with the house of Israel, and together they will come from a land in the north to the land I gave your fathers as an inheritance.
A Dialogue Between the Lord and Israel About True Repentance
The Lord
19 I myself said that I would like to treat you like sons
and give you a desirable land,
the most splendid inheritance among the entire army of nations.
I thought you would call me Father
and would no longer turn away from me.
20 But you, O house of Israel, have been unfaithful to me,
like a wife who is unfaithful to her husband, declares the Lord.
21 A cry is heard on the bare hills,
the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel,
because they have perverted their way.
They have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 Return, unfaithful people.
I will cure you of your unfaithfulness.
The People
Yes, we will come to you,
for you are the Lord our God!
The Holy Bible, Evangelical Heritage Version®, EHV®, © 2019 Wartburg Project, Inc. All rights reserved.