Jeremiah 3:11-22
Expanded Bible
11 The Lord said to me, “·Unfaithful [Apostate] Israel ·had a better excuse [L is more righteous] than ·wicked [traitorous; treacherous] Judah. 12 Go and speak ·this message [L these words] toward the north:
‘·Come back [Return], ·unfaithful [apostate] people of Israel,’ says the Lord.
‘I will ·stop being angry [no longer frown; L make my face fall] at you,
because I am ·full of mercy [loyal],’ says the Lord.
‘I will not be angry with you forever.
13 ·All you have to do is admit your sin—[L Acknowledge your guilt]
that you ·turned [rebelled; transgressed] against the Lord your God
and ·worshiped gods [L scattered your ways to strangers] under every green tree [2:20]
and didn’t ·obey me [L listen to my voice],’” says the Lord.
14 “·Come back [Return] to me, you ·unfaithful [apostate] children,” says the Lord, “because I am your master. I will take one person from every city and two from every ·family group [clan], and I will bring you to ·Jerusalem [L Zion; C the location of the Temple]. 15 Then I will give you ·new rulers [L shepherds] ·who will be faithful to me [L according to my heart], who will ·lead [shepherd] you with knowledge and ·understanding [insight]. 16 In those days ·there will be many of you [L you will multiply and be fruitful] in the land,” says the Lord. “At that time people will no longer say, ‘The Ark of the ·Agreement [L Covenant; Testimony; Treaty; Ex. 25:10].’ They won’t remember it or miss it or make another one. 17 At that time people will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord [C due to God’s presence], and all nations will ·come together [gather] in Jerusalem to ·show respect to [L the name of] the Lord [12:15–16; 16:19; Is. 2:2–4; 56:6–7; Mic. 4:1–3; Zech. 2:11; 8:2–23; 14:16–17]. They will not ·follow [L go after] their stubborn, evil hearts anymore. 18 In those days the ·family [L house] of Judah will join the ·family [L house] of Israel. They will come together from a land in the north to the land I ·gave their ancestors [L caused their ancestors/fathers to inherit; C the future return from exile].
19 “I, the Lord, said,
‘How ·happy I would be to treat you as [L I would set you among] my own children
and give you a ·pleasant [favored; coveted; desired] land,
a ·land [inheritance] more beautiful than that of any other nation [Ex. 3:8, 17; Lam. 2:15; Ezek. 20:6; Dan. 11:16, 41].’
I thought you would call me ‘My Father’
and not turn away from me.
20 But like a woman who is ·unfaithful [a traitor; treacherous] to her husband,
·family [L house] of Israel, you have been unfaithful [a traitor; treacherous] to me,” says the Lord.
21 You can hear ·crying [L a voice] on the bare hilltops [3:2].
It is the people of Israel crying and ·praying for mercy [supplicating].
They have ·become very evil [L wandered off their path]
and have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 “Come back to me, you ·unfaithful [apostate] children,
and I will ·forgive [L heal] you for being ·unfaithful [apostate].”
“Yes, we will come to you,
because you are the Lord our God.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
