Jeremiah 3:11-22
Lexham English Bible
A Call for Repentance
11 Then Yahweh said to me, “Apostate[a] Israel has proved herself more upright[b] than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say,
‘Return, apostate[c] Israel,’ declares[d] Yahweh.
‘I will not cause my anger[e] to fall on you.
For I am loyal,’ declares[f] Yahweh.
‘I will not be angry forever.[g]
13 Only acknowledge your guilt,
that against Yahweh your God you have rebelled,
and have scattered your ways to the strangers under every leafy tree,
and you have not obeyed my voice,’ declares[h] Yahweh.”
14 “Return, apostate[i] children,” declares[j] Yahweh. “For I am your master,[k] and I will take you one from a city and two from a clan,[l] and I will bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart and they will feed you knowledge and insight. 16 And it will be when you have multiplied and become fruitful in the land in those days,” declares[m] Yahweh, “they will no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of Yahweh.’ And it will not come to mind,[n] nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it,[o] nor will it be made again. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The Throne of Yahweh,’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of Yahweh, to Jerusalem, and they will no longer go after the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah will walk along with the house of Israel and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave as an inheritance to your ancestors.[p]
19 Then I thought, ‘How I would set you among the children,
and I would give you a land of desire,
an inheritance of the glory of the hosts of nations.’
And I thought, ‘You would call me, “My father,”
and you would not turn back from behind[q] me.’
20 However, as a wife departs treacherously from her lover,
so you have dealt treacherously with me,
O house of Israel,” declares[r] Yahweh.
21 “A voice is heard on the barren heights,
the weeping of the pleas for mercy of the children of Israel,
because they have perverted their way,
they have forgotten Yahweh their God.
22 Return, O apostate[s] children,
I will heal your backsliding.
‘Look, we come to you,
for you are Yahweh our God.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 3:11 Or “unfaithful”
- Jeremiah 3:11 Or “righteous”
- Jeremiah 3:12 Or “unfaithful”
- Jeremiah 3:12 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 3:12 Literally “faces”
- Jeremiah 3:12 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 3:12 Literally “to eternity”
- Jeremiah 3:13 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 3:14 Or “unfaithful”
- Jeremiah 3:14 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 3:14 Literally “I rule over among you”
- Jeremiah 3:14 Or “family”
- Jeremiah 3:16 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 3:16 Literally “it shall not go up on heart”
- Jeremiah 3:16 Here the direct object is supplied from context in the English translation
- Jeremiah 3:18 Or “fathers”
- Jeremiah 3:19 Or “following”
- Jeremiah 3:20 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 3:22 Or “unfaithful”
Jeremiah 3:11-22
Common English Bible
11 Then the Lord said to me: Unfaithful Israel is less guilty[a] than disloyal Judah.
12 Go proclaim these words to the north and say:
Return, unfaithful Israel,
declares the Lord.
I won’t reject you,
for I’m faithful,
declares the Lord;
I won’t stay angry forever.
13 Only acknowledge your wrongdoing:
how you have rebelled against the Lord your God,
and given yourself to strangers
under every lush tree
and haven’t obeyed me,
declares the Lord.
14 Return, rebellious children,
declares the Lord,
for I’m your husband.
I’ll gather you—
one from a city and two from a tribe—
and bring you back to Zion.
15 I will appoint shepherds with whom I’m pleased, and they will lead you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And in those days, when your numbers have greatly increased in the land, declares the Lord, people will no longer talk about the Lord’s covenant chest; they won’t recall or remember it; they won’t even miss it or try to build another one. 17 At that time, they will call Jerusalem the Lord’s throne, and all nations will gather there to honor the Lord’s name. No longer will they follow their own willful and evil hearts. 18 In those days the people of Judah and Israel will leave the north together for the land that I gave their ancestors as an inheritance.
19 I thought to myself, How wonderful it would be
to treat you like children
and give you a beautiful land,
an inheritance unrivaled among the nations.
And I thought, You will call me father,
and you won’t turn away from me.
20 But as a woman betrays her lover,
so you, people of Israel, have betrayed me,
declares the Lord.
21 A voice is heard on the well-traveled paths;[b]
it’s the crying and pleading of the people of Israel,
who have lost their way
and forgotten the Lord their God.
22 Return, rebellious children,
and I will heal your rebellion.
“Here we are; we come to you,
for you are the Lord our God.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 3:11 Or more righteous
- Jeremiah 3:21 Or bare heights
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Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible