Jeremiah 3 | King James Version

King James Version

1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man', shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD. 2 Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness. 3 Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore' forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed. 4 Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth? 5 Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest. 6 The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot. 7 And I said after she had done all these things , Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it . 8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. 9 And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. 10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD. 11 And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. 13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. 14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: 15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased 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 to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it ; neither shall that be done any more. 17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart. 18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. 19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me. 20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD. 21 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the LORD their God. 22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God. 23 Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel. 24 For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.

New International Reader’s Version

1 ‘Suppose a man divorces his wife. What if she then marries another man? Should her first husband return to her again? If he does, won’t the land become completely “unclean”? People of Israel, you have lived like a prostitute. You have loved many other gods. So do you think you can return to me now?’ announces the LORD. 2 ‘Look up at the bare hilltops. Is there any place where you have not worshipped other gods? You have been unfaithful to me like a wife committing adultery. By the side of the road you sat waiting for lovers. You sat there like someone who wanders in the desert. You have made the land impure. You are like a sinful prostitute. 3 So I have held back the showers. I have kept the spring rains from falling. But you still have the bold face of a prostitute. You refuse to blush with shame. 4 You have just now called out to me. You said, “My Father, you have been my friend ever since I was young. 5 Will you always be angry with me? Will your anger continue for ever?” This is how you talk. But you do all the evil things you can.’

Israel is not faithful to the Lord

6 During the time Josiah was king, the LORD spoke to me. He said, ‘Have you seen what the people of Israel have done? They have not been faithful to me. They have committed adultery with other gods. They worshipped them on every high hill and under every green tree. 7 I thought that after they had done all this, they would return to me. But they did not. Their sister nation Judah saw them doing this. And they were not faithful to me either. 8 I gave Israel their letter of divorce. I sent them away because they were unfaithful to me so many times. But I saw that their sister nation Judah did not have any respect for me. They were not faithful to me either. They also went out and committed adultery with other gods. 9 Israel was not faithful to me, but that did not bother them at all. They made the land “unclean”. They worshipped gods that were made out of stone and wood. 10 In spite of all this, their sister nation Judah did not come back to me. They were not faithful to me either. They did not return with all their heart. They only pretended to,’ announces the LORD. 11 The LORD said to me, ‘Israel and Judah have not been faithful to me. But Israel was not as bad as Judah was. 12 Go. Announce this message to the people in the north. Tell them, ‘ “Israel, you have not been faithful,” announces the LORD. “Return to me. Then I will do good things for you again. That’s because I am faithful,” announces the LORD. “I will not be angry with you for ever. 13 Admit that you are guilty of doing what is wrong. You have refused to obey me. I am the LORD your God. You have committed adultery with other gods. You worshipped them under every green tree. And you have not obeyed me,” ’ announces the LORD. 14 ‘You people have not been faithful,’ announces the LORD. ‘Return to me. I am your husband. I will choose one of you from each town. I will choose two from each territory. And I will bring you to the city of Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds who are dear to my heart. Their knowledge and understanding will help them lead you. 16 In those days there will be many more of you in the land,’ announces the LORD. ‘Then people will not talk about the ark of the covenant of the LORD anymore. It will never enter their minds. They will not remember it. The ark will not be missed. And another one will not be made. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD. All the nations will gather together there. They will go there to honour me. They will no longer do what their stubborn and evil hearts want them to do. 18 In those days the people of Judah will join the people of Israel. Together they will come from a land in the north. They will come to the land I gave to your people of long ago. I wanted them to have it as their very own. 19 ‘I myself said, ‘ “I would gladly treat you like my children. I would give you a pleasant land. It is the most beautiful land any nation could have.” I thought you would call me “Father”. I hoped you would always obey me. 20 But you people are like a woman who is not faithful to her husband. Israel, you have not been faithful to me,’ announces the LORD. 21 A cry is heard on the bare hilltops. The people of Israel are weeping and begging for help. That’s because their lives are so twisted. They’ve forgotten the LORD their God. 22 ‘You have not been faithful,’ says the LORD. ‘Return to me. I will heal you. Then you will not turn away from me anymore.’ ‘Yes’, the people say. ‘We will come to you. You are the LORD our God. 23 The gods we worship on the hills and mountains are useless. You are the LORD our God. You are the only one who can save us. 24 From our earliest years shameful gods have harmed us. They have eaten up everything our people of long ago worked for. They have eaten up our flocks and herds. They’ve destroyed our sons and daughters. 25 Let us lie down in our shame. Let our dishonour cover us. You are the LORD our God. But we have sinned against you. We and our people of long ago have sinned. We haven’t obeyed you from our earliest years until now.’