Jeremiah — Chapter 3

[The word of GOD came to me] as follows: If a man divorces his wife, and she leaves him and gets married to another man, can he ever go back to her? Would not such a land be defiled?aCf. Deut. 24.1–4. Now you have whored with many lovers: can you return to Me?—says GOD.

Look up to the bare heights, and see:Where have they not lain with you?You waited for them on the roadsideLike a banditbbandit Lit. “Arab.” in the wilderness.And you defiled the landWith your whoring and your debauchery.

And when showers were withheldAnd the late rains did not come,You had the brazennesscbrazenness Lit. “forehead.” of a streetwalker,You refused to be ashamed.

Just now you called to Me, “Father!dFather I.e., the One who conveys legitimacy and provides support, in return for loyalty. You are the Companion of my youth.

Does one hate for all time?Does one rageehate…rage Cf. Akkadian parallels nadāru and shamāru. forever?”That is how you spoke;You did wrong, and had your way.fhad your way Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

GOD said to me in the days of King Josiah: Have you seen what Rebel Israel did, going to every high mountain and under every leafy tree, and whoring there?

I thought: After she has done all these things, she will come back to Me. But she did not come back; and her sister, Faithless Judah, saw it.

I noted: Because Rebel Israel had committed adultery, I cast her off and handed her a bill of divorce; yet her sister, Faithless Judah, was not afraid—she too went and whored.

Indeed, the land was defiled by her casual immorality, as she committed adultery with stone and with wood.gwith stone and with wood I.e., she deserted her God for idols of stone and wood.

And after all that, her sister, Faithless Judah, did not return to Me wholeheartedly, but insincerely—declares GOD.

And GOD said to me: Rebel Israel has shown herself more in the right than Faithless Judah.

Go, make this proclamation toward the north, and say: Turn back, O Rebel Israel—declares GOD. I will not look on you in anger, for I am compassionate—declares GOD; I do not bear a grudge for all time.

Only recognize your sin; for you have transgressed against the ETERNAL your God, and scattered your favorshfavors Lit. “ways.” among strangers under every leafy tree, and you have not heeded Me—declares GOD.

Turn back, rebellious children—declares GOD. Since I have espousediespoused Meaning of Heb. baʻalti uncertain; compare 31.32. you, I will take you, one from a town and two from a clan, and bring you to Zion.

And I will give you shepherdsjshepherds Meaning of Heb. uncertain. after My own heart, who will pasture you with knowledge and skill.

And when you increase and are fertile in the land, in those days—declares GOD—people shall no longer speak of the Ark of the Covenant of GOD, nor shall it come to mind. They shall not mention it, or miss it, or make another.

At that time, they shall call Jerusalem “GOD’s Throne,” and all nations shall assemble there, in the name of GOD, at Jerusalem. TheykThey I.e., Israel and Judah. shall no longer follow the willfulness of their evil hearts.

In those days, the House of Judah shall go with the House of Israel; they shall come together from the land of the north to the land I gave your ancestors as a possession.

I had resolved to adopt you as My child, and I gave you a desirable land—the fairest heritage of all the nations; and I thought you would surely call Me “Father,”lFather See note at v. 4. and never cease to be loyal to Me.

Instead, you have broken faith with Me, as a woman breaks faith with a paramour, O House of Israel—declares GOD.

Hark! On the bare heights is heardThe suppliant weeping of the people of Israel,For they have gone a crooked way,Ignoring the ETERNAL their God.

Turn back, O rebellious children,I will heal your afflictions!“Here we are, we come to You,For You, O ETERNAL One, are our God!

Surely, futility comes from the hills,Confusion from the mountains.mSurely, futility comes from … the mountains I.e., the pagan rites celebrated on the hills are futile; exact force of Heb. uncertain. Only through the ETERNAL our GodIs there deliverance for Israel.

But the Shameful ThingnShameful Thing Heb. Bosheth, a contemptuous substitute for Baal. has consumedThe possessions of our ancestors ever since our youth—Their flocks and herds,Their sons and daughters.

Let us lie down in our shame,Let our disgrace cover us;For we have sinned against the ETERNAL our God,We and our ancestors from our youth to this day,And we have not heeded the ETERNAL our God.”