Jeremiah 3
1 They say, If a man puts away his wife, and she goes from him, and become another man's, will he return to her again? Will not that land be greatly polluted? But thou have played the harlot with many lovers. Yet return again to me, says Jehovah.
If a man put away his wife, and she depart from him, and become another man's, shall she return to him any more at all? shall not that woman be utterly defiled? you you have gone a-whoring with many shepherds, and have returned to me, says the Lord.
2 Lift up thine eyes to the bare heights, and see. Where have thou not been lain with? By the ways thou have sat for them, as an Arabian in the wilderness, and thou have polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.
Lift up your eyes [to look] straight forward, and see where you have not been utterly defiled. You have sat for them by the wayside as a deserted crow, and have defiled the land with your fornications and your wickedness.
3 Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain. Yet thou have a harlot's forehead; thou refused to be ashamed.
And you did retain many shepherds for a stumbling block to yourself: you had a whore's face, you did become shameless towards all.
4 Will thou not from this time cry to me, My Father, thou are the guide of my youth?
Hast you not called me as it were a home, and the father and guide of your virgin-time?
5 Will he retain his anger forever? Will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou have spoken, and have done evil things, and have had thy way.
Will [God's anger] continue for ever, or be preserved to the end? Behold, you have spoken and done these bad things, and had power [to do them].
6 Moreover Jehovah said to me in the days of Josiah the king, Have thou seen that which backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there has played the harlot.
And the Lord said to me in the days of Josias the king, Hast you seen what things the house of Israel has done to me? they have gone on every high mountain, and under every shady tree, and have committed fornication there.
7 And I said after she had done all these things, She will return to me, but she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.
And I said after she had committed all these acts of fornication, Turn again to me. Yet she returned not. And faithless Juda saw her faithlessness.
8 And I saw, when, for this very cause that backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorcement, yet treacherous Judah her sister feared not, but she also went and played the harlot.
And I saw that (for all the sins of which she was convicted, wherein the house of Israel committed adultery, and I put her away, and gave into her hands a bill of divorcement, ) yet faithless Juda feared not, but went and herself also committed fornication.
9 And it came to pass through the frivolity of her whoredom, that the land was polluted, and she committed adultery with stones and with stocks.
And her fornication was nothing accounted of; and she committed adultery with wood and stone.
10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not returned to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, says Jehovah.
And for all these things faithless Juda turned not to me with all her heart, but falsely.
11 And Jehovah said to me, Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.
And the Lord said to me, Israel has justified himself more than faithless Juda.
12 Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, says Jehovah, I will not look in anger upon you, for I am merciful, says Jehovah. I will not keep anger forever.
Go and read these words towards the north, and you shall say, Return to me, O house of Israel, says the Lord; and I will not set my face against you: for I am merciful, says the Lord, and I will not be angry with you for ever.
13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou have transgressed against Jehovah thy God, and have scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, says Jehovah.
Nevertheless, know your iniquity, that you have sinned against the Lord your God, and have scattered your ways to strangers under every shady tree, but you did not listen to my voice, says the Lord.
14 Return, O backsliding sons, says Jehovah, for I am a husband to you. And I will take you, one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion.
Turn, you children that have revolted, says the Lord; for I will rule over you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you in to Sion:
15 And I will give you shepherds according to my heart, who shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
and I will give you shepherds after my heart, and they shall certainly tend you with knowledge.
16 And it shall come to pass, when ye are multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, says Jehovah, they shall no more say, The ark of the covenant of Jehovah, nor shall it come to mind. Neither shall they remember it, nor shall they miss it. Neither shall it be made any more.
And it shall come to pass that when you are multiplied and increased upon the land, says the Lord, in those days they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Holy One of Israel: it shall not come to mind; it shall not be named; neither shall it be visited; nor shall [this] be done any more.
17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, to the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem. Neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart.
In those days and at that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered to it: and they shall not walk any more after the imaginations 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 gave for an inheritance to your fathers.
In those days the house of Juda, shall come together to the house of Israel, and they shall come, together, from the land of the north, and from all the countries, to the land, which I caused their fathers to inherit.
19 But I said, How I will put thee among the sons, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations! And I said, Ye shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away from following me.
And I said, So be it, Lord, for [you said] I will set you amongst children, and will give you a choice land, the inheritance of the Almighty God of the Gentiles: and I said, You shall call me Father; and you shall not turn away from me.
20 Surely as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so ye have dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, says Jehovah.
But as a wife acts treacherously against her husband, so has the house of Israel dealt treacherously against me, says the Lord.
21 A voice is heard upon the bare heights, the weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel, because they have perverted their way; they have forgotten Jehovah their God.
A voice from the lips was heard, [even] of weeping and supplication of the children of Israel: for they have dealt unrighteously in their ways, they have forgotten God their Holy One.
22 Return, ye backsliding sons, I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we have come to thee, for thou are Jehovah our God.
Turn, you children that are given to turning, and I will heal your bruises. Behold, we will be your servants; for you are the Lord our God.
23 Truly it is in vain from the heights, the multitude on the mountains. Truly in Jehovah our God is the salvation of Israel.
Truly the hills and the strength of the mountains were a lying refuge: but by the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.
24 But the shameful thing has devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
But shame has consumed the labours of our fathers from our youth; their sheep and their calves, and their sons and their daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us, for we have sinned against Jehovah our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God.
We have lain down in our shame, and our disgrace has covered us: because we and our fathers have sinned before our God, from our youth until this day; and we have not listened to the voice of the Lord our God.
