Jeremias 3

1 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.

One could say, Behold, if a man send away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, can he return unto her again? would not that land be greatly polluted? and thou hast played the harlot with many companions, and wilt yet return to me, saith the Lord.

2 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.

Lift up thy eyes unto the mountain-tops, and see where thou hast not been lain with. On public roads hast thou sat for them, as the Arab in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy incests and with thy wickedness.

3 And you did retain many shepherds for a stumbling block to yourself: you had a whore's face, you did become shameless towards all.

And [though] the early showers were withholden, and the latter rain came not: yet hadst thou a forehead of an incestuous wife, thou refusedst to feel shame.

4 Hast you not called me as it were a home, and the father and guide of your virgin-time?

Wilt thou not from this time call out unto mem My father, the guide of my youth art thou?

5 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].

Will he bear grudge for ever? will he keep it to eternity? Behold, thou hast spoken [this], and yet hast done the things that are evil as much as thou wast able.

6 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.

And the Lord said unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen what backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and hath played the harlot there.

7 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.

And I thought that after she had done all these things, she would return unto me. But she returned not. And this saw her treacherous sister Judah.

8 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.

And I saw, that, although because backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had sent her away, and given her bill of divorce unto her, still treacherous Judah her sister feared not, but went and played herself the harlot also.

9 And her fornication was nothing accounted of; and she committed adultery with wood and stone.

And it came to pass through her giddy incest, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stone and with wood.

10 And for all these things faithless Juda turned not to me with all her heart, but falsely.

And yet with all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not returned unto me with all her heart, but with falsehood, saith the Lord.

11 And the Lord said to me, Israel has justified himself more than faithless Juda.

And the Lord said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself through the treacherous Judah.

12 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.

Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the Lord: I will not cause my anger to fall upon you; for I am full of kindness, saith the Lord, I will not hear grudge for ever.

13 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.

Only acknowledge thy iniquity, that against the Lord thy God thou hast rebelled, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and that unto my voice ye have not hearkened, saith the Lord.

14 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:

Return, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am become your husband; and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and bring you to Zion:

15 and I will give you shepherds after my heart, and they shall certainly tend you with knowledge.

And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, and they shall feed you with knowledge and intelligence.

16 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.

And it shall come to pass, when ye multiply and increase in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, that men shall not say any more, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord;” nor shall it come any more to mind; nor shall they remember it; nor shall they mention it; nor shall any thing be done any more [with it].

17 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.

At that time shall they call Jerusalem, The throne of the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: and they shall not walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart.

18 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.

In those days shall the house of Judah walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north unto the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.

19 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.

But I had thought, How shall I establish thee among the [other] sons [of man], and give thee a desirable land, a heritage of glory of the hosts of nations? and I thought, My father thou wouldst call me, and that from me thou wouldst not turn away.

20 But as a wife acts treacherously against her husband, so has the house of Israel dealt treacherously against me, says the Lord.

But truly 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 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.

A voice is now heard upon the mountain-tops, the supplicatory weeping of the children of Israel; for they have perverted their way, they have forgotten the Lord their God.

22 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.

Return, ye backsliding children, I will heal your backslidings. “Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God.

23 Truly the hills and the strength of the mountains were a lying refuge: but by the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.

Truly deceptive was [what we hoped for] from the hills, and the multitude on the mountains; truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.

24 But shame has consumed the labours of our fathers from our youth; their sheep and their calves, and their sons and their daughters.

And shame hath devoured the acquisition of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

25 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.

We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us; for against the Lord our God have we sinned, we and our fathers, from our youth even until this day; and we have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God.”