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.

Saying, 'Lo, one sendeth away his wife, And she hath gone from him, And she hath been to another man, Doth he turn back unto her again? Greatly defiled is not that land? And thou hast committed whoredom with many lovers, And turn again to Me, an affirmation of Jehovah.

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 thine eyes to the high places, and see, Where hast thou not been lain with? On the ways thou hast sat for them, As an Arab in a wilderness, And thou defilest the land, By thy fornications, and by 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 withheld are showers, and gathered rain hath not been. The forehead of a whorish woman thou hast, Thou hast refused to be ashamed.

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

Hast thou not henceforth called to Me, 'My father, Thou [art] the leader of my youth?

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].

Doth He keep to the age? watch for ever?' Lo, these things thou hast spoken, And thou dost the evil things, and prevailest.

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 Jehovah saith unto me, in the days of Josiah the king, 'Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? She is going on every high mountain, and unto the place of every green tree, and committeth fornication 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 say, after her doing all these, Unto Me thou dost turn back, and she hath not turned back, and see [it] doth 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 see when (for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery) I have sent her away, and I give the bill of her divorce unto her, that treacherous Judah her sister hath not feared, and goeth and committeth fornication — she also.

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

And it hath come to pass, from the vileness of her fornication, that the land is defiled, and she committeth fornication with stone and with wood.

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

And even in all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned back unto Me with all her heart, but with falsehood, an affirmation of Jehovah.'

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

And Jehovah saith unto me: 'Justified herself hath backsliding Israel, More than 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 thou hast proclaimed these words toward the north, and hast said, Turn back, O backsliding Israel, An affirmation of Jehovah! I cause not Mine anger to fall upon you, For I [am] kind, an affirmation of Jehovah, I watch not to the age.

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, know thine iniquity, For against Jehovah thy God thou hast transgressed, And thou dost scatter thy ways to strangers, Under every green tree, And to My voice thou hast not hearkened, An affirmation of Jehovah.

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:

Turn back, O backsliding sons, An affirmation of Jehovah. For I have ruled over you, And taken you one of a city, and two of a family, And have brought you to Zion,

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

And I have given to you shepherds According to Mine own heart, And they have fed you with knowledge and understanding.

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 hath come to pass, when ye are multiplied, And have been fruitful in the land, In those days — an affirmation of Jehovah, They say not any more, 'The ark of the covenant of Jehovah,' Nor doth it go up on the heart, Nor do they remember concerning it, Nor do they inspect, nor is it made again.

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 they cry to Jerusalem, 'O throne of Jehovah,' And gathered unto her hath been all the nations, For the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem, Nor do they go 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 do the house of Judah Go unto the house of Israel, And they come together from the land of the south, unto the land That I caused your fathers to inherit.

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.

And I have said, How do I put thee among the sons, And give to thee a desirable land, A beauteous inheritance of the hosts of nations, And I say, My father — ye do call to Me, And from after Me ye do not turn back.

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

But — a woman hath deceived her friend, So ye have dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel, an affirmation of Jehovah.

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 on high places is heard — weeping, Supplications of the sons of Israel, For they have made perverse their way, They have forgotten Jehovah 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.

Turn back, O backsliding sons, I cause your backslidings to cease. — Behold us, we have come to Thee, For Thou [art] Jehovah 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.

Surely in vain from the heights, The multitude of mountains — Surely in Jehovah 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 the shameful thing hath devoured The labour of our fathers from our youth, Their flock and their herd, 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 have lain down in our shame, and cover us doth our confusion, For against Jehovah our God we have sinned, We, and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, Nor have we hearkened to the voice of Jehovah our God!