< Jeremiah 3 >

1 “Saying, Behold, one sends his wife away, And she has gone from him, And she has been to another man, Does he return to her again? Is that land not greatly defiled? And you have committed whoredom with many lovers, And turn to Me again,” A declaration of YHWH.
They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? Would not that land be utterly polluted? But thou hast committed fornication with many lovers; yet return to me, saith Jehovah.
2 “Lift your eyes to the high places, and see, Where have you not been lain with? You have sat for them on the ways, As an Arab in a wilderness, And you defile the land, By your fornications, and by your wickedness.
Lift up thine eyes unto the heights and see, where hast thou not been lain with? In the ways hast thou sat for them, as an Arab in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy fornications and with thy wickedness.
3 And showers are withheld, and there has been no spring rain. You have the forehead of a whorish woman, You have refused to be ashamed.
And the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; but thou hast a harlot's forehead, thou refusest to be ashamed.
4 Have you not from now on called to Me, My Father, You [are] the leader of my youth?
Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?
5 Does He keep for all time? Watch forever? Behold, you have spoken these things, And you do evil, and prevail.”
Will he keep [his anger] for ever? Will he preserve it perpetually? Behold, thou hast spoken and hast done evil things, and thou art [so] determined.
6 And YHWH says to me, in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen that which backsliding Israel has done? She is going on every high mountain, and to the place of every green tree, and commits fornication there.
And Jehovah said unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen what backsliding Israel hath done? She hath gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath committed fornication.
7 And I say, after her doing all these, Return to Me, and she has not returned, and her treacherous sister Judah sees it.
And I said, After she hath done all these [things], she will return unto me; but she returned not. And her sister Judah, the treacherous, saw [it].
8 And I see that for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery, I have sent her away, and I give the bill of her divorce to her; and her treacherous sister Judah has not feared, and goes and commits fornication—she also.
And I saw that when for all the causes wherein backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce, yet the treacherous Judah, her sister, feared not, but went and committed fornication also.
9 And it has come to pass, from the vileness of her fornication, that the land is defiled, and she commits fornication with stone and with wood.
And it came to pass through the lightness of her fornication that she polluted the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.
10 And even in all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned back to Me with all her heart, but with falsehood,” a declaration of YHWH.
And even for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not returned unto me with her whole heart, but with falsehood, saith Jehovah.
11 And YHWH says to me: “Backsliding Israel has justified herself, More than treacherous Judah.
And Jehovah said unto me, Backsliding Israel hath shewn herself more just than treacherous Judah.
12 Go, and you have proclaimed these words toward the north, and have said, Return, O backsliding Israel,” A declaration of YHWH! “I do not cause My anger to fall on you, for I [am] kind,” A declaration of YHWH, “I do not watch for all time.
Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith Jehovah: I will not make my face dark upon you; for I am merciful, saith Jehovah; I will not keep [anger] for ever.
13 Only, know your iniquity, For you have transgressed against your God YHWH, And you scatter your ways to strangers, Under every green tree, And you have not listened to My voice,” A declaration of YHWH.
Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against Jehovah thy God, and hast turned thy ways hither and thither to the strangers under every green tree; and ye have not hearkened to my voice, saith Jehovah.
14 “Return, O backsliding sons,” A declaration of YHWH. “For I have ruled over you, And taken you—one from a city, and two from a family, And have brought you to Zion,
Return, backsliding children, saith Jehovah; for I am a husband 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 have given shepherds to you According to My own heart, And they have fed you with knowledge and understanding.
And I will give you shepherds according to my heart, and they shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
16 And it has come to pass, when you are multiplied, And have been fruitful in the land, In those days,” A declaration of YHWH, “They no longer say, The Ark of the Covenant of YHWH, Nor does it go up on the heart, Nor do they remember concerning it, Nor do they inspect, nor is it made again.
And it shall come to pass, when ye are multiplied in the land and become fruitful, in those days, saith Jehovah, they shall say no more, Ark of the covenant of Jehovah! neither shall it come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit [it]; neither shall it be done any more.
17 At that time they cry to Jerusalem, O throne of YHWH, And all the nations have been gathered to her, For the Name of YHWH, to Jerusalem, Nor do they go after the stubbornness of their evil heart anymore.
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem; and they shall no more walk after the stubbornness of their evil heart.
18 In those days the house of Judah Goes to the house of Israel, And they come together from the land of the south, To the land that I caused your fathers to inherit.
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 which I caused your fathers to inherit.
19 And I have said, How do I put you among the sons, And give a desirable land to you, A beautiful inheritance of the hosts of nations, And I say, You call Me—My Father, And you do not turn back from after Me.
And as for me, I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee the pleasant land, the goodly inheritance of the hosts of the nations? And I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from following me.
20 But a woman has deceived her friend, So you have dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” A declaration of YHWH.
Surely [as] a woman treacherously departeth from her companion, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah.
21 A voice is heard on high places—weeping, Supplications of the sons of Israel, For they have made their way perverse, They have forgotten their God YHWH.
A voice is heard upon the heights, the weeping supplications of the children of Israel; for they have perverted their way, they have forgotten Jehovah their God.
22 “Return, O backsliding sons, I cause your backslidings to cease.” “Behold us, we have come to You, For You [are] our God YHWH.
— Return, backsliding children; I will heal your backslidings. ...Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art Jehovah our God.
23 Surely in vain—from the heights, The multitude of mountains—Surely the salvation of Israel [is] in our God YHWH.
Truly in vain [is salvation looked for] from the hills, [and] the multitude of mountains; truly in Jehovah our God is the salvation of Israel.
24 And the shameful thing has devoured The labor of our fathers from our youth, Their flock and their herd, Their sons and their daughters.
But shame hath devoured the labour 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 confusion covers us, For we have sinned against our God YHWH, We, and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, Nor have we listened to the voice of our God YHWH!”
We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us; for we have sinned against Jehovah our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not hearkened to the voice of Jehovah our God.

< Jeremiah 3 >