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.

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 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 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 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 [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 Have you not from now on called to Me, My Father, You [are] the leader of my youth?

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

5 Does He keep for all time? Watch forever? Behold, you have spoken these things, And you do evil, and prevail.”

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 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 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 say, after her doing all these, Return to Me, and she has not returned, and her treacherous sister Judah sees it.

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 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, 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 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 her giddy incest, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stone and with wood.

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 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 YHWH says to me: “Backsliding Israel has justified herself, More than treacherous Judah.

And the Lord said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself through the 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 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 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 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 “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, 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 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 after my own heart, and they shall feed you with knowledge and intelligence.

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 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 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 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 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 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 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.

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 a woman has deceived her friend, So you have dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” A declaration of YHWH.

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 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 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 “Return, O backsliding sons, I cause your backslidings to cease.” “Behold us, we have come to You, For You [are] our God YHWH.

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

23 Surely in vain—from the heights, The multitude of mountains—Surely the salvation of Israel [is] in our God YHWH.

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 And the shameful thing has devoured The labor of our fathers from our youth, Their flock and their herd, 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 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 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.”