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? shall not that land be greatly polluted? But thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again 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 thine eyes unto the bare heights, and see; where hast thou not been lain with? By the ways hast thou sat for them, as an Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms 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.

Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; yet thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst 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 retain [his anger] for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and hast done evil things, and hast had thy way.

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.

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

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 had done all these things, She will return unto me; but she returned not: and her treacherous sister Judah 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, 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.

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 whoredom, that the land was polluted, and she 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 yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not returned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.

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

And the LORD said unto me, Backsliding Israel hath shewn herself more righteous 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 the LORD; I will not look in anger upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, 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 the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, 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 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 mine heart, which 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 be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the LORD; neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall [that] 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 the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they 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 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 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 said, How shall I put thee among the children, 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.

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 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 heard upon the bare heights, the weeping [and] the supplications of the children of Israel; for that 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 are 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 in vain is [the help that is looked for] from the hills, the tumult 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.

But the shameful thing 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!”

Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day: and we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.