Jeremiah 3–4

3“If a man divorces^d his wife

and she leaves him and marries another man,

should he return to her again?

Would not the land be completely defiled?^e

But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers^f—

would you now return to me?”^g

declares the Lord.

²“Look up to the barren heights^h and see.

Is there any place where you have not been ravished?

By the roadsideⁱ you sat waiting for lovers,

sat like a nomad in the desert.

You have defiled the land^j

with your prostitution^k and wickedness.

³Therefore the showers have been withheld,^l

and no spring rains^m have fallen.

Yet you have the brazenⁿ look of a prostitute;

you refuse to blush with shame.^o

⁴Have you not just called to me:

‘My Father,^p my friend from my youth,^q

⁵will you always be angry?^r

Will your wrath continue forever?’

This is how you talk,

but you do all the evil you can.”

Unfaithful Israel

⁶During the reign of King Josiah,^s the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what faithless^t Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree^u and has committed adultery^v there. ⁷I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister^w Judah saw it.^{x 8}I gave faithless Israel^y her certificate of divorce^z and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear;^a she also went out and committed adultery. ⁹Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land^b and committed adultery^c with stone^d and wood.^{e 10}In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return^f to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,^g” declares the Lord.^h

¹¹The Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel is more righteousⁱ than unfaithful^j Judah.^{k 12}Go, proclaim this message toward the north:^l

“ ‘Return,^m faithlessⁿ Israel,’ declares the Lord,

‘I will frown on you no longer,

for I am faithful,’^o declares the Lord,

‘I will not be angry^p forever.

¹³Only acknowledge^q your guilt—

you have rebelled against the Lord your God,

you have scattered your favors to foreign gods^r

under every spreading tree,^s

and have not obeyed^t me,’ ”

declares the Lord.

¹⁴“Return,^u faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband.^v I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. ¹⁵Then I will give you shepherds^w after my own heart,^x who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. ¹⁶In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land,” declares the Lord, “people will no longer say, ‘The ark^y of the covenant of the Lord.’ It will never enter their minds or be remembered;^z it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. ¹⁷At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne^a of the Lord, and all nations^b will gather in Jerusalem to honor^c the name of the Lord. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.^{d 18}In those days the people of Judah will join the people of Israel,^e and together^f they will come from a northern^g land to the land^h I gave your ancestors as an inheritance.

¹⁹“I myself said,

“ ‘How gladly would I treat you like my children

and give you a pleasant land,ⁱ

the most beautiful inheritance^j of any nation.’

I thought you would call me ‘Father’^k

and not turn away from following me.

²⁰But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,

so you, Israel, have been unfaithful^l to me,”

declares the Lord.

²¹A cry is heard on the barren heights,^m

the weepingⁿ and pleading of the people of Israel,

because they have perverted their ways

and have forgotten^o the Lord their God.

²²“Return,^p faithless people;

I will cure^q you of backsliding.”^r

“Yes, we will come to you,

for you are the Lord our God.

²³Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills^s

and mountains is a deception;

surely in the Lord our God

is the salvation^t of Israel.

²⁴From our youth shameful^u gods have consumed

the fruits of our ancestors’ labor—

their flocks and herds,

their sons and daughters.

²⁵Let us lie down in our shame,^v

and let our disgrace cover us.

We have sinned^w against the Lord our God,

both we and our ancestors;^x

from our youth^y till this day

we have not obeyed^z the Lord our God.”

4“If you, Israel, will return,^a

then return to me,”

declares the Lord.

“If you put your detestable idols^b out of my sight

and no longer go astray,

²and if in a truthful, just and righteous way

you swear,^c ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’^d

then the nations will invoke blessings^e by him

and in him they will boast.^f”

³This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem:

“Break up your unplowed ground^g

and do not sow among thorns.^h

⁴Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,

circumcise your hearts,ⁱ

you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

or my wrath^j will flare up and burn like fire^k

because of the evil^l you have done—

burn with no one to quench^m it.

Disaster From the North

⁵“Announce in Judah and proclaimⁿ in Jerusalem and say:

‘Sound the trumpet^o throughout the land!’

Cry aloud and say:

‘Gather together!

Let us flee to the fortified cities!’^p

⁶Raise the signal^q to go to Zion!

Flee for safety without delay!

For I am bringing disaster^r from the north,^s

even terrible destruction.”

⁷A lion^t has come out of his lair;^u

a destroyer^v of nations has set out.

He has left his place

to lay waste^w your land.

Your towns will lie in ruins^x

without inhabitant.

⁸So put on sackcloth,^y

lament^z and wail,

for the fierce anger^a of the Lord

has not turned away from us.

⁹“In that day,” declares the Lord,

“the king and the officials will lose heart,^b

the priests will be horrified,

and the prophets will be appalled.”^c

¹⁰Then I said, “Alas, Sovereign Lord! How completely you have deceived^d this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’^e when the sword is at our throats!”

¹¹At that time this people and Jerusalem will be told, “A scorching wind^f from the barren heights in the desert blows toward my people, but not to winnow or cleanse; ¹²a wind^g too strong for that comes from me. Now I pronounce my judgments^h against them.”

¹³Look! He advances like the clouds,ⁱ

his chariots^j come like a whirlwind,^k

his horses^l are swifter than eagles.^m

Woe to us! We are ruined!ⁿ

¹⁴Jerusalem, wash^o the evil from your heart and be saved.^p

How long^q will you harbor wicked thoughts?

¹⁵A voice is announcing from Dan,^r

proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.^s

¹⁶“Tell this to the nations,

proclaim concerning Jerusalem:

‘A besieging army is coming from a distant land,^t

raising a war cry^u against the cities of Judah.^v

¹⁷They surround^w her like men guarding a field,

because she has rebelled^x against me,’ ”

declares the Lord.

¹⁸“Your own conduct and actions^y

have brought this on you.^z

This is your punishment.

How bitter^a it is!

How it pierces to the heart!”

¹⁹Oh, my anguish, my anguish!^b

I writhe in pain.^c

Oh, the agony of my heart!

My heart pounds^d within me,

I cannot keep silent.^e

For I have heard the sound of the trumpet;^f

I have heard the battle cry.^g

²⁰Disaster follows disaster;^h

the whole land lies in ruins.ⁱ

In an instant my tents^j are destroyed,

my shelter in a moment.

²¹How long must I see the battle standard^k

and hear the sound of the trumpet?^l

²²“My people are fools;^m

they do not know me.ⁿ

They are senseless children;

they have no understanding.^o

They are skilled in doing evil;^p

they know not how to do good.”^q

²³I looked at the earth,

and it was formless and empty;^r

and at the heavens,

and their light^s was gone.

²⁴I looked at the mountains,

and they were quaking;^t

all the hills were swaying.

²⁵I looked, and there were no people;

every bird in the sky had flown away.^u

²⁶I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;^v

all its towns lay in ruins^w

before the Lord, before his fierce anger.^x

²⁷This is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be ruined,^y

though I will not destroy^z it completely.

²⁸Therefore the earth will mourn^a

and the heavens above grow dark,^b

because I have spoken and will not relent,^c

I have decided and will not turn back.^d”

²⁹At the sound of horsemen and archers^e

every town takes to flight.^f

Some go into the thickets;

some climb up among the rocks.^g

All the towns are deserted;^h

no one lives in them.

³⁰What are you doing,ⁱ you devastated one?

Why dress yourself in scarlet

and put on jewels^j of gold?

Why highlight your eyes with makeup?^k

You adorn yourself in vain.

Your lovers^l despise you;

they want to kill you.^m

³¹I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,ⁿ

a groan as of one bearing her first child—

the cry of Daughter Zion^o gasping for breath,^p

stretching out her hands^q and saying,

“Alas! I am fainting;

my life is given over to murderers.”^r