Jeremiah 3–4

“If a man divorces^q his wife

and she leaves him and marries another man,

should he return to her again?

Would not the land be completely defiled?^r

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

would you now return to me?”^t

declares the Lord.

“Look up to the barren heights^u and see.

Is there any place where you have not been ravished?

By the roadside^v you sat waiting for lovers,

sat like a nomad in the desert.

You have defiled the land^w

with your prostitution^x and wickedness.

Therefore the showers have been withheld,^y

and no spring rains^z have fallen.

Yet you have the brazen^a look of a prostitute;

you refuse to blush with shame.^b

Have you not just called to me:

‘My Father,^c my friend from my youth,^d

will you always be angry?^e

Will your wrath continue forever?’

This is how you talk,

but you do all the evil you can.”

Unfaithful Israel

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

The Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel is more righteous^q than unfaithful^r Judah.^s Go, proclaim this message toward the north:^t

“ ‘Return,^u faithless^v Israel,’ declares the Lord,

‘I will frown on you no longer,

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

‘I will not be angry^x forever.

Only acknowledge^y your guilt—

you have rebelled against the Lord your God,

you have scattered your favors to foreign gods^z

under every spreading tree,^a

and have not obeyed^b me,’ ”

declares the Lord.

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

“I myself said,

“ ‘How gladly would I treat you like my children

and give you a pleasant land,^q

the most beautiful inheritance^r of any nation.’

I thought you would call me ‘Father’^s

and not turn away from following me.

But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,

so you, house of Israel, have been unfaithful^t to me,”

declares the Lord.

A cry is heard on the barren heights,^u

the weeping^v and pleading of the people of Israel,

because they have perverted their ways

and have forgotten^w the Lord their God.

“Return,^x faithless people;

I will cure^y you of backsliding.”^z

“Yes, we will come to you,

for you are the Lord our God.

Surely the ^⌈idolatrous^⌈ commotion on the hills^a

and mountains is a deception;

surely in the Lord our God

is the salvation^b of Israel.

From our youth shameful^c gods have consumed

the fruits of our ancestors’ labor—

their flocks and herds,

their sons and daughters.

Let us lie down in our shame,^d

and let our disgrace cover us.

We have sinned^e against the Lord our God,

both we and our ancestors;^f

from our youth^g till this day

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

“If you, Israel, will return,ⁱ

then return to me,”

declares the Lord.

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

and no longer go astray,

and if in a truthful, just and righteous way

you swear,^k ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’^l

then the nations will invoke blessings^m by him

and in him they will boast.ⁿ”

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

“Break up your unplowed ground^o

and do not sow among thorns.^p

Circumcise yourselves to the Lord,

circumcise your hearts,^q

you people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem,

or my wrath^r will flare up and burn like fire^s

because of the evil^t you have done—

burn with no one to quench^u it.

Disaster From the North

“Announce in Judah and proclaim^a in Jerusalem and say:

‘Sound the trumpet^b throughout the land!’

Cry aloud and say:

‘Gather together!

Let us flee to the fortified cities!’^c

Raise the signal^d to go to Zion!

Flee for safety without delay!

For I am bringing disaster^e from the north,^f

even terrible destruction.”

A lion^g has come out of his lair;^h

a destroyerⁱ of nations has set out.

He has left his place

to lay waste^j your land.

Your towns will lie in ruins^k

without inhabitant.

So put on sackcloth,^l

lament^m and wail,

for the fierce angerⁿ of the Lord

has not turned away from us.

“In that day,” declares the Lord,

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

the priests will be horrified,

and the prophets will be appalled.”^p

Then I said, “Ah, Sovereign Lord, how completely you have deceived^q this people and Jerusalem by saying, ‘You will have peace,’^r when the sword is at our throats.”

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

Look! He advances like the clouds,^v

his chariots^w come like a whirlwind,^x

his horses^y are swifter than eagles.^z

Woe to us! We are ruined!^a

Jerusalem, wash^b the evil from your heart and be saved.^c

How long^d will you harbor wicked thoughts?

A voice is announcing from Dan,^e

proclaiming disaster from the hills of Ephraim.^f

“Tell this to the nations,

proclaim concerning Jerusalem:

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

raising a war cry^h against the cities of Judah.ⁱ

They surround^j her like people guarding a field,

because she has rebelled^k against me,’ ”

declares the Lord.

“Your own conduct and actions^l

have brought this on you.^m

This is your punishment.

How bitterⁿ it is!

How it pierces to the heart!”

Oh, my anguish, my anguish!^o

I writhe in pain.^p

Oh, the agony of my heart!

My heart pounds^q within me,

I cannot keep silent.^r

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

I have heard the battle cry.^t

Disaster follows disaster;^u

the whole land lies in ruins.^v

In an instant my tents^w are destroyed,

my shelter in a moment.

How long must I see the battle standard^x

and hear the sound of the trumpet?^y

“My people are fools;^z

they do not know me.^a

They are senseless children;

they have no understanding.^b

They are skilled in doing evil;^c

they know not how to do good.”^d

I looked at the earth,

and it was formless and empty;^e

and at the heavens,

and their light^f was gone.

I looked at the mountains,

and they were quaking;^g

all the hills were swaying.

I looked, and there were no people;

every bird in the sky had flown away.^h

I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;ⁱ

all its towns lay in ruins^j

before the Lord, before his fierce anger.^k

This is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be ruined,^l

though I will not destroy^m it completely.

Therefore the earth will mournⁿ

and the heavens above grow dark,^o

because I have spoken and will not relent,^p

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

At the sound of horsemen and archers^r

every town takes to flight.^s

Some go into the thickets;

some climb up among the rocks.^t

All the towns are deserted;^u

no one lives in them.

What are you doing,^v you devastated one?

Why dress yourself in scarlet

and put on jewels^w of gold?

Why color your eyes with paint?^x

You adorn yourself in vain.

Your lovers^y despise you;

they seek your life.^z

I hear a cry as of a woman in labor,^a

a groan as of one bearing her first child—

the cry of Daughter Zion^b gasping for breath,^c

stretching out her hands^d and saying,

“Alas! I am fainting;

my life is given over to murderers.”^e