Jeremiah 3

“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.”