Jeremias 3
Når en Mand frastøder sin hustru, og hun går fra ham og ægter en anden, kan hun så gå tilbage til ham? Er slig en Kvinde ej sunket til Bunds i Vanære? Og du, som boled med mange Elskere, vil tilbage til mig! så lyder det fra HERREN.
Se til de nøgne Høje: Hvor mon du ej lod dig skænde? Ved Vejene vogted du på dem som Araber i Ørk. Du vanæred Landet både ved din Utugt og Ondskab,
en Snare blev dine mange Elskere for dig. En Horkvindes Pande har du, trodser al Skam.
HERREN sagde til mig i Kong Josias's Dage: Så du, hvad den troløse Kvinde Israel gjorde? Hun gik op på ethvert højt Bjerg og hen under ethvert grønt Træ og bolede.
Jeg tænkte, at hun efter at have gjort alt det vilde vende om til mig; men hun vendte ikke om. Det så hendes svigefulde Søster Juda;
hun så, at jeg forstødte den troløse Kvinde Israel for al hendes Hors Skyld, og at jeg gav hende Skilsmissebrev; den svigefulde Søster Juda frygtede dog ikke, men gik også hen og bolede.
Ved sin letsindige Bolen vanærede hun Landet og horede med Sten og Træ.
Og alligevel vendte den svigefulde Søster Juda ikke om til mig af hele sit Hjerte, men kun på Skrømt, lyder det fra HERREN.
Og HERREN sagde til mig: Det troløse Israels Sag står bedre end det svigefulde Judas.
Gå hen og udråb disse Ord mod Nord: Omvend dig, troløse Israel, lyder det fra HERREN; jeg vil ikke vredes på eder, thi nådig er jeg, lyder det fra HERREN; jeg gemmer ej evigt på Vrede;
men vedgå din Uret, at du forbrød dig mod HERREN din Gud; for de fremmedes Skyld løb du hid og did under hvert grønt Træ og hørte ikke min Røst, så lyder det fra HERREN.
Vend om, I frafaldne Søoner, lyder det fra HERREN; thi jeg er eders Herre; jeg tager eder, een fra en By og en fra en Slægt og bringer eder til Zion,
og jeg giver eder Hyrder efter mit Sind, og de skal vogte eder med Indsigt og Kløgt.
Og når I bliver mangfoldige og frugtbare i Landet i hine Dage, lyder det fra HERREN, skal de ikke mere tale om HERRENs Pagts Ark, og Tanken om den skal ikke mere opkomme i noget Hjerte; de skal ikke mere komme den i Hu eller savne den, og en ny skal ikke laves.
På hin Tid skal man kalde Jerusalem HERRENs Trone, og der, til HERRENs Navn i Jerusalem, skal alle Folk strømme sammen, og de skal ikke mere følge deres onde Hjertes Stivsind.
I hine Dage skal Judas Hus vandre til Israels Hus, og samlet skal de drage fra Nordens Land til det Land, jeg gav deres Fædre i Eje.
Men som en Kvinde sviger sin Ven, så sveg du mig, Israels Hus, så lyder det fra HERREN.
Hør, der lyder Gråd på de nøgne Høje, Tryglen af Israels Børn, fordi de vandrede Krogveje, glemte HERREN deres Gud.
Vend om, I frafaldne Sønner, jeg læger eders Frafald. Se, vi kommer til dig, thi du er HERREN vor Gud.
Visselig, Blændværk var Højene, Bjergenes Larm; visselig, hos HERREN vor Gud er Israels Frelse.
Skændselen åd fra vor Ungdom vore Fædres Gods, deres Småkvæg og Hornkvæg, Sønner og Døtre.
Vi lægger os ned i vor Skændsel, vor Skam er vort Tæppe, thi mod HERREN vor Gud har vi syndet, vi og vore Fædre fra Ungdommen af til i Dag; vi høre ikke på Herren vor Guds røst.
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. {They say: Heb. Saying}
Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.
Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.
Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou {art} the guide of my youth?
Will he reserve {his anger} for ever? will he keep {it} to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.
The LORD said also 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.
And I said after she had done all these {things}, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw {it}.
And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.
And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. {lightness: or, fame}
And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD. {feignedly: Heb. in falsehood}
And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.
Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; {and} I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I {am} merciful, saith the LORD, {and} I will not keep {anger} for ever.
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.
Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
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. {come to mind: Heb. come upon the heart} {that...: or, it be magnified}
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 imagination of their evil heart. {imagination: or, stubbornness}
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 have given for an inheritance unto your fathers. {with: or, to} {given...: or, caused your fathers to possess}
But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me. {from me: Heb. from after me} {a goodly...: Heb. an heritage of glory, or, beauty} {pleasant...: Heb. land of desire}
Surely {as} a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD. {husband: Heb. friend}
A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping {and} supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, {and} they have forgotten the LORD their God.
Return, ye backsliding children, {and} I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou {art} the LORD our God.
Truly in vain {is salvation hoped for} from the hills, {and from} the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God {is} the salvation of Israel.
For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.