Jeremias 3

Israel Is Shameless

1 "They say, ‘If a man divorces his wife,

And she goes from him

And becomes another man’s,

*Deut. 24:1–4May he return to her again?’

Would not that *Jer. 2:7land be greatly polluted?

But you have *Jer. 2:20; Ezek. 16:26played the harlot with many lovers;

*Jer. 4:1; (Zech. 1:3)Yet return to Me," says the Lord.

2 "Lift up your eyes to *Deut. 12:2; Jer. 2:20; 3:21; 7:29the desolate heights and see:

Where have you not lain withmen?

*Prov. 23:28By the road you have sat for them

Like an Arabian in the wilderness;

*Jer. 2:7And you have polluted the land

With your harlotries and your wickedness.

3 Therefore the *Lev. 26:19; Jer. 14:3–6showers have been withheld,

And there has been no latter rain.

You have had a *Zeph. 3:5harlot’s forehead;

You refuse to be ashamed.

4 Will you not from this time cry to Me,

‘My Father, You are*Ps. 71:17; Prov. 2:17the guide of *Jer. 2:2; Hos. 2:15my youth?

5 *Ps. 103:9; (Is. 57:16); Jer. 3:12Will He remain angry forever?

Will He keep it to the end?’

Behold, you have spoken and done evil things,

As you were able."

A Call to Repentance

6 The Lord said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: "Have you seen what *Jer. 7:24backsliding Israel has done? She has *Jer. 2:20gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot. 7 *2 Kin. 17:13And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous *Jer. 3:11; Ezek. 16:47, 48sister Judah saw it. 8 Then I saw that *Ezek. 23:9for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had *2 Kin. 17:6; Is. 50:1put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; *Ezek. 23:11yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. 9 So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she *Jer. 2:7defiled the land and committed adultery with *Is. 57:6; Jer. 2:27stones and trees. 10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me *Jer. 12:2; Hos. 7:14with her whole heart, but in pretense," says the Lord.

11 Then the Lord said to me, *Ezek. 16:51, 52"Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these words toward *2 Kin. 17:6the north, and say:

‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord;

‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you.

For I am*Ps. 86:15; Jer. 12:15; 31:20; 33:26merciful,’ says the Lord;

‘I will not remain angry forever.

13 *Lev. 26:40; Deut. 30:1, 2; (Prov. 28:13; 1 John 1:9)Only acknowledge your iniquity,

That you have transgressed against the Lord your God,

And have *Ezek. 16:15scattered your charms

To *Jer. 2:25alien deities *Deut. 12:2under every green tree,

And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the Lord.

14 "Return, O backsliding children," says the Lord; *Jer. 31:32; Hos. 2:19, 20"for I am married to you. I will take you, *Jer. 31:6one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to *(Rom. 11:5)Zion. 15 And I will give you *Jer. 23:4; 31:10; (Ezek. 34:23); Eph. 4:11shepherds according to My heart, who will *Acts 20:28feed you with knowledge and understanding.

16 "Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and *Is. 49:19; Jer. 23:3increased in the land in those days," says the Lord, "that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ *Is. 65:17It shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.

17 "At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, *Is. 60:9to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they *Deut. 29:19; Jer. 7:24follow the dictates of their evil hearts.

18 "In those days *Is. 11:13; Jer. 50:4; Ezek. 37:16–22; Hos. 1:11the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of *Jer. 31:8the north to *Amos 9:15the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers.

19 "But I said:

‘How can I put you among the children

And give you *Ps. 106:24a pleasant land,

A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’

"And I said:

‘You shall call Me, *Is. 63:16; Jer. 3:4"My Father,"

And not turn away from Me.’

20 Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband,

So *Is. 48:8have you dealt treacherously with Me,

O house of Israel," says the Lord.

21 A voice was heard on *Is. 15:2the desolate heights,

Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel.

For they have perverted their way;

They have forgotten the Lord their God.

22 "Return, you backsliding children,

And I will *Jer. 30:17; 33:6; Hos. 6:1; 14:4heal your backslidings."

"Indeed we do come to You,

For You are the Lord our God.

23 *Ps. 121:1, 2Truly, in vain issalvationhopedfor from the hills,

Andfrom the multitude of mountains;

*Ps. 3:8; Prov. 21:31; Jer. 17:14; 31:7; Jon. 2:9Truly, in the Lord our God

Is the salvation of Israel.

24 *Jer. 11:13; 14:20; Hos. 9:10For shame has devoured

The labor of our fathers from our youth—

Their flocks and their herds,

Their sons and their daughters.

25 We lie down in our shame,

And our reproach covers us.

*Ezra 9:6, 7For we have sinned against the Lord our God,

We and our fathers,

From our youth even to this day,

And *Jer. 22:21have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God."