Zion Corrupted, to Be Redeemed

21 How the faithful city has become a (A)harlot,
She who was full of justice!
Righteousness once lodged in her,
But now murderers.

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21 See how the faithful city
    has become a prostitute!(A)
She once was full of justice;
    righteousness(B) used to dwell in her—
    but now murderers!(C)

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25 “Keep your feet from being unshod
And your throat from thirst;
But you said, ‘(A)It is [a]hopeless!
No! For I have (B)loved strangers,
And after them I will walk.’

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 2:25 Or desperate

25 Do not run until your feet are bare
    and your throat is dry.
But you said, ‘It’s no use!(A)
    I love foreign gods,(B)
    and I must go after them.’(C)

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The Polluted Land

God [a]says, “(A)If a husband divorces his wife
And she goes from him
And belongs to another man,
Will he still return to her?
Will not that land be completely [b]polluted?
But you (B)are a harlot with many [c]lovers;
Yet you (C)turn to Me,” declares the Lord.
“Lift up your eyes to the (D)bare heights and see;
Where have you not been violated?
By the roads you have (E)sat for them
Like an Arab in the desert,
And you have (F)polluted a land
With your harlotry and with your wickedness.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 3:1 Lit saying
  2. Jeremiah 3:1 Or alienated
  3. Jeremiah 3:1 Lit companions

“If a man divorces(A) his wife
    and she leaves him and marries another man,
should he return to her again?
    Would not the land be completely defiled?(B)
But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers(C)
    would you now return to me?”(D)
declares the Lord.
“Look up to the barren heights(E) and see.
    Is there any place where you have not been ravished?
By the roadside(F) you sat waiting for lovers,
    sat like a nomad in the desert.
You have defiled the land(G)
    with your prostitution(H) and wickedness.

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Hosea’s Second Symbolic Marriage

Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a [a]woman who is loved by her [b]husband, yet an adulteress, even (A)as the Lord loves the sons of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love raisin (B)cakes.”

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Footnotes

  1. Hosea 3:1 I.e. Gomer
  2. Hosea 3:1 Lit companion

Hosea’s Reconciliation With His Wife

The Lord said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress.(A) Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.(B)

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