Font Size
Jeremiah 3
New American Standard Bible
Jeremiah 3
New American Standard Bible
The Defiled Land
3 God [a]says, “(A)If a husband divorces his wife
And she leaves him
And becomes another man’s wife,
Will he return to her again?
Would that land not be completely defiled?
But you (B)are a prostitute with many [b]lovers;
Yet you (C)turn to Me,” declares the Lord.
2 “Raise your eyes to the (D)bare heights and see;
Where have you not been violated?
You have (E)sat for them by the roads
Like an Arab in the desert,
And you have (F)defiled a land
With your prostitution and your wickedness.
3 Therefore the (G)showers have been withheld,
And there has been no spring rain.
Yet you had a (H)prostitute’s [c]forehead;
You refused to be ashamed.
4 Have you not just now called to Me,
‘(I)My Father, You are the (J)friend of my (K)youth?
5 (L)Will He be angry forever,
Or keep His anger to the end?’
Behold, you have spoken
And have done evil things,
And you have [d]had your own way.”
Faithless Israel
6 Then the Lord said to me in the days of King Josiah, “Have you seen what faithless Israel did? She (M)went up on every high hill and under every leafy tree, and she prostituted herself there. 7 Yet (N)I [e]thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her (O)treacherous sister Judah saw it. 8 And I saw that for all the [f]adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and (P)given her a certificate of divorce, yet her (Q)treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and prostituted herself also. 9 And because of the thoughtlessness of her prostitution, she (R)defiled the land and committed [g]adultery with (S)stones and trees. 10 Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in (T)deception,” declares the Lord.
God Invites Repentance
11 And the Lord said to me, “(U)Faithless Israel has proved herself to be more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north and say,
‘(V)Return, faithless Israel,’ declares the Lord;
‘(W)I will not [h]look at you in anger.
For I am (X)gracious,’ declares the Lord;
‘I will not be angry forever.
13 Only [i](Y)acknowledge your wrongdoing,
That you have revolted against the Lord your God,
And have (Z)scattered your [j]favors to the strangers (AA)under every leafy tree,
And you have not obeyed My voice,’ declares the Lord.
14 ‘Return, you faithless sons,’ declares the Lord;
‘For I am a (AB)master to you,
And I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
And (AC)bring you to Zion.’
15 “Then I will give you (AD)shepherds [k]after My own heart, who will (AE)feed you knowledge and understanding. 16 And it shall be in those days when you become numerous and are fruitful in the land,” declares the Lord, “they will (AF)no longer say, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ And it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor miss it, nor will it be made again. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The (AG)Throne of the Lord,’ and (AH)all the nations will assemble at it, at Jerusalem, for the (AI)name of the Lord; and they will no longer (AJ)follow the stubbornness of their evil heart. 18 (AK)In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together (AL)from the land of the north to the (AM)land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.
19 “Then I said,
‘How I would set you among [l]My sons
And give you a pleasant land,
The most (AN)beautiful inheritance of the nations!’
And I said, ‘You shall call Me, (AO)My Father,
And not turn away from following Me.’
20 However, as a woman treacherously leaves her lover,
So you have (AP)dealt treacherously with Me,
House of Israel,” declares the Lord.
21 A voice is heard on the (AQ)bare heights,
The weeping, the pleading of the sons of Israel.
Because they have perverted their way,
They have (AR)forgotten the Lord their God.
22 “Return, you faithless sons,
(AS)I will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to You;
For You are the Lord our God.
23 Certainly (AT)the hills are a deception,
[m]Commotion on the mountains.
Certainly in the (AU)Lord our God
Is the salvation of Israel.
24 “But (AV)the shame has consumed the product of our fathers’ labor since our youth—their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 Let us lie down in our (AW)shame, and let our humiliation cover us; for we have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, (AX)from our youth even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 3:1 Lit saying
- Jeremiah 3:1 Lit companions
- Jeremiah 3:3 I.e., calloused appearance
- Jeremiah 3:5 Lit been able
- Jeremiah 3:7 Lit said
- Jeremiah 3:8 I.e., idolatry
- Jeremiah 3:9 I.e., idolatry
- Jeremiah 3:12 Lit make My face fall
- Jeremiah 3:13 Lit know
- Jeremiah 3:13 Lit ways
- Jeremiah 3:15 I.e., with hearts like Mine
- Jeremiah 3:19 Lit the
- Jeremiah 3:23 I.e., from idolatrous rituals
Jeremiah 3
New International Version
Jeremiah 3
New International Version
3 “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.
2 “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.
3 Therefore the showers have been withheld,(I)
and no spring rains(J) have fallen.
Yet you have the brazen(K) look of a prostitute;
you refuse to blush with shame.(L)
4 Have you not just called to me:
‘My Father,(M) my friend from my youth,(N)
5 will you always be angry?(O)
Will your wrath continue forever?’
This is how you talk,
but you do all the evil you can.”
Unfaithful Israel
6 During the reign of King Josiah,(P) the Lord said to me, “Have you seen what faithless(Q) Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree(R) and has committed adultery(S) there. 7 I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister(T) Judah saw it.(U) 8 I gave faithless Israel(V) her certificate of divorce(W) and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear;(X) she also went out and committed adultery. 9 Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land(Y) and committed adultery(Z) with stone(AA) and wood.(AB) 10 In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return(AC) to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,(AD)” declares the Lord.(AE)
11 The Lord said to me, “Faithless Israel is more righteous(AF) than unfaithful(AG) Judah.(AH) 12 Go, proclaim this message toward the north:(AI)
“‘Return,(AJ) faithless(AK) Israel,’ declares the Lord,
‘I will frown on you no longer,
for I am faithful,’(AL) declares the Lord,
‘I will not be angry(AM) forever.
13 Only acknowledge(AN) your guilt—
you have rebelled against the Lord your God,
you have scattered your favors to foreign gods(AO)
under every spreading tree,(AP)
and have not obeyed(AQ) me,’”
declares the Lord.
14 “Return,(AR) faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband.(AS) I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion. 15 Then I will give you shepherds(AT) after my own heart,(AU) who will lead you with knowledge and understanding. 16 In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land,” declares the Lord, “people will no longer say, ‘The ark(AV) of the covenant of the Lord.’ It will never enter their minds or be remembered;(AW) it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. 17 At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne(AX) of the Lord, and all nations(AY) will gather in Jerusalem to honor(AZ) the name of the Lord. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.(BA) 18 In those days the people of Judah will join the people of Israel,(BB) and together(BC) they will come from a northern(BD) land to the land(BE) I gave your ancestors as an inheritance.
19 “I myself said,
“‘How gladly would I treat you like my children
and give you a pleasant land,(BF)
the most beautiful inheritance(BG) of any nation.’
I thought you would call me ‘Father’(BH)
and not turn away from following me.
20 But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,
so you, Israel, have been unfaithful(BI) to me,”
declares the Lord.
21 A cry is heard on the barren heights,(BJ)
the weeping(BK) and pleading of the people of Israel,
because they have perverted their ways
and have forgotten(BL) the Lord their God.
“Yes, we will come to you,
for you are the Lord our God.
23 Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills(BP)
and mountains is a deception;
surely in the Lord our God
is the salvation(BQ) of Israel.
24 From our youth shameful(BR) gods have consumed
the fruits of our ancestors’ labor—
their flocks and herds,
their sons and daughters.
25 Let us lie down in our shame,(BS)
and let our disgrace cover us.
We have sinned(BT) against the Lord our God,
both we and our ancestors;(BU)
from our youth(BV) till this day
we have not obeyed(BW) the Lord our God.”
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.