Jeremiah 3:1-13 ▼

1 Saying, If a man shall send away his wife, and she went from him and she was to another man, shall he yet turn back to her? Being defiled, shall not that land be defiled? and thou committedst fornication with many shepherds; and turn back to me, says Jehovah.

2 Lift up thine eyes upon the naked hills and see where thou wert not lain with. Upon the ways thou didst sit for them as the ravens in the desert; and thou wilt defile the land with thy fornications and with thine evil.

3 And the showers will be withheld, and the latter rain was not; and the forehead of a woman a harlot was to thee, and thou refusedst to be ashamed.

4 From the time didst thou not call to me, My father, thou the friend of my youth?

5 Will he guard forever? if he will watch to the end? Behold, I spake, and wilt thou do evil, and shalt thou be able?

6 And Jehovah will say to me in the days of Josiah the king, Sawest thou what Israel turning back, did? She went up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and she will commit fornication there.

7 And saying after she did all these, Thou shalt turn back to me. And she turned not back; and her faithless sister Judah will see it.

8 And I shall see for all the causes that Israel turning away committed adultery, I sent her away and I shall give a writing of her cutting off to her; and her faithless sister Judah was not afraid, and she will go and commit fornication, she also.

9 And it was her fornication being light, and she will defile the land, and she will commit adultery with stones and with woods.

10 And also in all this her faithless sister Judah turned not back to me with all the heart, but in falsehood, says Jehovah.

11 And Jehovah will say to me, Israel turning away justified her soul above faithless Judah.

12 Go and call these words to the north, and say, Turn back, O Israel, turning away, says Jehovah; I will not cause my face to fall upon you: for I am merciful, says Jehovah, I will not guard forever.

13 Only know thine iniquity that thou didst transgress against Jehovah thy God, and thou wilt scatter thy ways to strangers under every green tree, and to my voice ye heard not, says Jehovah.