Jeremiah 3

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.

1People say: if a man sends his wife away, and she marries someone else, he cannot take her back. That would make the whole land dirty. But you have run after many other gods, like a wife who is unfaithful. Even so, come back to me, says the LORD.

2Lift 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.

2Look up at the bare hilltops and see. Is there any place where you did not chase other gods? You sat by the roads waiting for them, like a traveler in the desert. You made the land dirty with the wrong things you did.

3Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.

3So the rains stopped coming, even the spring rains. But your face stayed hard. You would not feel ashamed.

4Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?

4Have you not just now called out to me? You said, "My Father, you have been my friend since I was young."

5Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.

5You asked, "Will he stay angry forever? Will he never stop?" You said those words. But you kept doing all the evil you could.

6The 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.

6The LORD spoke to me when Josiah was king. He said, "Do you see what Israel has done in turning away from me? She went up every high hill and under every green tree to worship other gods.

NoteJosiah was a king of Judah. "Israel" here means the northern part of the land, and "Judah" means the southern part. They were two kingdoms, like two sisters.

7And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.

7I thought that after all this she would come back to me. But she did not come back. Her sister Judah watched her do it.

8And 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.

8Israel kept leaving me for other gods, so I sent her away. I gave her a paper that ended our marriage. But her sister Judah was not afraid. Judah went and did the very same thing.

9And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.

9Israel did not even care that she was unfaithful. She made the land dirty by worshiping stone and wood.

10And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.

10After all this, her sister Judah still did not come back to me with her whole heart. She only pretended, says the LORD."

11And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.

11Then the LORD said to me, "Israel, who turned away, has done less wrong than Judah, who was untrue.

12Go 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.

12Go and call out these words toward the north. Say: Come back, Israel, you who turned away, says the LORD. I will not stay angry at you, for I am kind. I will not be angry forever, says the LORD.

13Only 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.

13Only admit that you did wrong. You broke away from the LORD your God. You gave your love to other gods under every green tree. You did not listen to my voice, says the LORD."

14Turn, 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:

14"Come back, children who turned away, says the LORD. I am your master. I will take you, one from a town and two from a family. I will bring you to Zion, the hill of Jerusalem.

15And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.

15I will give you leaders who please me. They will care for you and teach you what is true and wise."

16And 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.

16"In those days you will grow into a great many people in the land, says the LORD. Then people will not talk about the ark of the covenant anymore. They will not think of it or remember it or miss it. No one will make another one.

NoteThe ark of the covenant was a special gold-covered box. It held the words of God's agreement with his people, and it was kept in the temple.

17At 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.

17At that time people will call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD. All the nations will gather there to honor his name. They will not follow their own stubborn, evil hearts anymore.

18In 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.

18In those days the people of Judah will walk with the people of Israel. They will come together out of the land in the north. They will come to the land I gave their fathers long ago."

19But 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.

19I said, "How I wanted to treat you like my own children! I wanted to give you a good land, the finest land of all. I thought you would call me Father and never turn away from me.

20Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.

20But a wife can leave her husband and break her promise. That is what you did to me, people of Israel, says the LORD."

21A 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.

21A sound is heard on the bare hilltops. It is the people of Israel crying and begging for help. They went the wrong way. They forgot the LORD their God.

22Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.

22"Come back, children who turned away. I will heal you and make you well." The people answer, "Here we are. We come to you, for you are the LORD our God.

23Truly 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.

23The hills and the many mountains cannot save us. Only the LORD our God can save Israel.

24For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

24Since we were young, that shameful idol has eaten up all our fathers worked for. It took their sheep and cattle, and their sons and daughters.

NoteThe word for "shame" here stands for the idol the people worshiped. They gave it their animals and even their children.

25We 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.

25We lie down in our shame. Our disgrace covers us like a blanket. We have sinned against the LORD our God, both we and our fathers. From the time we were young until today, we have not obeyed him.