The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah

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“They say, ’A man sends his wife away, so she goes from him and becomes another man’s wife. Should he return to her again? Is she not completely unclean?’ That woman is this land! You have acted like a whore with many companions, and now do you want to return to me?-this is Yahweh’s declaration.

Lift up your eyes to the barren heights and look! Is there any place where you have not had illicit sex? By the roadsides you sat waiting for your lovers, as an Arab in the wilderness. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and wickedness.

So the rains were withheld and the spring rains did not come. But your face is arrogant, like a promiscuous woman’s face. You refuse to feel shame.

Now will you not call out to me: ’My father! My closest friend even from my youth!

Will he be angry with me forever? Will you always keep your anger?’ Look! You have proclaimed you would commit evil, and you have committed it. So continue to do it!”

Judah Follows Israel’s Example

Then Yahweh said to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Do you see how Israel is faithless to me? She goes to every high mountain and under every leafy tree, and there she acts like a promiscuous woman.

I said, ‘After she does all these things, she will return to me,’ but she did not return. Then her faithless sister Judah saw what she did.

So I saw that for all these reasons she committed adultery. Apostate Israel! I sent her out and gave her a decree of divorce. But her treasonous sister Judah did not fear, and went out and also acted like a promiscuous woman!

It mattered nothing to her that she defiled the land, so they made idols from the stone and the tree.

Then after all of this, neither did her faithless sister Judah return to me with all her heart, but with a lie!-this is Yahweh’s declaration.”

A Call to Repentance

(Hosea 14:1–3; Zechariah 1:1–6)

Then Yahweh said to me, “Faithless Israel has been more righteous than faithless Judah!

Go and proclaim these words to the north. Say, ’Return, faithless Israel!-this is Yahweh’s declaration-I will not always be angry with you. Since I am faithful-this is Yahweh’s declaration-I will not stay angry forever.

Acknowledge your iniquity, for you have transgressed against Yahweh your God; you have shared your ways with strangers under every leafy tree! For you have not listened to my voice!-this is Yahweh’s declaration.

Return, faithless people!-this is Yawheh’s declaration-for I have married you! I will take you, one from a city, two from a clan, and I will bring you to Zion!

I will give you shepherds after my heart, and they will shepherd you with knowledge and insight.

Then it will happen that you will increase and bear fruit in the land in those days-this is Yahweh’s declaration. They will no longer say, “The ark of the covenant of Yahweh!” This matter will no longer come up in their hearts, for they will no longer think about it or pay attention to it. This statement will no longer be made.’

In that time they will proclaim about Jerusalem, ‘This is Yahweh’s throne,’ and all the other nations will gather at Jerusalem in Yahweh’s name. They will no longer walk in the stubbornness of their wicked hearts.

In those days, the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel. They will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your ancestors as an inheritance.

As for me, I said, ’How I want to honor you as my son and give you a pleasant land, an inheritance more beautiful than what is in any other nation!’ I would have said, ‘You will call me “my father”.’ I would have said that you would not turn from following me.

But like a woman faithless to her husband, you have betrayed me, house of Israel-this is Yahweh’s declaration.”

A voice is heard on the plains, the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel! For they have changed their ways; they have forgotten Yahweh their God.

“Return, faithless people! I will heal you of treachery!” "Behold! We will come to you, for you are Yahweh our God!

Only lies come from the hills, from the many mountains. Certainly the salvation of Israel is only in Yahweh our God.

Yet shameful idols have consumed what our ancestors have worked for-their flocks and cattle, their sons and daughters!

Let us lie down in shame. May our shame cover us, for we have sinned against Yahweh our God! We ourselves and our ancestors, from the time of our youthfulness to this present day, have not listened to the voice of Yahweh our God!”

“They say, ‘If a man puts away his wife, and she goes from him, and becomes another man’s, should he return to her again?’ Wouldn’t that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the prostitute with many lovers; yet return again to me,” says the LORD.

“Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see! Where have you not been lain with? You have sat waiting for them by the road, as an Arabian in the wilderness. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and with your wickedness.

Therefore the showers have been withheld and there has been no latter rain; yet you have had a prostitute’s forehead and you refused to be ashamed.

Will you not from this time cry to me, ‘My Father, you are the guide of my youth!’?

“‘Will he retain his anger forever? Will he keep it to the end?’ Behold, you have spoken and have done evil things, and have had your way.”

Judah Follows Israel’s Example

Moreover, the LORD said to me in the days of Josiah the king, “Have you seen that which backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and has played the prostitute there.

I said after she had done all these things, ‘She will return to me;’ but she didn’t return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it.

I saw when, for this very cause, that backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce, yet treacherous Judah, her sister, had no fear, but she also went and played the prostitute.

Because she took her prostitution lightly, the land was polluted, and she committed adultery with stones and with wood.

Yet for all this her treacherous sister, Judah, has not returned to me with her whole heart, but only in pretense,” says the LORD.

A Call to Repentance

(Hosea 14:1–3; Zechariah 1:1–6)

The LORD said to me, “Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.

Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, ‘Return, you backsliding Israel,’ says the LORD; ‘I will not look in anger on you, for I am merciful,’ says the LORD. ‘I will not keep anger forever.

Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against the LORD your God, and have scattered your ways to the strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed my voice,’” says the LORD.

“Return, backsliding children,” says the LORD, “for I am a husband to you. I will take one of you from a city, and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.

I will give you shepherds according to my heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

It will come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days,” says the LORD, “they will no longer say, ‘the ark of the LORD’s covenant!’ It will not come to mind. They won’t remember it. They won’t miss it, nor will another be made.

At that time they will call Jerusalem ‘The LORD’s Throne;’ and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the LORD’s name, to Jerusalem. They will no longer walk after the stubbornness of their evil heart.

In those days the house of Judah will walk with the house of Israel, and they will come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance to your fathers.

“But I said, ‘How I desire to put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the armies of the nations!’ and I said, ‘You shall call me “My Father”, and shall not turn away from following me.’

“Surely as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so you have dealt treacherously with me, house of Israel,” says the LORD.

A voice is heard on the bare heights, the weeping and the petitions of the children of Israel; because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten the LORD their God.

Return, you backsliding children, and I will heal your backsliding. “Behold, we have come to you; for you are the LORD our God.

Truly help from the hills, the tumult on the mountains, is in vain. Truly the salvation of Israel is in the LORD our God.

But the shameful thing has devoured the labor of our fathers from our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.

Let us lie down in our shame, and let our confusion cover us; for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day. We have not obeyed the LORD our God’s voice.”