Jeremiah 3:8-11
Jeremiah 3:6-12 The Message (MSG)
GOD spoke to me during the reign of King Josiah: “You have noticed, haven’t you, how fickle Israel has visited every hill and grove of trees as a whore at large? I assumed that after she had gotten it out of her system, she’d come back, but she didn’t. Her flighty sister, Judah, saw what she did. She also saw that because of fickle Israel’s loose morals I threw her out, gave her her walking papers. But that didn’t faze flighty sister Judah. She went out, big as you please, and took up a whore’s life also. She took up cheap sex-and-religion as a sideline diversion, an indulgent recreation, and used anything and anyone, flouting sanity and sanctity alike, stinking up the country. And not once in all this did flighty sister Judah even give me a nod, although she made a show of it from time to time.” GOD’s Decree. Then GOD told me, “Fickle Israel was a good sight better than flighty Judah. Go and preach this message. Face north toward Israel and say
Jeremiah 3:8-11 King James Version (KJV)
And 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. And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD. And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.
Jeremiah 3:8-11 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
And I saw that for all the adulteries of faithless Israel, I had sent her away and given her a writ of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear; but she went and was a harlot also. Because of the lightness of her harlotry, she polluted the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but rather in deception,” declares the LORD. And the LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.
Jeremiah 3:8-11 New Century Version (NCV)
Judah saw that I divorced unfaithful Israel because of her adultery, but that didn’t make Israel’s wicked sister Judah afraid. She also went out and acted like a prostitute! And she didn’t care that she was acting like a prostitute. So she made her country unclean and was guilty of adultery, because she worshiped idols made of stone and wood. Israel’s wicked sister didn’t even come back to me with her whole heart, but only pretended,” says the Lord. The LORD said to me, “Unfaithful Israel had a better excuse than wicked Judah.
Jeremiah 3:8-11 American Standard Version (ASV)
And I saw, when, for this very cause that backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorcement, yet treacherous Judah her sister feared not; but she also went and played the harlot. And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that the land was polluted, and she committed adultery with stones and with stocks. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not returned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith Jehovah. And Jehovah said unto me, Backsliding Israel hath showed herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.
Jeremiah 3:8-11 New International Version (NIV)
I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. Because Israel’s immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood. In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the LORD. The LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah.
Jeremiah 3:8-11 New King James Version (NKJV)
Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the LORD. Then the LORD said to me, “Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.
Jeremiah 3:8-11 Amplified Bible (AMP)
And I saw [that even though Judah knew] that for all the acts of adultery (idolatry) of faithless Israel, I [the LORD] had sent her away and given her a certificate of divorce, yet her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid; but she went and was a prostitute also [following after idols]. Because of the thoughtlessness of Israel’s prostitution [her immorality mattered little to her], she desecrated the land and committed adultery with [idols of] stones and trees. Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with her whole heart, but rather in [blatant] deception [she merely pretended obedience to King Josiah’s reforms],” declares the LORD. [2 Chr 34:33; Hos 7:13, 14] And the LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel has proved herself less guilty than treacherous Judah [a land of renegades].
Jeremiah 3:8-11 New Living Translation (NLT)
She saw that I divorced faithless Israel because of her adultery. But that treacherous sister Judah had no fear, and now she, too, has left me and given herself to prostitution. Israel treated it all so lightly—she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been polluted. But despite all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Then the LORD said to me, “Even faithless Israel is less guilty than treacherous Judah!
Jeremiah 3:8-11 The Passion Translation (TPT)
She saw me give unfaithful Israel her divorce papers and send her away because of her continued adultery. Her treacherous sister, Judah, likewise had no fear; she, too, acted like a prostitute. Her infidelity mattered little to her. She polluted the land and committed adultery by worshiping idolatrous stone and wood pillars. Even after all this, Israel’s treacherous sister, Judah, refused to return to me with her whole heart; instead, she came with only deceitful lies,” declared YAHWEH. And YAHWEH continued, “Even unfaithful Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.
Jeremiah 3:8-11 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, I had sent her away with a decree of divorce. Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went and played the whore. Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with stone and tree. Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the LORD.” And the LORD said to me, “Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.