Jeremiah 3:19-25
Jeremiah 3:19-25 New International Version (NIV)
“I myself said, “ ‘How gladly would I treat you like my children and give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from following me. But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,” declares the LORD. A cry is heard on the barren heights, the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel, because they have perverted their ways and have forgotten the LORD their God. “Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding.” “Yes, we will come to you, for you are the LORD our God. Surely the idolatrous commotion on the hills and mountains is a deception; surely in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel. From our youth shameful gods have consumed the fruits of our ancestors’ labor— their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our disgrace cover us. We have sinned against the LORD our God, both we and our ancestors; from our youth till this day we have not obeyed the LORD our God.”
Jeremiah 3:19-25 New Living Translation (NLT)
“I thought to myself, ‘I would love to treat you as my own children!’ I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land— the finest possession in the world. I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father,’ and I wanted you never to turn from me. But you have been unfaithful to me, you people of Israel! You have been like a faithless wife who leaves her husband. I, the LORD, have spoken.” Voices are heard high on the windswept mountains, the weeping and pleading of Israel’s people. For they have chosen crooked paths and have forgotten the LORD their God. “My wayward children,” says the LORD, “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.” “Yes, we’re coming,” the people reply, “for you are the LORD our God. Our worship of idols on the hills and our religious orgies on the mountains are a delusion. Only in the LORD our God will Israel ever find salvation. From childhood we have watched as everything our ancestors worked for— their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters— was squandered on a delusion. Let us now lie down in shame and cover ourselves with dishonor, for we and our ancestors have sinned against the LORD our God. From our childhood to this day we have never obeyed him.”
Jeremiah 3:19-25 The Message (MSG)
“I planned what I’d say if you returned to me: ‘Good! I’ll bring you back into the family. I’ll give you choice land, land that the godless nations would die for.’ And I imagined that you would say, ‘Dear father!’ and would never again go off and leave me. But no luck. Like a false-hearted woman walking out on her husband, you, the whole family of Israel, have proven false to me.” GOD’s Decree. The sound of voices comes drifting out of the hills, the unhappy sound of Israel’s crying, Israel lamenting the wasted years, never once giving her God a thought. “Come back, wandering children! I can heal your wanderlust!” * * * “We’re here! We’ve come back to you. You’re our own true GOD! All that popular religion was a cheap lie, duped crowds buying up the latest in gods. We’re back! Back to our true GOD, the salvation of Israel. The Fraud picked us clean, swindled us of what our ancestors bequeathed us, Gypped us out of our inheritance— God-blessed flocks and God-given children. We made our bed and now lie in it, all tangled up in the dirty sheets of dishonor. All because we sinned against our GOD, we and our fathers and mothers. From the time we took our first steps, said our first words, we’ve been rebels, disobeying the voice of our GOD.” * * *
Jeremiah 3:19-25 King James Version (KJV)
But 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. Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD. A 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. Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God. Truly 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. For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. We 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.
Jeremiah 3:19-25 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
“Then I said, ‘How I would set you among My sons And give you a pleasant land, The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’ And I said, ‘You shall call Me, My Father, And not turn away from following Me.’ Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her lover, So you have dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD. A voice is heard on the bare heights, The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel; Because they have perverted their way, They have forgotten the LORD their God. “Return, O faithless sons, I will heal your faithlessness.” “Behold, we come to You; For You are the LORD our God. Surely, the hills are a deception, A tumult on the mountains. Surely in the LORD our God Is the salvation of Israel. “But the shameful thing has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our humiliation cover us; for we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day. And we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”
Jeremiah 3:19-25 New Century Version (NCV)
“I, the LORD, said, ‘How happy I would be to treat you as my own children and give you a pleasant land, a land more beautiful than that of any other nation.’ I thought you would call me ‘My Father’ and not turn away from me. But like a woman who is unfaithful to her husband, family of Israel, you have been unfaithful to me,” says the LORD. You can hear crying on the bare hilltops. It is the people of Israel crying and praying for mercy. They have become very evil and have forgotten the LORD their God. “Come back to me, you unfaithful children, and I will forgive you for being unfaithful.” “Yes, we will come to you, because you are the LORD our God. It was foolish to worship idols on the hills and on the mountains. Surely the salvation of Israel comes from the LORD our God. Since our youth, shameful gods have eaten up in sacrifice everything our ancestors worked for— their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our disgrace cover us like a blanket. We have sinned against the LORD our God, both we and our ancestors. From our youth until now, we have not obeyed the LORD our God.”
Jeremiah 3:19-25 American Standard Version (ASV)
But I said, How I will put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations! and I said, Ye shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away from following me. Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah. A voice is heard upon the bare heights, the weeping and the supplications of the children of Israel; because they have perverted their way, they have forgotten Jehovah their God. Return, ye backsliding children, I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we are come unto thee; for thou art Jehovah our God. Truly in vain is the help that is looked for from the hills, the tumult on the mountains: truly in Jehovah our God is the salvation of Israel. But the shameful thing hath 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 Jehovah our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even unto this day; and we have not obeyed the voice of Jehovah our God.
Jeremiah 3:19-25 New King James Version (NKJV)
“But I said: ‘How can I put you among the children And give you a pleasant land, A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’ “And I said: ‘You shall call Me, “My Father,” And not turn away from Me.’ Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, So have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” says the LORD. A voice was heard on the desolate heights, Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel. For they have perverted their way; They have forgotten the LORD their God. “Return, you backsliding children, And I will heal your backslidings.” “Indeed we do come to You, For You are the LORD our God. Truly, 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. For shame has devoured The labor of our fathers from our youth— Their flocks and their herds, Their sons and their daughters. We lie down in our shame, And our reproach covers us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, We and our fathers, From our youth even to this day, And have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”
Jeremiah 3:19-25 Amplified Bible (AMP)
“Then I said, ‘How [gloriously and honorably] I would set you among My children And give you a pleasant land—a wonderful heritage, The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’ And I said, ‘You shall call Me, My Father And not turn away from following Me.’ “Surely, as a wife treacherously (unfaithfully) leaves her husband, So you have dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” says the LORD. ¶A voice is heard on the barren heights, The weeping and pleading of the children of Israel, Because they have lost their way, They have [deliberately] forgotten the LORD their God. “Return, O faithless sons,” [says the LORD], “I will heal your unfaithfulness.” [They answer] “Behold, we come to You, For You are the LORD our God. “Truly, [the hope of salvation from] the hill [where idols are worshiped] is a deception, A tumult and noisy multitude on the mountains; Truly in the LORD our God Is the salvation of Israel. “But the shameful act [of idolatry] has consumed the labor of our fathers since our youth—their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor and humiliation 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 voice of the LORD our God.”
Jeremiah 3:19-25 The Passion Translation (TPT)
“I, YAHWEH, said: “ ‘What bliss would fill my heart to treat you like an honored son! What joy would fill my heart to give you a land of delights, the most glorious and beautiful inheritance among the nations.’ I longed for the day when you would call me ‘Father’ and not turn away from me. Instead, as a treacherous wife betrays her husband, so, you, nation of Israel, have betrayed me. I, YAHWEH, have spoken.” I hear the sound of voices echoing from the barren hills, the bitter weeping of the sons of Israel pleading for mercy because they lost their moral way and have forgotten YAHWEH their God. “Come back to me, you unfaithful ones! Let me heal your waywardness and restore your faithfulness.” “We’re here! We’re coming back to you, YAHWEH, because you are our God. We see it now. Our idolatrous worship on the high places and our noisy commotion on the mountains were nothing but delusions. Only you, YAHWEH our God, can save us. Ever since we were young, Baal, the god of shame, has robbed us of the abundance our ancestors labored for— their flocks and herds, their precious sons and daughters. We deserve to lie down in our shame and be covered by our disgrace. Ever since we were young, we and our ancestors have sinned against our God, YAHWEH. We failed to really listen to your voice, YAHWEH our God.”
Jeremiah 3:19-25 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
“‘I said, How I would set you among my sons, and give you a pleasant land, a heritage most beautiful of all nations. And I thought you would call me, My Father, and would not turn from following me. Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband, so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel, declares the LORD.’” A voice on the bare heights is heard, the weeping and pleading of Israel’s sons because they have perverted their way; they have forgotten the LORD their God. “Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness.” “Behold, we come to you, for you are the LORD our God. Truly the hills are a delusion, the orgies on the mountains. Truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel. “But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. Let us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.”