Jeremiah 3
3
Unfaithful Judah
1Here’s what Yahweh says:
“If a man divorces his wife
and she marries another,
would he return to her again? # 3:1 See Deut. 24:1–4.
Doing that would thoroughly defile the land. # 3:1 Or “the woman” (LXX).
And you, Israel, have prostituted yourself with many lovers,
yet now you want to come back to me?
I, Yahweh, have spoken.
2“Look up to the barren heights # 3:2 The phrase “barren heights” refers to the high places where Israel worshiped false gods. and carefully consider:
Is there any place where you have not offered yourself as a prostitute?
You have sat by the roadside waiting for lovers,
sitting like a nomad in the desert.
You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness.
3Therefore, I have withheld the rains,
and the spring showers have not come. # 3:3 See Deut. 11:16–17.
Yet, there you sit with the shameless, brazen look of a prostitute # 3:3 Or “you have the forehead of a prostitute.”
who refuses to blush. # 3:3 See Jer. 6:15; 8:12.
4And yet you have the nerve to say to me,
‘Father! You’ve been my trusted companion as long as I’ve lived.
5Surely, you won’t hold a grudge against me forever, right?
You won’t always be angry with me, will you?’
This is only what you say,
but you keep on doing all the evil you can get away with!”
Two Unfaithful Sisters
6During Josiah’s # 3:6 Josiah is mentioned twenty times in Jeremiah, almost always favorably. reign as king of Judah, Yahweh asked me, “Did you see what unfaithful # 3:6 Or “faithless.” The prophets consistently employed adultery as a metaphor for idolatry. Israel has done? Like an adulterous wife, she has turned away from me. In every high place and under every green tree, she has prostituted herself to worship other gods. 7I thought that after all she had done, she would return to me, but she did not return. Meanwhile her treacherous sister, Judah, looked on. 8She 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. 9Her infidelity mattered little to her. She polluted the land and committed adultery by worshiping idolatrous stone and wood pillars. 10Even after all this, Israel’s treacherous sister, Judah, refused to return to me with her whole heart; instead, she came with only deceitful lies,” # 3:10 See Isa. 29:13. declared Yahweh.
11And Yahweh continued, “Even unfaithful Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12Go and carry this message to those living in the north:
“ ‘Yahweh is speaking to you, unfaithful Israel:
Return to me. For my faithful love for you never ends.
No frown of mine awaits you,
declares Yahweh.
I will not remain angry with you forever,
for I am merciful, declares Yahweh.
13Only admit your guilt!
You have rebelled against Yahweh your God.
You have lavished your love on foreign gods under every green tree.
You have not listened to my voice.
I, Yahweh, have spoken.’ ”
14“ ‘I say to you,
Come back to me, my wayward # 3:14 Or “faithless.” children,
and I will restore you.
I will take you, one from each city and two from each clan,
and bring you home to Zion # 3:14 To the Jewish people, Zion is representative of the land of Israel, a section of the city of Jerusalem, and the location of the temple, and thus the representation of Yahweh’s presence among his people. However, there is a spiritual Zion that believers have already come to (see Heb. 12:22). Zion etymologically has many possible meanings. Zion can mean “conspicuous,” “sunny,” “clear,” “unobstructed,” “sunshine,” “set up,” “placed,” “established,” “constituted,” “commanded,” “fortress,” “monument,” “column,” or “landmark.”
because I alone am your true husband.’ ” # 3:14 Or “master.” The Hebrew verb in this phrase derives from the same stem as the word for “Baal”: baalti, which means “I am married.” Thus, this is a play on words. See Hos. 2:16.
The Promise of True Shepherds
15“ ‘I will give you true shepherds who follow my heart, # 3:15 Or “whose thinking is like mine.” See 1 Sam. 13:14. Godly leaders who follow God’s heart are the key to the restoration taught in this chapter. See Ps. 23:1–6; Isa. 1:26; Ezek. 34:11–16; Obad. 21; John 10:1–21; 1 Cor. 12:28; Eph. 4:11. and they will feed you with revelation-knowledge and deep understanding.’ ”
16Yahweh says, “When my children have increased and prospered in the land, then no one will mention the ark of the covenant of Yahweh. It will never even come to mind. No one will remember it, miss it, or make another one. # 3:16 Scripture nowhere even hints that the ark of the covenant is to be found, rebuilt, or used again in the worship of Yahweh. The people of God will be like the ark in God’s presence (see v. 17). This points to the new covenant with an ever-increasing glory. See Jer. 31:1–40; 2 Cor. 3:7–18. 17When that day comes, they will call Jerusalem the throne of Yahweh. # 3:17 That is, the mercy seat. All nations will be drawn there to be in the presence of Yahweh. # 3:17 Or “in the name of Yahweh.” The name of Yahweh represents Yahweh himself. Being in God’s presence, in spirit and in truth, is the true spiritual worship of Yahweh. See John 4:21–24. They will no longer stubbornly follow their own evil hearts. 18In those days, the nation of Judah will unite with the nation of Israel. And together, they will return from the northern lands # 3:18 The northern lands include both Assyria and Babylonia, reflecting the fall of Samaria in 722 BC and the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. These were the lands from which Israel and Judah returned after their exile. to the land that I gave your ancestors as your own inheritance.”
The Return of the Prodigal Son
19“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.
20Instead, as a treacherous wife betrays her husband,
so, you, nation of Israel, have betrayed me.
I, Yahweh, have spoken.”
21I hear the sound of voices echoing from the barren hills, # 3:21 See v. 2.
the bitter weeping of the sons of Israel pleading for mercy
because they lost their moral way
and have forgotten Yahweh their God.
22“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.
23We 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.
24Ever since we were young,
Baal, the god of shame, # 3:24 Or “the shameful thing,” a euphemistic way of describing their worship of Baal.
has robbed us of the abundance our ancestors labored for—
their flocks and herds, their precious sons and daughters.
25We 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.”
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Jeremiah 3: TPT
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