Judah's Spiritual Adultery and Call to Return
Jeremiah 3:6-4:4
Jer.3.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- בימי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,cons
- יאשיהו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- המלך: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ה: PART
- ראית: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עשתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- משבה: NOUN,f,sg,const
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הלכה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
- על: PREP
- כל: DET
- הר: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- גבה: ADJ,m,sg
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- תחת: PREP
- כל: DET
- עץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רענן: ADJ,m,sg
- ותזני: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,f,sg
- שם: ADV
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 12:2 (verbal): Commands destruction of pagan worship sites 'upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree'—the same loci of illicit worship criticized in Jer 3:6.
- 1 Kings 14:23-24 (verbal): Describes Israel's idolatrous practices after the pattern of surrounding nations: building high places and sacrificing 'under every green tree,' closely mirroring the imagery of Jer 3:6.
- 2 Kings 17:10-11 (thematic): Reports the northern kingdom's persistent idolatries—setting up images, groves and high places and burning incense—paralleling Jeremiah's charge of going 'up upon every high mountain' and prostituting themselves.
- Hosea 4:13 (verbal): Condemns Israel's ritual behavior 'upon the tops of the mountains and under the oaks, poplars and terebinths,' using similar topographical and cultic language to depict spiritual adultery.
- Jeremiah 2:20 (thematic): Earlier in Jeremiah the prophet addresses Israel's 'backsliding' and pursuit of 'lovers' (foreign gods); Jer 3:6 restates this theme with the concrete image of worship on high places and under green trees.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD said to me: In the days of King Josiah I saw the faithlessness that backsliding Israel had committed—she went up on every high hill and under every leafy tree, and there she played the harlot.
- And the LORD said to me: In the days of Josiah the king I saw what backsliding Israel has done—she went up on every high hill and under every green tree and there committed harlotry.
Jer.3.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אחרי: PREP
- עשותה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- כל: DET
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- תשוב: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- שבה: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- ותרא: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,f,sg
- בגודה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg
- אחותה: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
Parallels
- Jer.3.11-14 (structural): Immediate context: contrasts 'backsliding Israel' and 'treacherous Judah,' and contains the call to return—develops the same theme of Israel's failure to repent and God's plea for restoration.
- Ezek.23:1-5 (allusion): Ezekiel's allegory of two sisters (Oholah and Oholibah) parallels Jeremiah's sister-language for Israel and Judah, portraying both as adulterous sisters whose unfaithfulness is observed and judged.
- Hosea 11:7 (thematic): Speaks of Israel's treacherous heart and reluctance to return to God—echoes Jeremiah's observation that Israel did not turn back despite expectation.
- Hosea 6:1-3 (thematic): A liturgical call to 'return to the LORD' and hope for his restoration; resonates with Jeremiah's appeal/expectation that Israel would repent, which in 3:7 is frustrated by their refusal.
- Ps.78:34-37 (thematic): A historical reflection on Israel's repeated refusal to trust and return to God despite his wonders—parallels Jeremiah's depiction of Israel's stubbornness and Judah's differing awareness.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I said, After she had done all these things, 'Return to me'—but she did not return; and her treacherous sister Judah saw it.
- And I said, after she had done all these things to me, "Return," but she did not return; and her sister Judah saw it.
Jer.3.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וארא: VERB,qal,impf,1,?,sg
- כי: CONJ
- על: PREP
- כל: DET
- אדות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- אשר: PRON,rel
- נאפה: VERB,niphal,perf,3,f,sg
- משבה: NOUN,f,sg,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שלחתיה: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- ואתן: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- ספר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כריתתיה: NOUN,f,sg,construct+3,f,sg
- אליה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- יראה: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- בגדה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- אחותה: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,f,sg
- ותלך: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- ותזן: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- גם: ADV
- היא: PRON,dem,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 24:1-4 (structural): Provides the legal background for 'a bill of divorce' (sefer keritut); Jeremiah echoes the Deuteronomic law about writs of divorcement and the social/legal consequences of repudiation.
- Isaiah 50:1 (verbal): Uses the same imagery of a 'writing of divorce'/'bill of divorcement' to portray God's repudiation of a people; a close verbal and thematic parallel to Jeremiah's formulation.
- Ezekiel 23:1-11 (thematic): Ezekiel portrays Samaria and Jerusalem as two sisters who commit whoredom and are judged—paralleling Jeremiah's depiction of Israel and Judah as adulterous sisters, one sent away and the other also unfaithful.
- Hosea 2:2-13 (thematic): Hosea repeatedly frames Israel's sin as marital unfaithfulness; like Jeremiah 3:8, Hosea treats covenantal breach in terms of adultery/repudiation and divine judgment (with eventual hope of restoration).
- Matthew 19:7-8 (allusion): Jesus cites Moses' allowance of a 'bill of divorcement' when discussing divorce; this New Testament reference echoes the same Deuteronomic language and the prophetic tradition that Jeremiah invokes.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I saw that for all the adulteries of backsliding Israel I had sent her away and had given her a writ of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.
- And when I saw that for all the adulteries of backsliding Israel I had sent her away and given her a certificate of divorce, I gave it to her—yet her sister Judah saw it, and she also went and played the harlot.
Jer.3.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- מקל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- זנותה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ותחנף: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ותנאף: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- האבן: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ואת: CONJ
- העץ: NOUN,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Jeremiah 3:8 (structural): Immediate context: earlier in the chapter God speaks of putting unfaithful Israel away (divorce) and Judah likewise committing adultery—sets up the imagery of sexual infidelity applied to idolatry.
- Hosea 4:12 (verbal): Uses the image of the people consulting 'stocks' and 'staffs' (wooden idols) and explicitly links spirit of whoredom with turning away from God, paralleling Jeremiah's charge of adultery with stone and tree.
- Hosea 4:13 (verbal): Describes Israel burning incense on hilltops and sacrificing 'under oak, poplar and terebinth'—the worship at trees echoes Jeremiah's phrasing about adultery with the stone and the tree.
- 2 Kings 17:10 (verbal): Reports that the people 'set them up images and groves... upon every green tree,' directly paralleling the motif of idolatrous worship involving stones and trees that Jeremiah censures.
- Ezekiel 23:37 (thematic): Ezekiel uses the extended prostitute/harlot metaphor for Israel and Judah's idolatry and defilement of the land, echoing Jeremiah's conflation of sexual unfaithfulness and worship of inanimate objects.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the wages of her prostitution was on her—she polluted the land and committed adultery with stone and tree.
- And the very object of her prostitution became a snare; she defiled the land and prostituted herself to stone and to tree.
Jer.3.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וגם: CONJ
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- שבה: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- בגודה: PREP
- אחותה: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,f,sg
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- בכל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לבה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs+suf:3,f
- כי: CONJ
- אם: CONJ
- בשקר: PREP
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jer.3:6-9 (structural): Immediate context: God declares he put away unfaithful Israel (Ephraim) for harlotry and sought return; v.10 contrasts Judah’s failure to turn wholly—same theme developed in the chapter.
- Isa.29:13 (verbal): Condemns outward worship and lip‑service while the heart is absent—parallel to Judah’s superficial (not ‘whole heart’) return in Jer.3:10.
- Ps.78:36-37 (verbal): Describes the people flattering God with their mouths and lying to him with their tongues, while their hearts are not faithful—echoes the charge of feigned repentance in Jer.3:10.
- Amos 5:21-23 (thematic): God rejects Israel’s festivals and sacrifices because they are hypocritical; theme of ritual or profession without genuine repentance matches Jeremiah’s rebuke of Judah’s insincere turning.
- Ezek.16:15-22 (allusion): Uses prostitution imagery to reproach Jerusalem’s unfaithfulness and covenant‑breaking—parallels Jeremiah’s language of marital/adulterous betrayal and Judah’s false return.
Alternative generated candidates
- And yet, despite all this, her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but only in falsehood, declares the LORD.
- Yet even after all this her sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but only in deceit, says the LORD.
Jer.3.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויאמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- צדקה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נפשה: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRONSUF,3,f,sg
- משבה: ADV,comp
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מבגדה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
Parallels
- Jeremiah 3:8 (structural): Immediate context: God says he gave Israel a bill of divorcement for her whoredom, framing the charge of Israel's backsliding that 3:11 summarizes.
- Hosea 11:7 (verbal): Uses the language of the people being bent on backsliding—directly parallels Jeremiah's characterization of Israel as treacherous/backsliding.
- Ezekiel 16:15 (thematic): Ezekiel portrays Jerusalem/Israel as an unfaithful spouse and treacherous, echoing Jeremiah's imagery of covenant betrayal.
- 2 Kings 17:7-23 (thematic): Historical summary of Israel's persistent idolatry and treachery leading to exile, paralleling Jeremiah's indictment that Israel was unfaithful and Judah also revolted.
- Isaiah 1:21 (thematic): Isaiah laments the 'faithful city' turned harlot—similar motif of covenant unfaithfulness and communal treachery in Jeremiah 3:11.
Alternative generated candidates
- And the LORD said to me, 'Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.'
- And the LORD said to me, "Backsliding Israel has proved herself more righteous than treacherous Judah."
Jer.3.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הלך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- וקראת: VERB,qal,perf,2,ms
- את: PRT,acc
- הדברים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- האלה: DEM,pl
- צפונה: ADV
- ואמרת: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- שובה: VERB,qal,imp,2,f,sg
- משבה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לוא: NEG
- אפיל: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- פני: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- בכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- חסיד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אני: PRON,1,sg
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- אטור: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- לעולם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Hosea 14:1-2 (verbal): Directly echoes the summons 'Return, O Israel' and the promise of pardon for repentance; close verbal and thematic parallel to Jeremiah's call to return.
- Joel 2:12-13 (thematic): A call to return to the LORD because he is 'gracious and merciful, slow to anger,' paralleling Jeremiah's assurance that God will not keep his anger forever.
- Psalm 103:8-9 (verbal): Affirms God's mercy and that 'he will not always chide' nor 'keep his anger forever,' echoing Jeremiah's declaration of divine forbearance.
- Isaiah 1:18 (thematic): An invitation to repent ('Come now, let us reason together') with the offer of cleansing and forgiveness—similar in purpose to Jeremiah's summons to return and be reconciled.
- Ezekiel 18:23 (thematic): States God's desire that the wicked turn and live rather than perish; thematically echoes Jeremiah's message that God will relent and not maintain anger if Israel returns (see also Ezek. 18:32).
Alternative generated candidates
- Go and proclaim these words to the north: 'Return, O backsliding Israel,' declares the LORD; 'I will not turn away from you, for I am merciful, declares the LORD; I will not keep anger forever.'
- Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, 'Return, O backsliding Israel,' says the LORD; 'I will not utterly cast you off, for I am merciful, says the LORD; I will not keep my anger forever.'
Jer.3.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אך: PART
- דעי: VERB,qal,imp,2,f,sg
- עונך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- כי: CONJ
- ביהוה: PREP+PN,sg
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- פשעת: VERB,qal,perf,2,f,sg
- ותפזרי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- דרכיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- לזרים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl
- תחת: PREP
- כל: DET
- עץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רענן: ADJ,m,sg
- ובקולי: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,poss,1,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- שמעתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 2:20 (verbal): Uses nearly the same wording — Israel "scattereth her ways to strangers, under every green tree" — the same charge of apostasy and illicit worship.
- Deuteronomy 12:2 (verbal): Contains the exact phrase "under every green tree" describing locations of pagan worship that Israel was commanded to destroy, providing the law/background to Jeremiah's condemnation.
- Hosea 4:13 (thematic): Describes offerings and cultic practices "upon the tops of the mountains... under oaks and poplars," echoing the image of idolatrous worship taking place beneath trees.
- Ezekiel 16:15-22 (thematic): Uses harlotry imagery to depict Jerusalem's unfaithfulness — prostitution with foreign nations and idols — paralleling Jeremiah's depiction of Israel scattering her ways to strangers.
- Jeremiah 3:6-11 (structural): Immediate context: earlier verses in the chapter recount the same indictment (apostasy, sending away of unfaithful wives) and the call to acknowledge transgression and return, repeating the themes and language of v.13.
Alternative generated candidates
- Only acknowledge your iniquity— for you have transgressed against the LORD your God and have scattered your ways to strangers under every leafy tree, and you did not listen to my voice, declares the LORD.
- Only acknowledge your guilt—therefore you have transgressed against the LORD your God and scattered your ways to strangers under every green tree, and you did not listen to my voice, says the LORD.
Jer.3.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שובו: VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
- בנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- שובבים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- אנכי: PRON,1,sg
- בעלתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- בכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- ולקחתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- אחד: NUM,card,m,sg
- מעיר: PREP
- ושנים: CONJ+NUM,m,pl,abs
- ממשפחה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והבאתי: VERB,hif,perf,1,m,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- ציון: NOUN,prop,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Hosea 2:19-20 (verbal): Uses betrothal/husband imagery—God promises to 'betroth' himself to Israel and be her husband, paralleling Jeremiah's 'for I am your husband' language and the promise of restoration.
- Isaiah 54:5 (verbal): Declares 'your Maker is your husband,' directly identifying God as husband and assuring restoration after judgment, echoing Jeremiah's marital metaphor and return of the people.
- Ezekiel 16:8-14 (allusion): God's taking Israel as a bride (spreading his skirt, choosing and glorifying her) employs the same covenant-marriage motif—judgment for unfaithfulness followed by restoration and care.
- Ezekiel 36:24-28 (thematic): Promise to gather the scattered people, bring them back to their land, and transform them (new heart/spirit), paralleling Jeremiah's 'I will take you one from a city and two from a family and bring you to Zion.'
- Zechariah 8:7-8 (thematic): Assures that the LORD will bring the exiles back and dwell among them—a promise of selective gathering and restoration that echoes Jeremiah's imagery of retrieving individuals and bringing them to Zion.
Alternative generated candidates
- Return, O wayward children, declares the LORD; for I am a husband to you. I will take you—one from a city and two from a family—and bring you to Zion.
- "Return, O wayward children," says the LORD, "for I have espoused you; I will take you one from a city and two from a family and bring you to Zion.
Jer.3.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונתתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- רעים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כלבי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ורעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- דעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והשכיל: VERB,hiph,perf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Jeremiah 23:4-6 (verbal): Same prophetic context and wording: God promises to 'set up shepherds' who will feed the people and announces the coming Davidic 'Branch'—close verbal and thematic parallel within Jeremiah.
- Ezekiel 34:11-16, 23-24 (thematic): God as shepherd who seeks, feeds, and restores His scattered sheep and who will set up 'one shepherd' (a Davidic figure) to care for the flock—echoes Jeremiah's promise of shepherds who feed with knowledge and understanding.
- Psalm 78:70-72 (verbal): Speaks of God choosing David as shepherd of Israel and describes David shepherding 'with integrity of heart' and 'skillful hands'—a close parallel to the idea of God-given shepherds after His heart who feed and lead the people.
- John 10:11-16 (allusion): Jesus as the 'good shepherd' who knows, feeds, and lays down his life for the sheep—New Testament fulfillment/allusion to the prophetic shepherd imagery and God's promise to provide true shepherds.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
- I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
Jer.3.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והיה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- תרבו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- ופריתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- בימים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ההמה: DEM,m,pl
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- יאמרו: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,pl
- עוד: ADV
- ארון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ברית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- יעלה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- על: PREP
- לב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- יזכרו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- יפקדו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ולא: CONJ
- יעשה: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- עוד: ADV
Parallels
- Jeremiah 3:17 (structural): Immediate continuation of the same prophetic promise: describes the coming era when Jerusalem is the LORD's throne and reiterates that people will no longer speak of or restore the ark.
- 1 Samuel 4:3-11 (thematic): Narrative showing the centrality of the ark in Israelite worship and national life (the ark taken into battle and captured), which contrasts with Jeremiah's vision that the ark will cease to be invoked or made.
- 1 Samuel 7:1-2 (verbal): Describes the ark dwelling at Kirjath-jearim and the people's lament after its capture—another passage illustrating the earlier cultic significance of the ark that Jeremiah says will be discontinued.
- Ezekiel 37:26-28 (thematic): Prophecy of national restoration and God's permanent presence among Israel (a restored covenant and dwelling), paralleling Jeremiah's idea that, in the restored age, cultic objects like the ark will no longer be necessary.
- Hebrews 8:13 (allusion): New Testament reflection that a new covenant makes the first obsolete; thematically parallels Jeremiah's forecast that old cultic forms (symbolized by the ark) will cease when God's new order arrives.
Alternative generated candidates
- And it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days, declares the LORD, they will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD'—it will not come to mind, nor will they remember it, nor will they miss it, nor will it be made again.
- And it shall come to pass, when you have multiplied and increased in the land in those days, says the LORD, that they will no longer say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD'—it will not come into mind, nor be remembered, nor missed, nor made anymore.
Jer.3.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בעת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ההיא: DEM,f,sg
- יקראו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- לירושלם: PREP+NOUN,prop,f,sg
- כסא: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ונקוו: CONJ+VERB,niphal,impf,3,pl
- אליה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- כל: DET
- הגוים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- לשם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לירושלם: PREP+NOUN,prop,f,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- ילכו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- עוד: ADV
- אחרי: PREP
- שררות: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לבם: NOUN,m,sg,poss
- הרע: ADJ,m,sg,def
Parallels
- Isaiah 2:2-3 (thematic): Eschatological vision of many nations streaming to the mountain/house of the LORD and receiving instruction from Jerusalem—parallels Jeremiah’s gathering of all nations to Jerusalem to the name of the LORD.
- Micah 4:1-2 (thematic): Close parallel to Isaiah: nations come to the mountain of the LORD to learn his ways—reflects the same prophetic expectation of universal pilgrimage to Jerusalem in Jeremiah 3:17.
- Zechariah 14:16 (thematic): After the crisis-day the surviving nations go up year by year to Jerusalem to worship the King, the LORD of hosts—matches Jeremiah’s image of all nations gathered to Jerusalem for the name of the LORD.
- Ezekiel 43:7 (verbal): God declares the temple/site to be ‘the place of my throne’—a close verbal and theological echo of Jerusalem being called the ‘throne of the LORD’ in Jeremiah 3:17.
Alternative generated candidates
- At that time they will call Jerusalem 'The Throne of the LORD,' and all the nations will be gathered to it—to the name of the LORD—at Jerusalem; and they will no more walk after the stubbornness of their evil heart.
- In those days Jerusalem shall be called 'The Throne of the LORD,' and all the nations shall be gathered to it— to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem— and they shall no more walk after the stubbornness of their evil heart.
Jer.3.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- בימים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ההמה: PRON,dem,pl,m
- ילכו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- על: PREP
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ויבאו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- יחדו: ADV
- מארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- צפון: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- אשר: PRON,rel
- הנחלתי: VERB,hiph,perf,1,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- אבותיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
Parallels
- Ezek.37:21-22 (verbal): Speaks of God gathering the house of Israel and making Judah and Israel one nation in their land—close verbal and thematic parallel to coming together from the north into the land given to the fathers.
- Jer.31:8 (verbal): Promises bringing Israel from the north country and gathering them to their own land—language and motif of northerly return echo Jeremiah 3:18.
- Isa.11:12 (thematic): Foretells gathering the dispersed of Israel and assembling the outcasts of Judah from the four corners, a parallel theme of reunification and return to the land.
- Zech.10:6-9 (thematic): Describes the LORD strengthening Judah and saving Israel (Joseph), bringing them back together and restoring them to their land—similar motif of joint return of both houses.
- Amos 9:14-15 (thematic): Promises restoration of Israel to their land and permanent settlement—the broader promise of return and resettlement that frames Jeremiah's vision of reunion.
Alternative generated candidates
- In those days the house of Judah will go with the house of Israel; they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers as an inheritance.
- In those days the house of Judah shall go with the house of Israel, and they shall come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance to your fathers.
Jer.3.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואנכי: PRON,1,sg
- אמרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,com,sg
- איך: ADV
- אשיתך: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg,obj:2,ms
- בבנים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואתן: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חמדה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נחלת: NOUN,f,sg,const
- צבי: NOUN,m,sg,cs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- גוים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואמר: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- אבי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- תקראי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ומאחרי: CONJ+PREP+PRON,1,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- תשובי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
Parallels
- Ezekiel 36:24-28 (thematic): Both promise restoration—gathering Israel, giving them the land, a new heart/spirit and renewed relationship with God (’I will be their God and they shall be my people’), paralleling Jer.3:19’s offer of a desirable land and renewed filial relationship.
- Hosea 11:1-4 (verbal): Hosea depicts Israel as God’s child and stresses God’s parental love and care (‘when Israel was a child… I loved him’), echoing Jer.3:19’s language of Israel calling God ‘Father’ and the father–child motif.
- Isaiah 64:8 (thematic): Isaiah addresses God as Father (‘now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay’), reflecting the same intimacy and dependence implied when Israel ‘shall call me My father’ in Jer.3:19.
- Psalm 89:26 (verbal): Speaks of the righteous/king crying to God, ‘Thou art my Father,’ using the same filial formula found in Jer.3:19 and underlining the covenantal father–son vocabulary.
- 2 Samuel 7:14 (structural): God’s covenant promise to David that ‘I will be his father, and he shall be my son’ uses the same father–son covenantal structure as Jer.3:19’s promise of restored relationship and recognition.
Alternative generated candidates
- And I said, 'How will I set you among my children, and give you a desirable land, the heritage of the nations'; and I said, 'You shall call me "My Father," and you shall not turn away from me.'
- And I said, 'How shall I set you among the children and give you a desirable land, the heritage of the nations' wealth? And I said,
Jer.3.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אכן: ADV
- בגדה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- אשה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מרעה: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כן: ADV
- בגדתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,pl
- בי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Hosea 2:2 (thematic): Both portray Israel as an unfaithful wife whom God accuses of treachery; marital/adultery imagery is used to describe covenant breach.
- Ezekiel 16:15 (verbal): Ezekiel depicts Jerusalem as a woman who ‘played the harlot’ and betrayed her husband—language and imagery parallel Jeremiah’s charge of betrayal.
- Ezekiel 23:37 (thematic): Ezekiel’s extended allegory of the two sisters’ prostitution parallels Jeremiah’s theme of national infidelity and covenant betrayal.
- Jeremiah 3:14 (structural): Immediate parallel within the same prophetic section: God summons the ‘backsliding children’ to return, using the same marriage/faithlessness motif addressed to Israel.
- Isaiah 1:21 (thematic): Isaiah likewise calls the city faithless and compares its moral collapse to prostitution, echoing the motif of covenant unfaithfulness and betrayal of God.
Alternative generated candidates
- But a treacherous woman—so have you dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, declares the LORD.
Jer.3.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- קול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- על: PREP
- שפיים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- נשמע: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- בכי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תחנוני: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1cs
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- העוו: VERB,piel,perf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- דרכם: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,m,pl
- שכחו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
Parallels
- Jeremiah 2:13 (thematic): Same prophetic context: Israel has abandoned the LORD and His ways (here described as forsaking the 'fountain of living waters'), echoing Jeremiah 3:21’s charge that they have perverted their way and forgotten God.
- Deuteronomy 8:11-14 (verbal): A direct admonition not to 'forget the LORD your God' after prosperity; parallels Jeremiah’s complaint that Israel has forgotten the LORD.
- Hosea 13:6 (verbal): Explicit wording—'they forgot me'—and the same pattern: after being satisfied Israel turns away from God, matching Jeremiah’s lament of forgetfulness and perversion of way.
- Deuteronomy 32:5 (verbal): Speaks of a 'perverse and crooked generation' and corrupt behavior—language closely parallel to Jeremiah’s 'they have perverted their way.'
- Psalm 106:21 (verbal): 'They forgot God their Savior'—a liturgical/poetic retelling of Israel’s recurrent forgetting of God that mirrors the complaint in Jeremiah 3:21.
Alternative generated candidates
- A voice is heard on the bare heights—the weeping of Israel—for they have perverted their way; they have forgotten the LORD their God.
Jer.3.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שובו: VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
- בנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- שובבים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ארפה: VERB,qal,impf,1,sg
- משובתיכם: NOUN,f,pl,cons,2,mp
- הננו: PRON,1,c,pl
- אתנו: PRON,1,pl
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- כי: CONJ
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:1,pl
Parallels
- Jer.3.14 (verbal): Immediate parallel within Jeremiah: the same imperative to 'return, backsliding children/Israel' and promise of restoration — near-identical language and context of covenantal repentance.
- Hosea 6:1 (verbal): Explicitly links return and divine healing: 'Come, and let us return... he will heal us,' echoing Jer.3.22's coupling of repentance with God healing/backslidings.
- Hosea 14:1-2 (thematic): A call for Israel to 'return' to the LORD with the expectation of pardon and restoration — shares the penitential summons and promise of reconciliation.
- Zechariah 1:3 (thematic): 'Turn ye unto me... and I will return unto you' expresses the same repentance–restoration dynamic: human turning to God elicits divine return and blessing.
- Luke 15:17-20 (thematic): The prodigal son's decision 'I will arise and go to my father' and his reception by the father echo the motif of repentance and restoration found in Jer.3.22 ('Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God').
Alternative generated candidates
- Return, O wayward children, and I will heal your waywardness. 'Behold, we come to you; for you are the LORD our God.'
Jer.3.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אכן: ADV
- לשקר: VERB,qal,inf
- מגבעות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- המון: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הרים: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- אכן: ADV
- ביהוה: PREP+PN,sg
- אלהינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:1,pl
- תשועת: NOUN,f,sg,cons
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Psalm 20:7 (thematic): Contrasts misplaced trust in military power (chariots/horses) with trust in the LORD — similar theme of rejecting human/earthly sources of security in favor of God.
- Isaiah 31:1 (thematic): Condemns relying on Egypt’s horses and chariots rather than the LORD; parallels Jeremiah’s rejection of mountains/hills as trustworthy help.
- Zechariah 4:6 (thematic): Affirms that success comes 'not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,' echoing Jeremiah’s point that true salvation belongs to the LORD rather than to worldly strengths.
- Psalm 118:14 (verbal): Declares 'The LORD is my salvation,' closely echoing Jeremiah’s declaration that salvation (תשועה) belongs to the LORD/Israel — shared language of divine deliverance.
- Isaiah 2:22 (thematic): Urges abandonment of trust in mortal strength ('stop trusting in man'), resonating with Jeremiah’s dismissal of hills/mountains as deceptive sources of security and his call to trust God.
Alternative generated candidates
- Truly, vain is help from the hills and from the multitude of mountains; truly, in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.
Jer.3.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- והבשת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- אכלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- יגיע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אבותינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs+1cp
- מנעורינו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,suff:1pl
- את: PRT,acc
- צאנם: NOUN,f,sg,abs,3,m,pl
- ואת: CONJ
- בקרם: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs,3,m,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- בניהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3,pl
- ואת: CONJ
- בנותיהם: NOUN,f,pl,suff
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 28:30, 32–33 (thematic): Part of the covenant curses describing exile: loss of offspring and dispossession ("your sons and daughters given to another people," loss of flocks/cattle), parallels Jeremiah's image of devoured ancestral toil and loss of children and livestock.
- Lamentations 5:6–8, 10–11 (thematic): Communal lament over famine, exile, and the removal or death of young and old; lists losses of children, men, and property—echoes the complaint that the labors of fathers and sons/daughters have been consumed.
- 2 Kings 24:14–16 (structural): Historical account of the Babylonian deportations—people, princes and skilled workers carried into exile and the city stripped of goods—parallels the concrete consequence of "devouring" ancestral toil and removing sons and daughters.
- Psalm 44:12–13 (verbal): Speaks of being made a taunt among the nations and of reproach by neighbors after disaster; shares the theme of communal dishonor and the enemy profiting from Israel’s misfortune (akin to their labor being eaten up).
- Ezekiel 7:19 (thematic): Prophetic picture of societal collapse in which people cast away silver and gold because of coming calamity—parallels the motif of possessions and the fruits of labor becoming worthless or lost amid judgment and exile.
Alternative generated candidates
- Our shame and humiliation have consumed the labor of our fathers from their youth—their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
Jer.3.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- נשכבה: VERB,niphal,perf,3,f,sg
- בבשתנו: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,1,pl
- ותכסנו: CONJ+VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg+PRON,1,pl
- כלמתנו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,1,pl
- כי: CONJ
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- אלהינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:1,pl
- חטאנו: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,pl
- אנחנו: PRON,1,pl
- ואבותינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:1,pl
- מנעורינו: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,suff:1pl
- ועד: CONJ+PREP
- היום: NOUN,m,sg,def
- הזה: DEM,m,sg
- ולא: CONJ
- שמענו: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,pl
- בקול: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהינו: NOUN,m,pl,abs,poss:1,pl
Parallels
- Daniel 9:5-6 (verbal): Daniel offers a corporate confession using language similar to Jeremiah: 'we have sinned, we and our fathers,' acknowledging communal and ancestral guilt and failure before God.
- Ezra 9:6-7 (verbal): Ezra's prayer confesses national sin and unfaithfulness of current and prior generations, echoing the theme of ancestral transgression and disobedience to the LORD's commands.
- Jeremiah 14:20 (quotation): Earlier in Jeremiah the people explicitly confess 'we have sinned' and acknowledge the iniquity of their fathers—closely paralleling the language and penitential tone of 3:25.
- Psalm 78:5-8 (thematic): This psalm recounts the failure of former generations to obey God and warns against repeating their sins; it parallels Jeremiah's emphasis on intergenerational disobedience and not hearkening to the LORD's voice.
Alternative generated candidates
- We are shamed and covered with dishonor, 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.
Jer.4.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אם: CONJ
- תשוב: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- תשוב: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,f,sg
- ואם: CONJ
- תסיר: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,sg
- שקוציך: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,ms
- מפני: PREP
- ולא: CONJ
- תנוד: VERB,qal,impf,2,ms,sg
Parallels
- Hosea 14:2 (verbal): Directly parallels Jeremiah's imperative to 'return' and to remove iniquity/abominations; both texts use similar language calling Israel to repent and put away idols.
- Ezekiel 14:6 (thematic): Same prophetic pattern: a command to repent and turn away from idols. Both passages link repentance from idolatry with restoration of relationship to God.
- Amos 4:6 (verbal): Contains the recurring prophetic refrain 'yet you did not return' (or equivalent), highlighting Israel's failure to heed repeated calls to repent—an explicit verbal and thematic echo.
- Deuteronomy 30:2–3 (structural): Mosaic covenantal framework: a conditional formula—'if you return'—promising restoration on repentance; Jeremiah echoes this covenantal motif linking return and restoration.
- Jeremiah 3:12 (quotation): Intra-book parallel: an immediate, similar summons ('Return, O faithless Israel' / 'Return, Israel') addressing national unfaithfulness and calling for repentance, reinforcing the same theme within Jeremiah.
Alternative generated candidates
- If you will return, O Israel, declares the LORD, return; and if you remove your abominations from my sight and do not wander,
Jer.4.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ונשבעת: VERB,niphal,perf,2,ms
- חי: ADJ,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- באמת: ADV
- במשפט: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ובצדקה: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- והתברכו: CONJ+VERB,hitpael,perf,3,m,pl
- בו: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- גוים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ובו: CONJ+PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- יתהללו: VERB,hitpael,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Genesis 12:3 (thematic): Promise that 'all peoples on earth will be blessed' through Abraham — parallels Jeremiah's theme that when Israel is faithful to YHWH the nations will be blessed in him.
- Isaiah 45:22-25 (thematic): Isaiah summons the nations to turn to the LORD so that every knee will bow and glory in him — closely parallels the idea of nations blessing themselves and glorying in God.
- Psalm 67:3-4 (thematic): Prays that the peoples and nations praise and be glad because God judges the peoples with equity — echoes the motif of nations blessing/ glorifying God when his justice and righteousness are known.
- Zechariah 8:23 (allusion): Foresees foreigners clinging to a Jew and saying 'we have heard that God is with you' — parallels Jeremiah's outcome where nations bless themselves in YHWH and take pride in him.
Alternative generated candidates
- then you shall swear, 'As the LORD lives'—in truth, in judgment, and in righteousness. And the nations shall be blessed in him, and in him they shall glory.
Jer.4.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- לאיש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- ולירושלם: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,prop,f,sg
- נירו: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לכם: PREP,2,m,pl
- ניר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואל: CONJ+PREP
- תזרעו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- קוצים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Hosea 10:12 (verbal): Uses almost the same agricultural injunction—"break up your fallow ground"—linking repentance to plowing and sowing; a near-echo of Jeremiah's imperative to prepare the soil for renewal.
- Jeremiah 31:27 (verbal): Continues the sowing imagery within Jeremiah—"I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah"—connecting themes of planting, restoration, and God's dealings with the people.
- Joel 2:12-13 (thematic): An urgent call to return to the LORD and repent; thematically parallels Jeremiah's command to prepare (break up) the ground as a metaphor for inner repentance and renewal.
- Jeremiah 26:2 (structural): Similar prophetic address and form—message directed to the people of Judah and Jerusalem with a command to change behavior—showing a recurring prophetic pattern of public admonition and call to amend ways.
Alternative generated candidates
- For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 'Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns;'
Jer.4.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- המלו: VERB,hitpael,imp,2,m,pl
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- והסרו: CONJ+VERB,hiphil,imp,2,m,pl
- ערלות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- לבבכם: NOUN,m,sg,poss
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
- וישבי: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- פן: CONJ
- תצא: VERB,qal,impf,2,ms
- כאש: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- חמתי: NOUN,f,sg,pronominal_1cs
- ובערה: CONJ+VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg+PRON,3,f,sg
- ואין: CONJ+PART,exist
- מכבה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- מפני: PREP
- רע: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- מעלליכם: NOUN,m,pl,suff:2,m,pl
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 10:16 (verbal): Uses the same imagery: 'Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart'—a direct command to remove spiritual stubbornness and turn inwardly to YHWH, matching Jeremiah's call.
- Deuteronomy 30:6 (verbal): Promises that the LORD will 'circumcise your heart' and enable love and obedience—parallels Jeremiah's demand for an inward change of heart to avert divine wrath.
- Ezekiel 18:31 (thematic): 'Cast away from you all your transgressions... make you a new heart and a new spirit'—a similar call to internal repentance and moral renewal rather than merely external reform.
- Joel 2:12–13 (structural): Calls for return 'with all your heart' and to 'rend your heart and not your garments,' emphasizing inward contrition and repentance to avert the LORD's anger, echoing Jeremiah's appeal.
- Isaiah 1:16–17 (thematic): Commands to 'wash yourselves... cease to do evil; learn to do good'—combines moral reformation and practical repentance as the means to escape God's judgment, paralleling Jeremiah's warning.
Alternative generated candidates
- Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and remove the foreskins of your heart, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem—lest my wrath go forth like fire and burn so that none can quench it because of your evil deeds.
And the LORD said to me: In the days of Josiah the king I saw what backsliding Israel had done—she went upon every high hill and under every green tree, and there she prostituted herself. And I said, After she had done all these things to me, 'Return,' but she did not return. And she saw the unfaithfulness of her sister Judah. And I saw that for all the causes by which backsliding Israel had played the harlot I had sent her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her sister Judah did not feel shame, but she went and played the harlot also. And her prostitution made the land unclean; she defiled the land and committed harlotry with the stone and with the tree.
Yet even so, her sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but only in falsehood, says the LORD. And the LORD said to me, 'Backsliding Israel has proved herself more righteous than faithless Judah.'
Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, 'Return, backsliding Israel,' says the LORD; 'I will not be angry with you forever, for I am gracious,' says the LORD; 'I will not keep my wrath forever.'
Only acknowledge your iniquity—that you have transgressed against the LORD your God and have scattered your ways to strangers under every green tree, and have not obeyed my voice, says the LORD.
Return, O wayward children, says the LORD, for I have betrothed myself to you; I will take you one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.
I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. And it shall come to pass, when you multiply and are fruitful in the land in those days, says the LORD, they will no more say, 'The ark of the covenant of the LORD'; it shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they miss it, nor shall it be made again.
At that time they will call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD, and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem; and they will no longer follow the stubborn devices of their evil heart.
In those days the house of Judah will go with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land that I gave as an inheritance to your fathers.
I said, 'How shall I set you among my children? I will give you a desirable land, the inheritance of the nations.' I said, 'You shall call me, My Father,' and you shall not turn away from me.
Indeed, like a treacherous and defiled wife have you been to me, O house of Israel, says the LORD.
A voice is heard on the bare heights: 'Weeping and supplication, O children of Israel! For they have perverted their way; they have forgotten the LORD their God.'
Return, backsliding children, and I will heal your backsliding. Behold, we come to you, for you are the LORD our God.
Truly, though there be many hills and many mountains, yet in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.
You were ashamed and have eaten 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 are covered with disgrace; for we have sinned against the LORD our God, both we and our fathers, from our youth to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.
If you return, O Israel, says the LORD, return; and if you remove your abominations from before my face and do not wander,
and if you swear, 'As the LORD lives,' in truth, in justice, and in righteousness—then nations shall be blessed in him, and they shall glory in him.
For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem: 'Prepare the ground for yourselves; do not sow among thorns.'
Circumcise yourselves to the LORD; remove the foreskin of your hearts, O men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, lest my wrath go forth like fire and burn so that there be no one to quench it because of your evil deeds.'