1 They say, If a man put away his wife, and she goe from him, and become another mans, shall hee returne againe vnto her? shall not this land be polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many louers: yet turne againe to mee, sayeth the Lord. 2 Lift vp thine eyes vnto the hie places, and beholde, where thou hast not plaied the harlot: thou hast sit waiting for them in the waies, as the Arabian in the wildernesse: and thou hast polluted the lande with thy whoredomes, and with thy malice. 3 Therefore the showres haue beene restrained, and the latter raine came not, and thou haddest a whores forehead: thou wouldest not bee ashamed. 4 Diddest thou not stil crie vnto me, Thou art my father, and the guide of my youth? 5 Wil he keepe his anger for euer? will he reserue it to the ende? thus hast thou spoken, but thou doest euill, euen more and more. 6 The Lord saide also vnto me, in the daies of Iosiah the King, Hast thou seene what this rebell Israel hath done? for she hath gone vp vpon euery high mountaine, and vnder euery greene tree, and there plaied the harlot. 7 And I sayde, when shee had done all this, Turne thou vnto me: but she returned not, as her rebellious sister Iudah sawe. 8 When I sawe, howe that by all occasions rebellious Israel had plaied the harlot, I cast her away, and gaue her a bill of diuorcement: yet her rebellious sister Iudah was not afraied, but shee went also, and plaied the harlot. 9 So that for the lightnesse of her whoredome shee hath euen defiled the lande: for shee hath committed fornication with stones and stockes. 10 Neuerthelesse for all this, her rebellious sister Iudah hath not returned vnto mee with her whole heart, but fainedly, sayth the Lord. 11 And the Lord said vnto me, The rebellious Israel hath iustified her selfe more then the rebellious Iudah. 12 Goe and crie these woordes towarde the North and say, Thou disobedient Israel, returne, sayeth the Lord, and I will not let my wrath fall vpon you: for I am mercifull, sayeth the Lord, and I will not alway keepe mine anger. 13 But knowe thine iniquitie: for thou hast rebelled against the Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy waies to the straunge gods vnder euery greene tree, but yee woulde not obey my voyce, sayeth the Lord. 14 O yee disobedient children, turne againe, sayeth the Lord, for I am your Lord, and I will take you one of a citie, and two of a tribe and wil bring you to Zion, 15 And I will giue you pastours according to mine heart, which shall feede you with knowledge and vnderstanding. 16 Moreouer, when yee be increased and multiplied in the land, in those daies, saieth the Lord, they shall say no more, The Arke of the couenant of the Lord: for it shall come no more to minde, neither shall they remember it, neither shall they visite it, for that shalbe no more done. 17 At that time they shall cal Ierusalem, The throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered vnto it, euen to the Name of the Lord in Ierusalem: and thence foorth they shall follow no more the hardnesse of their wicked heart. 18 In those daies ye house of Iudah shall walke with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the lande of the North, into the lande, that I haue giuen for an inheritance vnto your fathers. 19 But I sayde, Howe did I take thee for children and giue thee a pleasant lande, euen the glorious heritage of the armies of the heathen, and saide, Thou shalt call mee, saying, My father, and shalt not turne from me? 20 But as a woman rebelleth against her husband: so haue yee rebelled against me, O house of Israel, sayeth the Lord. 21 A voice was heard vpon the hie places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they haue peruerted their way, and forgotten the Lord their God. 22 O yee disobedient children, returne and I wil heale your rebellions. Behold, we come vnto thee, for thou art the Lord our God. 23 Truely the hope of the hilles is but vaine, nor the multitude of mountaines: but in the Lord our God is the health of Israel. 24 For confusion hath deuoured our fathers labour, from our youth their sheepe and their bullocks, their sonnes and their daughters. 25 Wee lie downe in our confusion, and our shame couereth vs: for we haue sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers from our youth, euen vnto this day, and haue not obeyed the voyce of the Lord our God.
Jeremiah · Geneva Bible (1599)
Jeremiah 3 Geneva Bible (1599)
Audio: World English Bible (WEB), read by Winfred W. Henson · About the recordings
Notes on this text (1)
- Original 16th-century spelling.
Cross references (25)
Related passages for each verse, from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge as collected and ranked by readers at OpenBible.info.
- 1 Deuteronomy 24:1–4; Ezekiel 16:26; Jeremiah 4:1; Ezekiel 23:4–49; Jeremiah 2:20
- 2 Ezekiel 16:24–25; Genesis 38:14; Jeremiah 2:7; Ezekiel 8:4–6; Jeremiah 2:20
- 3 Leviticus 26:19; Jeremiah 5:24; Jeremiah 14:22; Amos 4:7; Deuteronomy 28:23
- 4 Jeremiah 2:2; Jeremiah 3:19; Jeremiah 31:9; Proverbs 2:17; Hosea 2:15
- 5 Ezekiel 22:6; Jeremiah 3:12; Isaiah 57:16; Micah 2:1; Micah 7:3
- 6 Ezekiel 16:31; 2 Kings 17:7–17; 1 Kings 14:23; Jeremiah 3:8; Jeremiah 3:11–14
- 7 Ezekiel 16:46; 2 Chronicles 30:6–12; Hosea 14:1; 2 Kings 17:13–14; Hosea 6:1–4
- 8 Deuteronomy 24:1; 2 Kings 18:9–11; Hosea 2:2–3; Isaiah 50:1; Hosea 3:4
- 9 Jeremiah 2:27; Isaiah 57:6; Jeremiah 3:2; Habakkuk 2:19; Jeremiah 10:8
- 10 Hosea 7:14; Jeremiah 12:2; Psalm 18:44; Isaiah 10:6; 2 Chronicles 34:33–35:18
- 11 Ezekiel 23:11; Ezekiel 16:51–52; Hosea 11:7; Ezekiel 16:47; Hosea 4:16
- 12 Psalm 86:15; Ezekiel 33:11; Deuteronomy 4:29–31; Jeremiah 3:22; Micah 7:18–20
- 13 Jeremiah 3:25; Deuteronomy 30:1–3; Deuteronomy 12:2; Jeremiah 3:6; Jeremiah 2:25
- 14 Hosea 2:19–20; Jeremiah 2:19; Jeremiah 31:32; Isaiah 54:5; Ezekiel 34:11–14
- 15 Jeremiah 23:4; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 4:11–12; Ezekiel 34:23; John 21:15–17
- 16 Amos 9:14–15; Ezekiel 37:26; Isaiah 65:17; Isaiah 66:1–2; Hosea 1:10–11
- 17 Ezekiel 43:7; Micah 4:1–5; Jeremiah 17:12; Zechariah 2:11; Zechariah 8:20–23
- 18 Jeremiah 31:8; Amos 9:15; Jeremiah 23:8; Hosea 1:11; Jeremiah 50:4
- 19 Jeremiah 3:4; Romans 8:15–17; Jeremiah 31:9; Isaiah 63:16; 1 John 3:1–3
- 20 Isaiah 48:8; Jeremiah 5:11; Jeremiah 3:8–10; Malachi 2:11; Hosea 5:7
- 21 2 Corinthians 7:10; Jeremiah 3:2; Jeremiah 31:9; Jeremiah 2:32; Isaiah 17:10
- 22 Hosea 14:4; Hosea 14:1; Zechariah 13:9; Jeremiah 30:17; Hosea 6:1–2
- 23 Psalm 121:1–2; Psalm 3:8; Isaiah 12:2; John 4:22; Hosea 1:7
- 24 Hosea 9:10; Jeremiah 11:13; Ezekiel 16:61; Hosea 2:8; Ezekiel 16:63
- 25 Jeremiah 22:21; Lamentations 5:16; Proverbs 5:13; Ezekiel 7:18; Jeremiah 2:26
Cross references: OpenBible.info (CC BY), drawn mainly from the public-domain Treasury of Scripture Knowledge. · Sources & licences
What the Fathers said
Passages from the Church Fathers that expound or quote this chapter, verbatim from the public-domain Schaff edition (19th-century English translations).
How these were chosen
“Commentary” is the opening of a homily or exposition on this chapter (John Chrysostom’s homilies, Augustine’s tractates, sermons and expositions of the Psalms). “Quotes” are sentences where the edition’s own footnotes identify a quotation of a verse here, kept only when the wording matches the verse. Only works whose authorship is not in doubt are used. Psalms follow the Hebrew/English numbering (Augustine numbers them as the Septuagint does: his Psalm 50 is Psalm 51 here).
Hear what God saith unto Jerusalem, "I said, after she had committed all these whoredoms, Turn thou unto me, and she returned not." When we have come back unto the earnest love of God, He remembers not the former things.
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)
Which He doth in the prophets also, using these words, "I said, Turn thou unto me, and she returned not." Then having called her, He tells also her blood-stained deeds, "Thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, and ye would not," in this way also …
Read in context · Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, series 1, vol. 10 (1888)