THE BOOK OF THE PROPHET
JEREMIAH
Jeremiah 3 ©
God’s great forbearance with the wicked and obstinate idolatry of Judah, and an invitation to repentance, v. 1, etc. A comparing of the wickedness of Israel and Judah, who took no warning by Israel’s sinning, but exceeded them in wickedness, 6. Israel is also invited to repentance, 12. With fair evangelical promises, concerning the gathering of the elect Jews and Gentiles unto the church of Christ, the ordaining of the office of preaching, the repealing of the ceremonies, and the setting up of a new form of worship, also concerning the Spirit of adoption, of prayer, and of true repentance (whereof God gives His elect a pattern) and the inheritance of the heavenly, Canaan, 14, etc.
THEY1 say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall 2he return unto her again? shall not 3that land be 4greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many 5lovers; yet 6return again to me, saith the LORD.
Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been 7liena with. In the ways hast thou sat for 8them, as the 9Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.
Therefore the 10showers have been 11withholden, and there hath been no 12latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s 13forehead, thou 14refusedst to be ashamed.
Wilt thou not from this time cry 15unto me, My father, thou art the 16guide of my youth?
Will he 17reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? 18Behold, thou hast spoken and done 19evil things as thou 20couldest.
¶The LORD said also unto me in the days of 21Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which 22backsliding Israel hath done? she is goneb up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.
And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her 23treacherous sister Judah saw it.
And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a 24bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah 25feared not, but went and played the harlot also.
And it came to pass through the 26lightness of her whoredom, that 27she defiled the land, and committed adultery with 28stones and with stocks.
And yet 29for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but 30feignedly, saith the LORD.
And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified 31herself more than treacherous Judah.
¶Go and proclaim these words toward the 32north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine 33anger to fall upon you: for I am 34merciful,c saith the LORD, and I will not keep 35anger for ever.
Only 36acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast 37transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast 38scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am 39married unto you: and I will take you 40one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
And I will give you 41pastorsd according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
And it shall come to pass, when ye be 42multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The 43ark of the covenant of the LORD: neither shall it 44come to mind: 45neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be 46done any more.
At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, 47to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the 48imagination of their evil heart.
In those days the house of Judah shall 49walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the 50north to the land that I have given for an 51inheritance unto your fathers.
But 52I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a 53pleasant land, a 54goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call 55me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.
¶Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her 56husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.
A voice 57was heard upon the high places, weeping 58and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgottene the LORD their God.
59Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. 60Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.
Truly in vainfis salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.
For 61shame hath 62devoured the 63labour 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.