Jer 3:1-14, 31:1-4 | ESV | STEP | If a man divorces his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man’s wife, will he return to her? Would not that land be greatly polluted ? You have played the whore with many lovers ; and would you return to me? declares the Lord .

1 ^a“If ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew Saying, “If} a man divorces his wife
and she goes from him
and becomes another man’s wife,
will he return to her?
^cWould not that land be greatly polluted?
^dYou have played the whore with many lovers;
and would you return to me?

declares the Lord.
2 Lift up your eyes to ^ethe bare heights, and see!
Where have you not been ravished?
^fBy the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers
like an Arab in the wilderness.
^gYou have polluted the land
with your vile whoredom.
3 ^hTherefore the showers have been withheld,
and the spring rain has not come;
yet you have ⁱthe forehead of a whore;
you refuse to be ashamed.
4 Have you not just now ^jcalled to me,
‘My father, you are the friend of my youth—
5 ^kwill he be angry forever,
will he be indignant to the end?’
Behold, you have spoken,
but you have done all the evil that you could.”

Faithless Israel Called to Repentance

6 The Lord said to me in the days of ^lKing Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, ^mhow she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there ⁿplayed the whore? 7 And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous ^osister Judah saw it. 8 She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, ^pI had sent her away with ^qa decree of divorce. ^rYet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went ^sand played the whore. 9 Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with ^tstone and tree. 10 Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me ^uwith her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord.”

11 And the Lord said to me, ^v“Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward ^wthe north, and say,

^x“‘Return, faithless Israel,

declares the Lord.
I will not look on you in anger,
for ^yI am merciful,

declares the Lord;
^zI will not be angry forever.
13 ^aaOnly acknowledge your guilt,
that you rebelled against the Lord your God
and scattered your favors among foreigners under ^abevery green tree,
and that you have not obeyed my voice,

declares the Lord.
14 ^acReturn, O faithless children,

declares the Lord;
^adfor I am your master;
I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
and I will bring you to Zion.

Jeremiah 31:1-4

The Lord Will Turn Mourning to Joy

1 ^ae“At that time, declares the Lord, ^afI will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.”

2 Thus says the Lord:
“The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness;
^agwhen Israel sought for rest,
3 the Lord appeared to him ^{▼▼Septuagint; Hebrew me} from far away.
^aiI have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore ^ajI have continued ^akmy faithfulness to you.
4 ^alAgain I will build you, and you shall be built,
O virgin Israel!
^amAgain you shall adorn yourself with tambourines
and shall go forth in ^anthe dance of the merrymakers.