Jer 3:8-9 | NET2full | STEP | She also saw that , because of wayward Israel’s adulterous worship of other gods, I sent her away and gave her divorce papers . But still her unfaithful sister Judah was not afraid , and she too went and gave herself like a prostitute to other gods.

‏ Jeremiah 3:8-9

8 She also saw ^{▼▼tc Heb “she [‘her sister, unfaithful Judah’ from the preceding verse] saw” with one Hebrew ms, some Greek mss, and the Syriac version. The MT reads, “I saw,” which may be a case of attraction to the verb at the beginning of the previous verse.} that, because of wayward Israel’s adulterous worship of other gods, ^{▼▼tn Heb “because she committed adultery.” The translation is intended to spell out the significance of the metaphor.} I sent her away and gave her divorce papers. But still her unfaithful sister Judah was not afraid, and she too went and gave herself like a prostitute to other gods. ^{▼▼tn Heb “she played the prostitute there.” This is a metaphor for Israel’s worship; she gave herself to the worship of other gods like a prostitute gives herself to her lovers. There seems no clear way to completely spell out the metaphor in the translation.} 9 Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the land ^{▼▼tc The translation reads the form as a causative (Hiphil, תַּהֲנֵף, tahanef) with some of the versions in place of the simple stative (Qal, תֶּחֱנַף, tekhenaf) in the MT.} through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone. ^{▼▼tn Heb “because of the lightness of her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood.”}