Jer 3, Jer 21 | 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.
15 “‘And ^aeI will give you shepherds after my own heart, ^afwho will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again. 17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, ^agand all nations shall gather to it, ^ahto the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. 18 ^aiIn those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land ^ajof the north to ^akthe land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.

19 “‘I said,
How I would set you among my sons,
and give you a pleasant land,
a heritage most beautiful of all nations.
And I thought you would ^alcall me, My Father,
and would not turn from following me.
20 ^amSurely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband,
so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel,

declares the Lord.’”
21 A voice on the ^anbare heights is heard,
^aothe weeping and pleading of Israel’s sons
because they have perverted their way;
they have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 ^ap“Return, O faithless sons;
^aqI will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to you,
for you are the Lord our God.
23 Truly ^arthe hills are a delusion,
the orgies ^{▼▼Hebrew commotion} on the mountains.
^atTruly in the Lord our God
is the salvation of Israel.
24 “But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 ^auLet us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For ^avwe 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.”

Jeremiah 21

Jerusalem Will Fall to Nebuchadnezzar

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord, when King Zedekiah sent to him ^awPashhur the son of Malchiah and ^axZephaniah the priest, the son of ^ayMaaseiah, saying, 2 ^az“Inquire of the Lord for us, ^bafor Nebuchadnezzar ^{▼▼Hebrew Nebuchadrezzar, an alternate spelling of Nebuchadnezzar (king of Babylon) occurring frequently from Jeremiah 21–52; this latter spelling is used throughout Jeremiah for consistency} king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the Lord will deal with us according to ^bcall his wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.”

3 Then Jeremiah said to them: “Thus you shall say to Zedekiah, 4 ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: ^bdBehold, I will turn back the weapons of war that are in your hands and with which you are fighting against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans who are besieging you outside the walls. ^beAnd I will bring them together into the midst of this city. 5 I myself will fight against you ^bfwith outstretched hand and strong arm, ^bgin anger and in fury and in great wrath. 6 And I will strike down the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast. They shall die of a great pestilence. 7 Afterward, declares the Lord, ^bhI will give Zedekiah king of Judah and his servants and the people in this city who survive the pestilence, sword, and famine into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and into the hand of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their lives. He shall strike them down with the edge of the sword. ^biHe shall not pity them or spare them or have compassion.’

8 “And to this people you shall say: ^bj‘Thus says the Lord: Behold, ^bkI set before you the way of life and the way of death. 9 He who stays in this city shall die ^blby the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, but he who goes out and ^bmsurrenders to the Chaldeans who are besieging you shall live ^bnand shall have his life as a prize of war. 10 For ^boI have set my face against this city for harm and ^bpnot for good, declares the Lord: ^bqit shall be given into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire.’

Message to the House of David

11 “And to the house of the king of Judah say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, 12 O house of David! Thus says the Lord:

^br“‘Execute justice ^bsin the morning,
and deliver from the hand of the oppressor
him who has been robbed,
^btlest my wrath go forth like fire,
and burn with none to quench it,
because of your evil deeds.’”
13 ^bu“Behold, I am against you, O inhabitant of the valley,
O rock of the plain,

declares the Lord;
you who say, ^bv‘Who shall come down against us,
or who shall enter our habitations?’
14 ^bwI will punish you according to ^bxthe fruit of your deeds,

declares the Lord;
^byI will kindle a fire in her forest,
^bzand it shall devour all that is around her.”