Jeremiah 3

1 aIf
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.
2Lift 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.
4Have 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

6The 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? 7And 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. 8She 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. 9Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with tstone and tree. 10Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me uwith her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord.”

11And the Lord said to me, vFaithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12Go, 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. 16And 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. 17At 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 apReturn, O faithless sons;
aqI will heal your faithlessness.”
Behold, we come to you,
for you are the Lord our God.
23Truly 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 28

Hananiah the False Prophet

1In that same year, at the beginning of the reign of awZedekiah king of Judah, in the fifth month of the fourth year, Hananiah the son of axAzzur, the prophet from ayGibeon, spoke to me in the house of the Lord, in the presence of the priests and all the people, saying, 2Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: azI have broken the yoke of the king of Babylon. 3 baWithin bbtwo years I will bring back to this place all the vessels of the Lord’s house, which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon took away from this place and carried to Babylon. 4I will also bring back to this place bcJeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the exiles from Judah who went to Babylon, declares the Lord, bdfor I will break the yoke of the king of Babylon.”

5Then the prophet Jeremiah spoke to Hananiah the prophet in the presence of the priests and all the people who were standing in the house of the Lord, 6and the prophet Jeremiah said, beAmen! May the Lord do so; may the Lord make the words that you have prophesied come true, and bring back to this place from Babylon the vessels of the house of the Lord, and all the exiles. 7Yet hear now this word that I speak in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people. 8 bfThe prophets who preceded you and me from ancient times prophesied war, famine, and pestilence against many countries and great kingdoms. 9 bgAs for the prophet who prophesies peace, when the word of that prophet comes to pass, then it will be known that the Lord has truly sent the prophet.”

10Then the prophet Hananiah took the bhyoke-bars from the neck of Jeremiah the prophet and broke them. 11And Hananiah spoke in the presence of all the people, saying, biThus says the Lord: bjEven so will I break the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon from the neck of bkall the nations within two years.” But Jeremiah the prophet went his way.

12Sometime after the prophet blHananiah had broken the yoke-bars from off the neck of Jeremiah the prophet, the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13Go, tell Hananiah, ‘Thus says the Lord: You have broken wooden bars, but you have made in their place bars of iron. 14For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put upon the neck of all these nations bman iron yoke to serve Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, bnand they shall serve him, bofor I have given to him even the beasts of the field.’” 15And Jeremiah the prophet said to the prophet Hananiah, “Listen, Hananiah, bpthe Lord has not sent you, bqand you have made this people trust in a lie. 16Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will remove you from the face of the earth. This year you shall die, brbecause you have uttered rebellion against the Lord.’”

17In that same year, in the seventh month, the prophet Hananiah died.

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