Jeremiah 3:20
New International Version
But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,” declares the LORD.

New Living Translation
But you have been unfaithful to me, you people of Israel! You have been like a faithless wife who leaves her husband. I, the LORD, have spoken.”

English Standard Version
Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband, so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel, declares the LORD.’”

Berean Standard Bible
But as a woman may betray her husband, so you have betrayed Me, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD.

King James Bible
Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.

New King James Version
Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, So have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” says the LORD.

New American Standard Bible
“However, as a woman treacherously leaves her lover, So you have dealt treacherously with Me, House of Israel,” declares the LORD.

NASB 1995
“Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her lover, So you have dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD.

NASB 1977
“Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her lover, So you have dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD.

Legacy Standard Bible
Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her lover, So you have dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” declares Yahweh.

Amplified Bible
“Surely, as a wife treacherously (unfaithfully) leaves her husband, So you have dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” says the LORD.

Christian Standard Bible
However, as a woman may betray her lover, so you have betrayed me, house of Israel. This is the LORD’s declaration.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
However, as a woman may betray her lover, so you have betrayed Me, house of Israel. This is the LORD’s declaration.

American Standard Version
Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah.

Contemporary English Version
But instead, you are like a wife who broke her wedding vows. You have been unfaithful to me. I, the LORD, have spoken.

English Revised Version
Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
But like a wife who betrays her husband, so you, nation of Israel, betrayed me," declares the LORD.

Good News Translation
But like an unfaithful wife, you have not been faithful to me. I, the LORD, have spoken."

International Standard Version
Instead, like an unfaithful wife leaves her husband, so you have been unfaithful to me, house of Israel," declares the LORD.

Majority Standard Bible
But as a woman may betray her husband, so you have betrayed Me, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD.

NET Bible
But, you have been unfaithful to me, nation of Israel, like an unfaithful wife who has left her husband," says the LORD.

New Heart English Bible
"Surely as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so you have dealt treacherously with me, house of Israel," says the LORD.

Webster's Bible Translation
Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.

World English Bible
“Surely as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so you have dealt treacherously with me, house of Israel,” says Yahweh.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
But a woman has deceived her friend, "" So you have dealt treacherously with Me, "" O house of Israel,” "" A declaration of YHWH.

Young's Literal Translation
But -- a woman hath deceived her friend, So ye have dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel, an affirmation of Jehovah.

Smith's Literal Translation
Surely a wife acting faithlessly by her friend, so ye acted faithlessly against me, O house of Israel, says Jehovah.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
But as a woman that despiseth her lover, so hath the house of Israel despised me, saith the Lord.

Catholic Public Domain Version
But, in the same way that a woman spurns her lover, so also has the house of Israel spurned me, says the Lord.”

New American Bible
But like a woman faithless to her lover, thus have you been faithless to me, house of Israel—oracle of the LORD.

New Revised Standard Version
Instead, as a faithless wife leaves her husband, so you have been faithless to me, O house of Israel, says the LORD.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Surely as a wife lies about her lover, so has the house of Israel lied against me, says the LORD.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Truly, as a wife tells lies with her companion, in this way the children of Israel have lied to me, says LORD JEHOVAH
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, So have ye dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel, Saith the LORD.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
But as a wife acts treacherously against her husband, so has the house of Israel dealt treacherously against me, saith the Lord.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
Invitation to Repentance
19Then I said, ‘How I long to make you My sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of all the nations!’ I thought you would call Me ‘Father’ and never turn away from following Me. 20But as a woman may betray her husband, so you have betrayed Me, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD. 21A voice is heard on the barren heights, the children of Israel weeping and begging for mercy, because they have perverted their ways and forgotten the LORD their God.…

Cross References
Hosea 2:2-5
Rebuke your mother, rebuke her, for she is not My wife, and I am not her husband. Let her remove the adultery from her face and the unfaithfulness from between her breasts. / Otherwise, I will strip her naked and expose her like the day of her birth. I will make her like a desert and turn her into a parched land, and I will let her die of thirst. / I will have no compassion on her children, because they are the children of adultery. ...

Ezekiel 16:32
You adulterous wife! You receive strangers instead of your own husband!

Hosea 3:1
Then the LORD said to me, “Go show love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.”

Isaiah 54:5-8
For your husband is your Maker—the LORD of Hosts is His name—the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; He is called the God of all the earth. / For the LORD has called you back, like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit, like the rejected wife of one’s youth,” says your God. / “For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will bring you back. ...

Ezekiel 23:37
For they have committed adultery, and blood is on their hands. They have committed adultery with their idols. They have even sacrificed their children, whom they bore to Me, in the fire as food for their idols.

Hosea 9:1
Do not rejoice, O Israel, with exultation like the nations, for you have played the harlot against your God; you have made love for hire on every threshing floor.

Ezekiel 6:9
Then in the nations to which they have been carried captive, your survivors will remember Me—how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts that turned away from Me, and by their eyes that lusted after idols. So they will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their abominations.

Isaiah 1:21
See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers!

Hosea 11:7
My people are bent on turning from Me. Though they call to the Most High, He will by no means exalt them.

Ezekiel 16:15
But because of your fame, you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot. You lavished your favors on everyone who passed by, and your beauty was theirs for the asking.

Matthew 12:39
Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

James 4:4
You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God.

Revelation 17:1-2
Then one of the seven angels with the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment of the great prostitute, who sits on many waters. / The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and those who dwell on the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her immorality.”

2 Corinthians 11:2-3
I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. For I promised you to one husband, to present you as a pure virgin to Christ. / I am afraid, however, that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may be led astray from your simple and pure devotion to Christ.

Matthew 16:4
A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.


Treasury of Scripture

Surely as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, so have you dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, said the LORD.

husband.

Hosea 3:1
Then said the LORD unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the LORD toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine.

so have

Jeremiah 3:1,2,8-10
They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD…

Jeremiah 5:11
For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dealt very treacherously against me, saith the LORD.

Isaiah 48:8
Yea, thou heardest not; yea, thou knewest not; yea, from that time that thine ear was not opened: for I knew that thou wouldest deal very treacherously, and wast called a transgressor from the womb.

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Affirmation Companion Dealt Deceived Declares Departeth Departs Faithless False. Friend House Husband Israel Lover Surely Treacherously Unfaithful Wife
Jeremiah 3
1. God's great mercy to Judah the polluted land
6. Judah is worse than Israel
12. The promises of the gospel to the penitent
20. Israel reproved, and called by God, makes a solemn confession of their sins














But as a woman may betray her husband
This phrase draws a vivid analogy between the covenant relationship of marriage and Israel's covenant with God. The Hebrew word for "betray" here is "bagad," which implies treachery or unfaithfulness. In ancient Israel, marriage was a sacred covenant, and infidelity was a grave violation of that covenant. This comparison underscores the seriousness of Israel's spiritual adultery. Historically, Israel's idolatry and alliances with foreign nations were seen as acts of betrayal against God, who was their true "husband" in a covenantal sense.

so you have betrayed Me
The personal nature of this accusation highlights the intimacy of the relationship between God and Israel. The use of "Me" emphasizes that the betrayal is not just against a set of rules or laws, but against God Himself. This personal betrayal is akin to the pain and breach of trust experienced in a marital relationship. The historical context reveals that Israel often turned to other gods and nations for security and prosperity, forsaking their unique relationship with Yahweh.

O house of Israel
The term "house of Israel" refers collectively to the people of Israel, emphasizing their identity as a chosen nation. In the Hebrew Bible, "house" often signifies a family or lineage, indicating that this message is directed not just to individuals but to the entire community. This collective address serves as a reminder of their shared history and covenant with God, which they have collectively violated.

declares the LORD
This phrase asserts the authority and finality of the message. The Hebrew word for "declares" is "ne'um," often used in prophetic literature to introduce a divine pronouncement. It signifies that the message comes directly from Yahweh, the covenant-keeping God. The use of "LORD" (YHWH) is significant, as it is the personal name of God revealed to Moses, reminding Israel of the God who delivered them from Egypt and established them as a nation. This declaration serves as both a warning and a call to repentance, urging Israel to return to their covenant relationship with God.

(20) Surely as a wife . . .--In the midst of the bright vision of the future there comes unbidden the thought of the dark present: the faithless wife is not yet restored to her true friend and husband. Her guilt must be again pressed home upon her, so as to lead her to repentance.

Verse 20. - Surely. The word acquires an adversative sense from the context, as in Isaiah 53:4, and is virtually equivalent to "but surely." From her husband; literally, from her friend or companion. The choice of the word seems to indicate the inner hollowness of the married life. The woman only sees in her husband the companion, behind whoso back she can follow her own inclinations.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
But
אָכֵ֛ן (’ā·ḵên)
Adverb
Strong's 403: Firmly, surely, but

as a woman
אִשָּׁ֖ה (’iš·šāh)
Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 802: Woman, wife, female

may betray
בָּגְדָ֥ה (bā·ḡə·ḏāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 898: To cover, to act covertly, to pillage

her husband,
מֵרֵעָ֑הּ (mê·rê·‘āh)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 7453: Friend, companion, fellow

so
כֵּ֣ן (kên)
Adverb
Strong's 3651: So -- thus

you have betrayed Me,
בְּגַדְתֶּ֥ם (bə·ḡaḏ·tem)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - second person masculine plural
Strong's 898: To cover, to act covertly, to pillage

O house
בֵּ֥ית (bêṯ)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 1004: A house

of Israel,”
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל (yiś·rā·’êl)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3478: Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc

declares
נְאֻם־ (nə·’um-)
Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 5002: An oracle

the LORD.
יְהוָֽה׃ (Yah·weh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068: LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel


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OT Prophets: Jeremiah 3:20 Surely as a wife treacherously departs (Jer.)
Jeremiah 3:19
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