| NET Bible | Christian Standard Bible |
| 1"If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and becomes another man's wife, he may not take her back again. Doing that would utterly defile the land. But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. So what makes you think you can return to me?" says the LORD. | 1If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Wouldn't such a land become totally defiled? But you! You have prostituted yourself with many partners--can you return to me? This is the LORD's declaration. |
| 2"Look up at the hilltops and consider this. You have had sex with other gods on every one of them. You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the desert. You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods. | 2Look to the barren heights and see. Where have you not been immoral? You sat waiting for them beside the highways like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness. |
| 3That is why the rains have been withheld, and the spring rains have not come. Yet in spite of this you are obstinate as a prostitute. You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done. | 3This is why the showers haven't come--why there has been no spring rain. You have the brazen look of a prostitute and refuse to be ashamed. |
| 4Even now you say to me, 'You are my father! You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young. | 4Haven't you recently called to me, "My Father. You were my friend in my youth. |
| 5You will not always be angry with me, will you? You will not be mad at me forever, will you?' That is what you say, but you continually do all the evil that you can." | 5Will he bear a grudge forever? Will he be endlessly infuriated?" This is what you have said, but you have done the evil things you are capable of. |
| 6When Josiah was king of Judah, the LORD said to me, "Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods. | 6In the days of King Josiah the LORD asked me, "Have you seen what unfaithful Israel has done? She has ascended every high hill and gone under every green tree to prostitute herself there. |
| 7Yet even after she had done all that, I thought that she might come back to me. But she did not. Her sister, unfaithful Judah, saw what she did. | 7I thought, 'After she has done all these things, she will return to me.' But she didn't return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it. |
| 8She also saw that I gave wayward Israel her divorce papers and sent her away because of her adulterous worship of other gods. Even after her unfaithful sister Judah had seen this, she still was not afraid, and she too went and gave herself like a prostitute to other gods. | 8I observed that it was because unfaithful Israel had committed adultery that I had sent her away and had given her a certificate of divorce. Nevertheless, her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid but also went and prostituted herself. |
| 9Because she took her prostitution so lightly, she defiled the land through her adulterous worship of gods made of wood and stone. | 9Indifferent to her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. |
| 10In spite of all this, Israel's sister, unfaithful Judah, has not turned back to me with any sincerity; she has only pretended to do so," says the LORD. | 10Yet in spite of all this, her treacherous sister Judah didn't return to me with all her heart--only in pretense." This is the LORD's declaration. |
| 11Then the LORD said to me, "Under the circumstances, wayward Israel could even be considered less guilty than unfaithful Judah. | 11The LORD announced to me, "Unfaithful Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. |
| 12"Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north. Tell them, 'Come back to me, wayward Israel,' says the LORD. 'I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. For I am merciful,' says the LORD. 'I will not be angry with you forever. | 12Go, proclaim these words to the north, and say, 'Return, unfaithful Israel. This is the LORD's declaration. I will not look on you with anger, for I am unfailing in my love. This is the LORD's declaration. I will not be angry forever. |
| 13However, you must confess that you have done wrong, and that you have rebelled against the LORD your God. You must confess that you have given yourself to foreign gods under every green tree, and have not obeyed my commands,' says the LORD. | 13Only acknowledge your guilt--you have rebelled against the LORD your God. You have scattered your favors to strangers under every green tree and have not obeyed me. This is the LORD's declaration. |
| 14"Come back to me, my wayward sons," says the LORD, "for I am your true master. If you do, I will take one of you from each town and two of you from each family group, and I will bring you back to Zion. | 14"'Return, you faithless children--this is the LORD's declaration--for I am your master, and I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion. |
| 15I will give you leaders who will be faithful to me. They will lead you with knowledge and insight. | 15I will give you shepherds who are loyal to me, and they will shepherd you with knowledge and skill. |
| 16In those days, your population will greatly increase in the land. At that time," says the LORD, "people will no longer talk about having the ark that contains the LORD's covenant with us. They will not call it to mind, remember it, or miss it. No, that will not be done any more! | 16When you multiply and increase in the land, in those days--this is the LORD's declaration--no one will say again, "The ark of the LORD's covenant." It will never come to mind, and no one will remember or miss it. Another one will not be made. |
| 17At that time the city of Jerusalem will be called the LORD's throne. All nations will gather there in Jerusalem to honor the LORD's name. They will no longer follow the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. | 17At that time Jerusalem will be called The LORD's Throne, and all the nations will be gathered to it, to the name of the LORD in Jerusalem. They will cease to follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts. |
| 18At that time the nation of Judah and the nation of Israel will be reunited. Together they will come back from a land in the north to the land that I gave to your ancestors as a permanent possession." | 18In those days the house of Judah will join with the house of Israel, and they will come together from the land of the north to the land I have given your ancestors to inherit.'" |
| 19"I thought to myself, 'Oh what a joy it would be for me to treat you like a son! What a joy it would be for me to give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful piece of property there is in all the world!' I thought you would call me, 'Father' and would never cease being loyal to me. | 19I thought, "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 will call me 'My Father' and never turn away from me." |
| 20But, you have been unfaithful to me, nation of Israel, like an unfaithful wife who has left her husband," says the LORD. | 20However, as a woman may betray her lover, so you have betrayed me, house of Israel. This is the LORD's declaration. |
| 21"A noise is heard on the hilltops. It is the sound of the people of Israel crying and pleading to their gods. Indeed they have followed sinful ways; they have forgotten to be true to the LORD their God. | 21A sound is heard on the barren heights: the children of Israel weeping and begging for mercy, for they have perverted their way; they have forgotten the LORD their God. |
| 22Come back to me, you wayward people. I want to cure your waywardness. Say, 'Here we are. We come to you because you are the LORD our God. | 22Return, you faithless children. I will heal your unfaithfulness. "Here we are, coming to you, for you are the LORD our God. |
| 23We know our noisy worship of false gods on the hills and mountains did not help us. We know that the LORD our God is the only one who can deliver Israel. | 23Surely, falsehood comes from the hills, commotion from the mountains, but the salvation of Israel is only in the LORD our God. |
| 24From earliest times our worship of that shameful god, Baal, has taken away all that our ancestors worked for. It has taken away our flocks and our herds, and even our sons and daughters. | 24From the time of our youth the shameful one has consumed what our fathers have worked for--their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. |
| 25Let us acknowledge our shame. Let us bear the disgrace that we deserve. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, both we and our ancestors. From earliest times to this very day we have not obeyed the LORD our God.' | 25Let us lie down in our shame; let our disgrace cover us. We have sinned against the LORD our God, both we and our fathers, from the time of our youth even to this day. We have not obeyed the LORD our God." |
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