Jeremiah 4:1

1 "Isra'el, if you will return," says ADONAI, "yes, return to me; and if you will banish your abominations from my presence without wandering astray again;

Jeremiah 4:1 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 4:1

If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord
To which they had been encouraged, and as they had promised they would, and said they did, ( Jeremiah 3:14 Jeremiah 3:22 ) : return unto me;
with thy whole heart, and not feignedly and hypocritically, as Judah did, ( Jeremiah 3:10 ) . Some render the words (and the accents require they should be rendered so) "if thou wilt return to me, O Israel, saith the Lord, thou shalt return" ^F12; that is, to thine own land, being now in captivity; or, "thou shalt rest" ^F13; or "have rest"; so Kimchi interprets the last word; see ( Jeremiah 30:10 ) , and these words may very well be considered as the words of Christ, and as spoken by him, when he entered upon his ministry, who began it with calling the people of the Jews to repentance, and promising to give them rest; and all such who return to God by repentance, and come to Christ by faith, find spiritual rest for their souls now, and shall have an eternal rest hereafter, ( Matthew 4:17 ) ( Matthew 11:28 Matthew 11:29 ) : and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight;
not only their sins, but their self-righteousness, and dependence upon it; the rites and ceremonies of the old law abolished by Christ, together with the traditions of the elders, by which they made void the commandments of God; all which were abominations in the sight of the Lord, ( Isaiah 1:13 ) ( 29:13 ) ( 65:5 ) ( 66:3 ) , then shalt thou not remove;
from thine own land again when restored, or further off, into more distant countries, for they were now in captivity; or rather the words may be rendered, not as a promise, but as a continuation of what is before said, and not move to and fro
^F14; or be unstable and wavering, tossed to and fro with every wind of doctrine, and precept of men; but be established in the faith of the Gospel, and steadfast and immovable in every good work. The Targum is: ``if thou wilt return, O Israel, to my worship, saith the Lord, thy return shall be received before thy decree is sealed; and if thou wilt take away thine abominations from before me, thou shalt not be moved;'' or wander about.

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FOOTNOTES:

F12 (bwvt yla hwhy Man larvy bwvt Ma) "si reverteris ad me, O Israel, dicit Jehovah, reverteris", Gataker,
F13 (bwvt) "quiescas", Vatablus; "quiesce apud me", Calvin.
F14 (dwnt alw) "et non vagaberis", Gatatker; "et non instabilis fueris", Cocceius,

Jeremiah 4:1 In-Context

1 "Isra'el, if you will return," says ADONAI, "yes, return to me; and if you will banish your abominations from my presence without wandering astray again;

2 and if you will swear, 'As ADONAI lives,' in truth, justice and righteousness; then the nations will bless themselves by him, and in him will they glory."

3 For here is what ADONAI says to the people of Y'hudah and Yerushalayim: "Break up your ground that hasn't been plowed, and do not sow among thorns."

4 "People of Y'hudah and inhabitants of Yerushalayim, circumcise yourselves for ADONAI, remove the foreskins of your heart! Otherwise my fury will lash out like fire, burning so hot that no one can quench it, because of how evil your actions are.

5 "Announce in Y'hudah, proclaim in Yerushalayim; say: 'Blow the shofar in the land!' Shout the message aloud: 'Assemble! Let us go to the fortified cities!'