Jeremiah 3:7

7 I said after she had done all these things, She will return to me; but she didn't return: and her treacherous sister Yehudah saw it.

Jeremiah 3:7 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 3:7

And I said, after she had done these things
All these idolatries, in the several places mentioned, after she had repeated them over and over; the Lord sent to them by the Prophets Hosea, Amos, Micah, and others, who prophesied before the captivity of the ten tribes, and entreated them, saying, turn unto me:
to my worship, as the Targum; from their idols, to him the living God; they were not without admonitions, exhortations, and declarations of grace, and so were without excuse: but she returned not;
to fear and serve the Lord, but remained in idolatry, obstinate and inflexible: and her treacherous sister Judah saw it;
her treachery and breach of covenant, as the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions add, for explanation sake; Judah, or the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and who were allied to the ten tribes by birth and by religion, and equally treacherous to God, the husband of them both, saw all the idolatry of Israel, and the aggravations of it, and what followed upon it, namely, their captivity in Babylon, yet did not learn and take warning hereby.

Jeremiah 3:7 In-Context

5 Will he retain [his anger] forever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, you have spoken and have done evil things, and have had your way.
6 Moreover the LORD said to me in the days of Yoshiyahu the king, Have you seen that which backsliding Yisra'el has done? she is gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there has played the prostitute.
7 I said after she had done all these things, She will return to me; but she didn't return: and her treacherous sister Yehudah saw it.
8 I saw, when, for this very cause that backsliding Yisra'el had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a bill of divorce, yet treacherous Yehudah, her sister, didn't fear; but she also went and played the prostitute.
9 It happened through the lightness of her prostitution, that the land was polluted, and she committed adultery with stones and with stocks.
The Hebrew Names Version is in the public domain.