Jeremiah 3:8

8 And I saw that {for this very reason, that} on account of apostate Israel committing adultery I divorced her and gave the letter of divorce to her. Yet her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid and she went and prostituted [herself] also.

Jeremiah 3:8 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 3:8

And I saw, when for all the causes, whereby backsliding Israel
committed adultery
Not only Judah saw, but God, who sees all things, saw the idolatry of the ten tribes which apostatized from him, and all the springs, causes, reasons, and occasions of it, and its consequences; and also the treachery, hardness, and idolatry of Judah: I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce;
as men did, when they put away their wives, as they might lawfully do in case of adultery; and here being that which answered to it, spiritual adultery or idolatry, the Lord, who was married to this people, put them away from him, and caused them to be carried captive out of their own land into another, ( 2 Kings 17:6 ) which is meant by the bill of divorce; so the Targum,

``I caused them to go into captivity, as those that give a bill of divorce (to their wives) and dismiss them:''

yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not;
to commit idolatry and offend the Lord, nor stood in awe of his righteous judgments; had no reverence of God, nor fear of punishment; so hardened and daring was she: but went and played the harlot; committed idolatry, as the ten tribes did, taking no warning by what befell them.

Jeremiah 3:8 In-Context

6 Then Yahweh said to me in the days of Josiah, the king, "Have you seen what apostate Israel has done? She has gone on every high hill and under every leafy tree and she has prostituted [herself] there.

7 And I thought, 'After her doing all these [things] to me she will return,' but she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw [it].

8 And I saw that {for this very reason, that} on account of apostate Israel committing adultery I divorced her and gave the letter of divorce to her. Yet her treacherous sister Judah was not afraid and she went and prostituted [herself] also.

9 And it was because of the frivolity of her fornication that she defiled the land and committed adultery with the stone and with the tree.

10 Yet even in all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, {but only} in pretense," {declares} Yahweh.

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "because of all"
• [b]. Or "unfaithful"