Parallel Bible results for "jeremiah 3"

Jeremiah 3

New Century Version NCV

1 "If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, should her first husband come back to her again? If he went back to her, wouldn't the land become completely unclean? But you have acted like a prostitute with many lovers, and now you want to come back to me?" says the Lord.

2 "Look up to the bare hilltops, Judah. Is there any place where you have not been a prostitute? You have sat by the road waiting for lovers, like an Arab in the desert. You made the land unclean, because you did evil and were like a prostitute.

3 So the rain has not come, and there have not been any spring rains. But your face still looks like the face of a prostitute. You refuse even to be ashamed of what you did.

4 Now you are calling to me, 'My father, you have been my friend since I was young.

5 Will you always be angry at me? Will your anger last forever?' Judah, you said this, but you did as much evil as you could!"

6 When King Josiah was ruling Judah, the Lord said to me, "Did you see what unfaithful Israel did? She was like a prostitute with her idols on every hill and under every green tree.

7 I said to myself, 'Israel will come back to me after she does this evil,' but she didn't come back. And Israel's wicked sister Judah saw what she did.

8 Judah saw that I divorced unfaithful Israel because of her adultery, but that didn't make Israel's wicked sister Judah afraid. She also went out and acted like a prostitute!

9 And she didn't care that she was acting like a prostitute. So she made her country unclean and was guilty of adultery, because she worshiped idols made of stone and wood.

10 Israel's wicked sister didn't even come back to me with her whole heart, but only pretended," says the Lord.

11 The Lord said to me, "Unfaithful Israel had a better excuse than wicked Judah.

12 Go and speak this message toward the north: 'Come back, unfaithful people of Israel,' says the Lord. 'I will stop being angry at you, because I am full of mercy,' says the Lord. 'I will not be angry with you forever.

13 All you have to do is admit your sin -- that you turned against the Lord your God and worshiped gods under every green tree and didn't obey me,'" says the Lord.

14 "Come back to me, you unfaithful children," says the Lord, "because I am your master. I will take one person from every city and two from every family group, and I will bring you to Jerusalem.

15 Then I will give you new rulers who will be faithful to me, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.

16 In those days there will be many of you in the land," says the Lord. "At that time people will no longer say, 'I remember the Ark of the Agreement.' They won't think about it anymore or remember it or miss it or make another one.

17 At that time people will call Jerusalem The Throne of the Lord, and all nations will come together in Jerusalem to show respect to the Lord. They will not follow their stubborn, evil hearts anymore.

18 In those days the family of Judah will join the family of Israel. They will come together from a land in the north to the land I gave their ancestors.

19 "I, the Lord, said, 'How happy I would be to treat you as my own children and give you a pleasant land, a land more beautiful than that of any other nation.' and not turn away from me.

20 But like a woman who is unfaithful to her husband, family of Israel, you have been unfaithful to me," says the Lord.

21 You can hear crying on the bare hilltops. for mercy. They have become very evil and have forgotten the Lord their God.

22 "Come back to me, you unfaithful children, and I will forgive you for being unfaithful." "Yes, we will come to you, because you are the Lord our God.

23 It was foolish to worship idols on the hills and on the mountains. comes from the Lord our God.

24 Since our youth, shameful gods have eaten up in sacrifice everything our ancestors worked for -- their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters.

25 Let us lie down in our shame, and let our disgrace cover us like a blanket. We have sinned against the Lord our God, both we and our ancestors. From our youth until now, we have not obeyed the Lord our God."

Good News Translation GNT

1 The Lord says, "If a man divorces his wife, and she leaves him and becomes another man's wife, he cannot take her back again. This would completely defile the land. But, Israel, you have had many lovers, and now you want to return to me!

2 Look up at the hilltops. Is there any place where you have not acted like a prostitute? You waited for lovers along the roadside, as an Arab waits for victims in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution.

3 That is why the rains were held back, and the spring showers did not come. You even look like a prostitute; you have no shame.

4 "And now you say to me, "You are my father, and you have loved me ever since I was a child.

5 You won't always be angry; you won't be mad at me forever.' Israel, that is what you said, but you did all the evil you could."

6 When Josiah was king, the Lord said to me, "Have you seen what Israel, that unfaithful woman, has done? She has turned away from me, and on every high hill and under every green tree she has acted like a prostitute.

7 I thought that after she had done all this, she would surely return to me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it all.

8 Judah also saw that I divorced Israel and sent her away because she had turned from me and had become a prostitute. But Judah, Israel's unfaithful sister, was not afraid. She too became a prostitute

9 and was not at all ashamed. She defiled the land, and she committed adultery by worshiping stones and trees.

10 And after all this, Judah, Israel's unfaithful sister, only pretended to return to me; she was not sincere. I, the Lord, have spoken."

11 Then the Lord told me that, even though Israel had turned away from him, she had proved to be better than unfaithful Judah.

12 He told me to go and say to Israel, "Unfaithful Israel, come back to me. I am merciful and will not be angry; I will not be angry with you forever.

13 Only admit that you are guilty and that you have rebelled against the Lord, your God. Confess that under every green tree you have given your love to foreign gods and that you have not obeyed my commands. I, the Lord, have spoken.

14 "Unfaithful people, come back; you belong to me. I will take one of you from each town and two from each clan, and I will bring you back to Mount Zion.

15 I will give you rulers who obey me, and they will rule you with wisdom and understanding.

16 Then when you have become numerous in that land, people will no longer talk about my Covenant Box. They will no longer think about it or remember it; they will not even need it, nor will they make another one.

17 When that time comes, Jerusalem will be called "The Throne of the Lord,' and all nations will gather there to worship me. They will no longer do what their stubborn and evil hearts tell them.

18 Israel will join with Judah, and together they will come from exile in the country in the north and will return to the land that I gave your ancestors as a permanent possession."

19 The Lord says, "Israel, I wanted to accept you as my child and give you a delightful land, the most beautiful land in all the world. I wanted you to call me father and never again turn away from me.

20 But like an unfaithful wife, you have not been faithful to me. I, the Lord, have spoken."

21 A noise is heard on the hilltops: it is the people of Israel crying and pleading because they have lived sinful lives and have forgotten the Lord their God.

22 Return, all of you who have turned away from the Lord; he will heal you and make you faithful. You say, "Yes, we are coming to the Lord because he is our God.

23 We were not helped at all by our pagan worship on the hilltops. Help for Israel comes only from the Lord our God.

24 But the worship of Baal, the god of shame, has made us lose flocks and herds, sons and daughters - everything that our ancestors have worked for since ancient times.

25 We should lie down in shame and let our disgrace cover us. We and our ancestors have always sinned against the Lord our God; we have never obeyed his commands."