Jeremiah 3:7

7 And when she had done all these things, I said: Return to me, and she did not return. And her treacherous sister Juda saw,

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 Wilt thou be angry for ever, or wilt thou continue unto the end? Behold, thou hast spoken, and hast done evil things, and hast been able.
6 And the Lord said to me in the days of king Josias: Hast thou seen what rebellious Israel hath done? she hath gone of herself upon every high mountain, and under every green tree, and hath played the harlot there.
7 And when she had done all these things, I said: Return to me, and she did not return. And her treacherous sister Juda saw,
8 That because the rebellious Israel had played the harlot, I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce: yet her treacherous sister Juda was not afraid, but went and played the harlot also herself.
9 And by the facility of her fornication she defiled the land, and played the harlot with stones and with stocks.
The Douay-Rheims Bible is in the public domain.