3:1 If a man put away his wife, and she
depart from him, and become another man's, shall she return to him any more
at all? shall not that woman be utterly defiled? ye thou hast gone a-whoring
with many shepherds, and hast returned to me, saith the Lord.
3:2 Lift up thine eyes [to look] straight forward, and see where thou hast
not been utterly defiled. Thou hast sat for them by the wayside as a
deserted crow, and hast defiled the land with thy fornications and thy
wickedness.
3:3 And thou didst retain many shepherds for a stumbling-block to thyself:
thou hadst a whore's face, thou didst become shameless toward all.
3:4 Hast thou not called me as it were a home, and the father and guide of
thy virgin-time?
3:5 Will [God's anger] continue for ever, or be preserved to the end?
Behold, thou hast spoken and done these bad things, and hadst power [to do
them].
3:6 And the Lord said to me in the days of Josias the king, Hast thou seen
what things the house of Israel has done to me? they have gone on every high
mountain, and under every shady tree, and have committed fornication there.
3:7 And I said after she had committed all these acts of fornication, Turn
again to me. Yet she returned not. And faithless Juda saw her faithlessness.
3:8 And I saw that (for all the sins of which she was convicted, wherein the
house of Israel committed adultery, and I put her away, and gave into her
hands a bill of divorcement,) yet faithless Juda feared not, but went and
herself also committed fornication.
3:9 And her fornication was nothing accounted of; and she committed adultery
with wood and stone.
3:10 And for all these things faithless Juda turned not to me with all her
heart, but falsely.
3:11 And the Lord said to me, Israel has justified himself more than
faithless Juda.
3:12 Go and read these words toward the north, and thou shalt say, Return to
me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not set my face against
you: for I am merciful, saith the Lord, and I will not be angry with you for
ever.
3:13 Nevertheless, know thine iniquity, that thou hast sinned against the
Lord thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to strangers under every shady
tree, but thou didst not hearken to my voice, saith the Lord.
3:14 Turn, ye children that have revolted, saith the Lord; for I will rule
over you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will
bring you in to Sion:
3:15 and I will give you shepherds after my heart, and they shall certainly
tend you with knowledge.
3:16 And it shall come to pass that when ye are multiplied and increased
upon the land, saith the Lord, in those days they shall say no more, The ark
of the covenant of the Holy One of Israel: it shall not come to mind; it
shall not be named; neither shall it be visited; nor shall [this] be done
any more.
3:17 In those days and at that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of
the Lord; and all the nations shall be gathered to it: and they shall not
walk any more after the imaginations of their evil heart.
3:18 In those days the house of Juda, shall come together to the house of
Israel, and they shall come, together, from the land of the north, and from
all the countries, to the land, which I caused their fathers to inherit.
3:19 And I said, So be it, Lord, for [thou saidst] I will set thee among
children, and will give thee a choice land, the inheritance of the Almighty
God of the Gentiles: and I said, Ye shall call me Father; and ye shall not
turn away rom me.
3:20 But as a wife acts treacherously against her husband, so has the house
of Israel dealt treacherously against me, saith the Lord.
3:21 A voice from the lips was heard, [even] of weeping and supplication of
the children of Israel: for they have dealt unrighteously in their ways,
they have forgotten God their Holy One.
3:22 Turn, ye children that are given to turning, and I will heal your
bruises. Behold, we will be thy servants; for thou art the Lord our God.
3:23 Truly the hills and the strength of the mountains were a lying refuge:
but by the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel.
3:24 But shame has consumed the labours of our fathers from our youth; their
sheep and their calves, and their sons and their daughters.
3:25 We have lain down in our shame, and our disgrace has covered us:
because we and our fathers have sinned before our God, from our youth until
this day; and we have not hearkened to the voice of the Lord our God. |
3:1 They say, If a man put away his wife,
and she go from him, and become another man's, shall he return unto her
again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the
harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the LORD.
3:2 Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not
been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the
wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy
wickedness.
3:3 Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no
latter rain; and thou hadst a whore's forehead, thou refusedst to be
ashamed.
3:4 Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide
of my youth?
3:5 Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold,
thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.
3:6 The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou
seen that which backsliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high
mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.
3:7 And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But
she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.
3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed
adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her
treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.
3:9 And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she
defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.
3:10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto
me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.
3:11 And the LORD said unto me, The backsliding Israel hath justified
herself more than treacherous Judah.
3:12 Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou
backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall
upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for
ever.
3:13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against
the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every
green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD.
3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto
you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will
bring you to Zion:
3:15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed
you with knowledge and understanding.
3:16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the
land, in those days, saith the LORD, they shall say no more, The ark of the
covenant of the LORD: neither shall it come to mind: neither shall they
remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall that be done any
more.
3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all
the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to
Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their
evil heart.
3:18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel,
and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I
have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.
3:19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a
pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou
shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.
3:20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye
dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.
3:21 A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of
the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have
forgotten the LORD their God.
3:22 Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings.
Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.
3:23 Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the
multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD our God is the salvation of
Israel.
3:24 For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their
flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
3:25 We lie down in our shame, and our confusion covereth us: for we have
sinned against the LORD our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even
unto this day, and have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God. |