Jeremiah 3:12

10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me ^awith her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the Lord.

11 Then the Lord said to me, ^a“Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah.

12 Go and proclaim these words toward ^athe north, and say:
‘Return, backsliding Israel,’ says the Lord;
‘I will not cause My anger to fall on you.
For I am ^bmerciful,’ says the Lord;
‘I will not remain angry forever.

13 ^aOnly acknowledge your iniquity,
That you have transgressed against the Lord your God,
And have ^bscattered your charms
To ^calien deities ^dunder every green tree,
And you have not obeyed My voice,’ says the Lord.

14 “Return, O backsliding children,” says the Lord; ^a“for I am married to you. I will take you, ^bone from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to ^cZion.

15 And I will give you ^ashepherds according to My heart, who will ^bfeed you with knowledge and understanding.

16 “Then it shall come to pass, when you are multiplied and ^aincreased in the land in those days,” says the Lord, “that they will say no more, ‘The ark of the covenant of the Lord.’ ^bIt shall not come to mind, nor shall they remember it, nor shall they visit it, nor shall it be made anymore.

17 “At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the Lord, and all the nations shall be gathered to it, ^ato the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem. No more shall they ^bfollow the dictates of their evil hearts.

18 “In those days ^athe house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of ^bthe north to ^cthe land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers.

19 “But I said:
‘How can I put you among the children
And give you ^aa pleasant land,
A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations?’ “And I said:
‘You shall call Me, ^b“My Father,”
And not turn away from Me.’

20 Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her¹ husband,
So ^ahave you dealt treacherously with Me,
O house of Israel,” says the Lord.

Commentaries:

Forerunner Commentary
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What Does Jeremiah 3:12 Mean?

Pleading for Israel to repent and acknowledge its iniquity, Jeremiah directs his words toward the north. Living during Judah's fall to the Babylonians—some 130 years after the Kingdom of Israel had been forcibly removed from its homeland—Jeremiah was not addressing Israelites settled within a hundred miles north of Jerusalem in and around Samaria. Instead, he speaks to a people dwelling somewhere farther north.

Jeremiah 3:12-13

Jeremiah, pleading for Israel to repent, to "acknowledge your iniquity" (verse 13), asks that his words be proclaimed "toward the north." Jeremiah, remember, lived at the time of Judah's fall to the Babylonians, some 130 years after the Kingdom of Israel had been forcibly moved out of its homeland. So, he was not writing to Israelites domiciled within a hundred miles north of Jerusalem—residing in and around Samaria. No, he is addressing a people living somewhere else further north.

Charles Whitaker
Searching for Israel (Part Eight): The Scattering of Ten-Tribed Israel

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What Does Jeremiah 3:12 Mean?

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