Jeremiah 3:5

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3 Therefore the ^ashowers have been withheld,
And there has been no latter rain.
You have had a ^bharlot’s forehead;
You refuse to be ashamed.

4 Will you not from this time cry to Me,
‘My Father, You are ^athe guide of ^bmy youth?

5 ^aWill He remain angry forever?
Will He keep it to the end?’
Behold, you have spoken and done evil things,
As you were able.”

A Call to Repentance

6 The Lord said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what ^abacksliding Israel has done? She has ^bgone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot.

7 ^aAnd I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous ^bsister Judah saw it.

8 Then I saw that ^afor all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had ^bput her away and given her a certificate of divorce; ^cyet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also.

9 So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she ^adefiled the land and committed adultery with ^bstones and trees.

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.

Commentaries:

Barnes' Notes

<< Jeremiah 3:4

Jeremiah 3:6 >>

Jeremiah 3:5

Rather, "Will he, the young husband," retain, "keep up His anger forever!" These words should be joined to Jeremiah 3:4.

Behold ... - Rather, "Behold, thou hast spoken" thus, but thou hast "done evil things" persistently. The King James Version translates as if Judah' s words and deeds were both evil. Really her words were fair, but her deeds proved them to be false.

And here ends the prophecy, most interesting as showing what was the general nature of Jeremiah' s exhortations to his countrymen, during the 14 years of Josiah' s reign. He sets before them God and Israel united by a covenant of marriage, to the conditions of which Yahweh is ever true, while Israel practices with zest every form of idolatry. Therefore, the divine blessing is withheld. It is an honest and manly warning, and the great lesson it teaches us is, that with God nothing avails but a real and heartfelt repentance followed by a life of holiness and sincere devotion to His service.

Jer. 3:6-4:4 - "The Call to Repentance"

The former prophecy ended with the denunciation of God' s perpetual anger because of Israel' s obstinate persistence in sin. Now there is an invitation to repentance, and the assurance of forgiveness. The argument is as follows: Israel had been guilty of apostasy, and therefore God bad put her away. Unwarned by this example her more guilty sister Judah persists in the same sins Jeremiah 3:6-11. Israel therefore is invited to, return to the marriage-covenant by repentance Jeremiah 3:12-14, in which case she and Judah, accepted upon the like condition, shall become joint members of a spiritual theocracy. Jeremiah 3:15-18. The repentance which God requires must be real Jer. 3:19-4:4.

**Other Barnes' Notes entries containing Jeremiah 3:5:**

Jeremiah 5:20-31
Nahum 1:2

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Jeremiah 3:6 >>

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