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 ambmerciful,’ says the Lord; ‘I will not remain angry forever.
13aOnly 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.
21 A voice was heard on athe desolate heights, Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel. For they have perverted their way; They have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 “Return, you backsliding children, And I will aheal your backslidings.” “Indeed we do come to You, For You are the Lord our God.
23aTruly, in vain issalvationhopedfor from the hills, Andfrom the multitude of mountains; bTruly, in the Lord our God Is the salvation of Israel.
24aFor shame has devoured The labor of our fathers from our youth— Their flocks and their herds, Their sons and their daughters.
25 We lie down in our shame, And our1 reproach covers us. aFor we have sinned against the Lord our God, We and our fathers, From our youth even to this day, And bhave not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”
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.
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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.