(This DRAFT study has been done fairly quickly, without the further guide of commentaries. I hope to improve on it later.)
Jeremiah 3:1, Many lovers
"If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him
and marries another man,
should he return to her again?
Would not the land be completely defiled?
But you have lived as a prostitute with many lovers--
would you now return to me?"
declares the LORD.
God accuses Israel of running after many lovers. If a husband had a wife who did this, would he take her back?
The chapter begins with the Hebrew word lemor (לֵאמֹ֑ר ,"they say"), whose core is the verb amar (אָמַר, "to say".) That word is left out by the NIV, but implied by the quotation that follows.
Jeremiah 3:2-5, Brazen prostitute
"Look up to the barren heights and see.
Is there any place where you have not been ravished?
By the roadside you sat waiting for lovers,
sat like a nomad in the desert.
You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness.
Therefore the showers have been withheld,
and no spring rains have fallen.
Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute;
you refuse to blush with shame.
Have you not just called to me: `My Father, my friend from my youth,
will you always be angry?
Will your wrath continue forever?'
This is how you talk, but you do all the evil you can."
God continues to speak. The people of Israel have put idols on every hilltop. They have acted like prostitutes who brazenly have sex with customers wherever they wish. Israel/Judah, represented by the young bride, asks her husband, "Will you always be angry?" and yet she continues her wicked ways and her betrayal of her vows. Because of the nation's actions, the rains that comfort the desert have been withheld and the land has suffered.
Jeremiah 3:6-9, Judah, like Israel
During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, "Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it.
I gave faithless Israel her certificate of divorce and sent her away because of all her adulteries. Yet I saw that her unfaithful sister Judah had no fear; she also went out and committed adultery. Because Israel's immorality mattered so little to her, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stone and wood.
Now Jeremiah speaks and describes a conversation he had with God during the reign of Josiah. Israel had committed idolatry and been wiped out by the Assyrians. Yet Judah continued in its idolatry.
Jeremiah 3:10-11, Judah even worse
In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense," declares the LORD.
The LORD said to me, "Faithless Israel is more righteous than unfaithful Judah.
YHWH seems surprised by Judah's continued betrayal. Wasn't the destruction of the northern kingdom sufficient to bring the southern kingdom back in line? In continuing their idolatry after Israel's judgment, Judah is even worse than Israel.
Jeremiah 3:12-13, To the northern kingdom
Go, proclaim this message toward the north:
"`Return, faithless Israel,' declares the LORD,
`I will frown on you no longer, for I am merciful,' declares the LORD,
`I will not be angry forever.
Only acknowledge your guilt--
you have rebelled against the LORD your God,
you have scattered your favors to foreign gods under every spreading tree,
and have not obeyed me,'"
declares the LORD.
Jeremiah is to carry a message to the northern kingdom that YHWH will not be angry forever. (The northern kingdom of Israel has been long gone, absorbed by Assyria and only scattered settlers remain. But there is still a message for them.) If the people (in the north or south) will only repent and return to Him and YHWH's anger will subside.
Jeremiah 3:14-18, The Throne of YHWH
"Return, faithless people," declares the LORD, "for I am your husband. I will choose you--one from a town and two from a clan--and bring you to Zion. Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.
In those days, when your numbers have increased greatly in the land," declares the LORD, "men will no longer say, `The ark of the covenant of the LORD.' It will never enter their minds or be remembered; it will not be missed, nor will another one be made. At that time they will call Jerusalem The Throne of the LORD, and all nations will gather in Jerusalem to honor the name of the LORD. No longer will they follow the stubbornness of their evil hearts.
In those days the house of Judah will join the house of Israel, and together they will come from a northern land to the land I gave your forefathers as an inheritance.
YHWH, as husband of Israel, will choose a remnant to bring to Zion. In this future time, Jerusalem will be called The Throne of YHWH and the nations (not just Jews!) will gather in Jerusalem. The two kingdoms of Israel will be united. There will be no need for the ark of the covenant for God, Himself, will be there.
The Hebrew word for "your husband" in verse 14 is baalti (בָּעַ֣לְתִּי) with core baal (בָּעַל), the verb "to marry, to rule, to have dominion over". That word carries a number of complex meanings; it was also the word used to address various Canaanite gods.
Jeremiah 3:19-20, Father to a people
"I myself said,
"`How gladly would I treat you like sons
and give you a desirable land,
the most beautiful inheritance of any nation.'
I thought you would call me `Father'
and not turn away from following me.
But like a woman unfaithful to her husband,
so you have been unfaithful to me,
O house of Israel,"
declares the LORD.
The earlier metaphor had YHWH as husband to Israel. Here, somewhat unique for the Old Testament, YHWH says that He could be called "Father."
Jeremiah 3:21, Crying
A cry is heard on the barren heights,
the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel,
because they have perverted their ways
and have forgotten the LORD their God.
The people of Israel weep and plead, due to the calamities brought upon them by abandoning God.
Jeremiah 3:22-25, Backsliding
"Return, faithless people; I will cure you of backsliding."
"Yes, we will come to you, for you are the LORD our God.
Surely the [idolatrous] commotion on the hills and mountains is a deception;
surely in the LORD our God is the salvation of Israel.
From our youth shameful gods have consumed the fruits of our fathers' labor--
their flocks and herds, their sons and daughters.
Let us lie down in our shame,
and let our disgrace cover us.
We have sinned against the LORD our God,
both we and our fathers;
from our youth till this day
we have not obeyed the LORD our God."
The people are called to return. Some claim that they want to return, that the worship of idols is mere "commotion" and "deception." There is a strong voice of repentance here.
Some Hebrew Vocabulary
Our Hebrew word for the day is baal
בָּעַל
a verb meaning "to marry, to rule, to have dominion over". When used as a noun, the word Baal,
בַּעַל
(note the slight change in vowel pointing on the first letter), could mean "Lord" or "husband" or "master." The Canaanites used that word for their god(s). In verse 4 the imagined young bride calls her older husband "father" and "friend." But she might also call her husband "master."
First published January 23, 2025; updated December 11, 2025
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