📖 Jeremiah — Chapter 3 (KJV)
Read the complete King James Version chapter below, then explore the passage sections, check what you remember, and keep your private study notes.
Scripture source: Project Gutenberg KJV, ebook 10.
Jeremiah 3:1 TThey say, RIf 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.
Jeremiah 3:2 RLift 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.
Jeremiah 3:3 Therefore Rthe showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.
Jeremiah 3:4 RWilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?
Jeremiah 3:5 Will Rhe reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.
Jeremiah 3:6 The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which Rbacksliding Israel hath done? she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath played the harlot.
Jeremiah 3:7 And I said after she had done all these things, RTurn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.
Jeremiah 3:8 And I saw, Rwhen 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.
Jeremiah 3:9 And it came to pass through the RTlightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.
Jeremiah 3:10 And yet for all this her treacherous sister RJudah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but Tfeignedly, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 3:11 And the LORD said unto me, RThe backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah.
Jeremiah 3:12 Go and proclaim these words Rtoward 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.
Jeremiah 3:13 Only Racknowledge 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.
Jeremiah 3:14 Turn, RO 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:
Jeremiah 3:15 RAnd I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
Jeremiah 3:16 And it shall come to pass, Rwhen 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 Tcome to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall Tthat be done any more.
Jeremiah 3:17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem Rthe 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 Timagination of their evil heart.
Jeremiah 3:18 In those days the house of Judah shall walk Twith the house of Israel, and they shall come together Rout of the land of the north to the land that I have Tgiven for an inheritance unto your fathers.
Jeremiah 3:19 But I said, RHow shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a Tpleasant land, Ta goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away Tfrom me.
Jeremiah 3:20 Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her RThusband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the LORD.
Jeremiah 3:21 RA 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.
Jeremiah 3:22 RReturn, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the LORD our God.
Jeremiah 3:23 Truly Rin 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.
Jeremiah 3:24 For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
Jeremiah 3:25 We Rlie 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.
📚 Study This Chapter
📖 What We’re Reading
Jeremiah 3:1–9 — Unfaithfulness pictured through broken marriage
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Judah’s idolatry is described through the image of many lovers and polluted land. Israel’s fall has not persuaded her sister Judah to abandon the same unfaithfulness.
Key Truth: Learn from warnings rather than repeating them.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “… causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her ____ , and given her a bill of divorce; yet her …” (Jeremiah 3:8)
Find it in Jeremiah 3:8 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “Will he reserve his ____ for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, …” (Jeremiah 3:5)
Find it in Jeremiah 3:5 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “And it ____ to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she …” (Jeremiah 3:9)
Find it in Jeremiah 3:9 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Jeremiah 3:10–17 — Return with a whole heart
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Judah’s pretense is exposed, while backsliding Israel is invited to return and acknowledge iniquity. Faithful shepherds and a Jerusalem gathering the nations accompany the restoration promise.
Key Truth: Let repentance be honest and wholehearted.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “And I will give you pastors according to mine ____ , which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.” (Jeremiah 3:15)
Find it in Jeremiah 3:15 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “Turn, O backsliding ____ , saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: …” (Jeremiah 3:14)
Find it in Jeremiah 3:14 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “… shall they walk any more after the imagination of their ____ heart.” (Jeremiah 3:17)
Find it in Jeremiah 3:17 (KJV).
📖 What We’re Reading
Jeremiah 3:18–25 — Healing offered and sin acknowledged
🌱 What These Verses Teach Us
Israel and Judah are pictured returning together. The invitation to backsliding children is met with acknowledgment that salvation is in the Lord and that generations have failed to obey.
Key Truth: Answer mercy with truthful confession.
Check What You Remember
1. Complete the KJV wording: “In ____ days the house of Judah shall walk with the house …” (Jeremiah 3:18)
Find it in Jeremiah 3:18 (KJV).
2. Complete the KJV wording: “Return, ye backsliding ____ , and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come …” (Jeremiah 3:22)
Find it in Jeremiah 3:22 (KJV).
3. Complete the KJV wording: “For ____ hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; …” (Jeremiah 3:24)
Find it in Jeremiah 3:24 (KJV).
Related Scripture (KJV)
Hosea 14:4 — The Lord promises to heal backsliding and love freely.
This related passage is selected for its connection with this chapter. It is separate from the chapter text.
Reflect and Apply
Where should an appearance of repentance become a genuine change of heart?
Advanced Questions and Answers
Study this chapter’s wording, patterns, contrasts, and meaning in greater depth.
1. What distinguishes Judah’s claimed return from wholehearted repentance?
2. What acknowledgment accompanies the invitation to return?
3. How do the promised pastors differ from corrupt leadership?
4. What changes when nations gather to Jerusalem?
5. How does the closing confession address responsibility?
Notes
Write what you want to remember, questions to explore, or Scriptures to look up later. Your saved notes are private to your account.
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