Jeremiah:3

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* "They say , "If a man divorces his wife , And she goes from him And becomes another man 's , May he return to her again ?' Would not that land be greatly polluted ? But you have played the harlot with many lovers ; Yet return to Me ," says the LORD . * "Lift up your eyes to the desolate heights and see : Where have you not lain with men ? By the road you have sat for them Like an Arabian in the wilderness ; And you have polluted the land With your harlotries and your wickedness . * Therefore the showers have been withheld , And there has been no latter rain . You have had a harlot 's forehead ; You refuse to be ashamed . * Will you not from this time cry to Me , "My Father , You are the guide of my youth ? * Will He remain angry forever ? Will He keep it to the end ?' Behold , you have spoken and done evil things , As you were able ." * The LORD said also to me in the days of Josiah the king : "Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done ? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree , and there played the harlot . * And I said , after she had done all these things , "Return to Me .' But she did not return . And her treacherous sister Judah saw it . * Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery , I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce ; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear , but went and played the harlot also . * So it came to pass , through her casual harlotry , that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees . * And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart , but in pretense ," says the LORD . * Then the LORD said to me , "Backsliding Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah . * Go and proclaim these words toward the north , and say : "Return , backsliding Israel ,' says the LORD ; "I will not cause My anger to fall on you . For I am merciful ,' says the LORD ; "I will not remain angry forever . * Only acknowledge your iniquity , That you have transgressed against the LORD your God , And have scattered your charms To alien deities under every green tree , And you have not obeyed My voice ,' says the LORD . * "Return , O backsliding children ," says the LORD ; "for I am married to you . I will take you , one from a city and two from a family , and I will bring you to Zion . * And I will give you shepherds according to My heart , who will feed you with knowledge and understanding . * "Then it shall come to pass , when you are multiplied and increased in the land in those days ," says the LORD , "that they will say no more , "The ark of the covenant of the LORD .' It shall not come to mind , nor shall they remember it , nor shall they visit it , nor shall it be made anymore . * "At that time Jerusalem shall be called The Throne of the LORD , and all the nations shall be gathered to it , to the name of the LORD , to Jerusalem . No more shall they follow the dictates of their evil hearts . * "In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel , and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given as an inheritance to your fathers . * "But I said : "How can I put you among the children And give you a pleasant land , A beautiful heritage of the hosts of nations ?' "And I said : "You shall call Me , "My Father ," And not turn away from Me .' * Surely , as a wife treacherously departs from her husband , So have you dealt treacherously with Me , O house of Israel ," says the LORD . * A voice was heard on the desolate heights , Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel . For they have perverted their way ; They have forgotten the LORD their God . * "Return , you backsliding children , And I will heal your backslidings ." "Indeed we do come to You , For You are the LORD our God . * Truly , in 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 . * For shame has devoured The labor of our fathers from our youth -- Their flocks and their herds , Their sons and their daughters . * We lie down in our shame , And our reproach covers us . For we have sinned against the LORD our God , We and our fathers , From our youth even to this day , And have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God ."

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