Jeremiah:3
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They say ,
If 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 .
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Lift 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 .
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Therefore the showers have been withholden ,
and there hath been no latter rain ;
and thou hadst a whore '
s forehead ,
thou refusedst to be ashamed .
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Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me ,
My father ,
thou art the guide of my youth ?
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Will he reserve his anger for ever ?
will he keep it to the end ?
Behold ,
thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest .
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The LORD said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king ,
Hast thou seen that which backsliding Israel hath done ?
she is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree ,
and there hath played the harlot .
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And I said after she had done all these things ,
Turn thou unto me .
But she returned not .
And her treacherous sister Judah saw it .
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And I saw ,
when 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 .
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And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom ,
that she defiled the land ,
and committed adultery with stones and with stocks .
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And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart ,
but feignedly ,
saith the LORD .
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And the LORD said unto me ,
The backsliding Israel hath justified herself more than treacherous Judah .
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Go and proclaim these words toward 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 .
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Only acknowledge 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 .
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Turn ,
O 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 :
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And I will give you pastors according to mine heart ,
which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding .
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And it shall come to pass ,
when 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 come to mind :
neither shall they remember it ;
neither shall they visit it ;
neither shall that be done any more .
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At that time they shall call Jerusalem the 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 imagination of their evil heart .
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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 for an inheritance unto your fathers .
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But I said ,
How shall I put thee among the children ,
and give thee a pleasant land ,
a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations ?
and I said ,
Thou shalt call me ,
My father ;
and shalt not turn away from me .
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Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband ,
so have ye dealt treacherously with me ,
O house of Israel ,
saith the LORD .
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A 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 .
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Return ,
ye backsliding children ,
and I will heal your backslidings .
Behold ,
we come unto thee ;
for thou art the LORD our God .
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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 .
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For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth ;
their flocks and their herds ,
their sons and their daughters .
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We lie 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 .