---
title: "Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible -  Jeremiah 3"
description: "CHAPTER 3   :-. GOD"
image: "/images/missing.jpg"
url: "https://realbiblebelievers.com/commentaries/commentary-critical-and-explanatory-on-the-whole-bible/jeremiah/3"
---

CHAPTER 3

. GOD'S MERCY
NOTWITHSTANDING JUDAH'S
VILENESS.
Contrary to all precedent in the
case of adultery, Jehovah offers a return to Judah, the spiritual
adulteress ([Jeremiah 3:1-5](../../../kjv/jeremiah/3/1-5)). A
new portion of the book, ending with the sixth chapter. Judah worse
than Israel; yet both shall be restored in the last days ([Jeremiah 3:1-24](../../../kjv/jeremiah/3/1-24)).

**1. They say**—rather, as *Hebrew,*
"saying," in agreement with "the LORD";
[Jeremiah 2:37](../../../kjv/jeremiah/2/37) of last chapter
[MAURER]. Or, it is
equivalent to, "Suppose this case." Some copyist may have
omitted, "The word of the Lord came to me," *saying.*
**shall he return unto her**—will
he take her back? It was unlawful to do so ([Jeremiah 2:37](../../../kjv/jeremiah/2/37)).
**shall not**—Should not
the land be polluted if this were done?
**yet return**— ([Jeremiah 3:22](../../../kjv/jeremiah/3/22);
[Jeremiah 4:1](../../../kjv/jeremiah/4/1); [Zechariah 1:3](../../../kjv/zechariah/1/3);
compare [Ezekiel 16:51](../../../kjv/ezekiel/16/51); [Ezekiel 16:58](../../../kjv/ezekiel/16/58);
[Ezekiel 16:60](../../../kjv/ezekiel/16/60)). "Nevertheless,"
&c. (see on [Ezekiel 16:60](../../../kjv/ezekiel/16/60)).

**2. high places**—the scene of
idolatries which were spiritual adulteries.
**In . . . ways . . . sat for
them**—watching for lovers like a prostitute ([Genesis 38:14](../../../kjv/genesis/38/14);
[Genesis 38:21](../../../kjv/genesis/38/21); [Proverbs 7:12](../../../kjv/proverbs/7/12);
[Proverbs 23:28](../../../kjv/proverbs/23/28); [Ezekiel 16:24](../../../kjv/ezekiel/16/24);
[Ezekiel 16:25](../../../kjv/ezekiel/16/25)), and like an Arab who
lies in wait for travellers. The Arabs of the desert, east and south
of Palestine, are still notorious as robbers.

**3. no latter rain**—essential to
the crops in Palestine; withheld in judgment (; compare [Joel 2:23](../../../kjv/joel/2/23)).
**whore's forehead**—
([Jeremiah 8:12](../../../kjv/jeremiah/8/12); [Ezekiel 3:8](../../../kjv/ezekiel/3/8)).

**4. from this time**—not
referring, as MICHAELIS
thinks, to the reformation begun the year before, that is, the
twelfth of Josiah; it means—now at once, now at last.
**me**—contrasted with the
"stock" whom they had heretofore called on as "father"
([Jeremiah 2:27](../../../kjv/jeremiah/2/27); [Luke 15:18](../../../kjv/luke/15/18)).
**thou art**—rather, "thou
wast."
**guide of . . . youth**—that
is, husband ([Jeremiah 2:2](../../../kjv/jeremiah/2/2); [Proverbs 2:17](../../../kjv/proverbs/2/17);
[Hosea 2:7](../../../kjv/hosea/2/7); [Hosea 2:15](../../../kjv/hosea/2/15)).
*Husband* and *father* are the two most endearing of ties.

**5. he**—"thou," the
second person, had preceded. The change to the third person implies a
putting away of God to a *greater distance* from them; instead
of repenting and forsaking their idols, they merely deprecate the
continuance of their *punishment.* [Jeremiah 3:12](../../../kjv/jeremiah/3/12);
[Psalms 103:9](../../../kjv/psalms/103/9), answer their question
in the event of their penitence.
**spoken and**—rather
(God's reply to them), "Thou hast spoken (thus), *and yet*
(all the while) thou hast done evil," c.
**as thou couldest**—with
all thy might with incorrigible persistency [CALVIN].

**6.** , is a new discourse, delivered in Josiah's reign. It
consists of two parts, the former extending to , in which he warns Judah from the example of Israel's doom,
and yet promises Israel final restoration; the latter a threat of
Babylonian invasion; as Nabopolassar founded the Babylonian empire,
625 B.C., the seventeenth
of Josiah, this prophecy is perhaps not earlier than that date
([Jeremiah 4:5](../../../kjv/jeremiah/4/5); [Jeremiah 5:14](../../../kjv/jeremiah/5/14);
[Jeremiah 6:1](../../../kjv/jeremiah/6/1); [Jeremiah 22:1-30](../../../kjv/jeremiah/22/1-30));
and probably not later than the second thorough reformation in the
eighteenth year of the same reign.
**backsliding**—literally,
"apostasy"; not merely *apostate,* but *apostasy
itself,* the essence of it ([Jeremiah 3:14](../../../kjv/jeremiah/3/14);
[Jeremiah 3:22](../../../kjv/jeremiah/3/22)).

**7. I said**— ().
**sister**— ([Ezekiel 16:46](../../../kjv/ezekiel/16/46);
[Ezekiel 23:2](../../../kjv/ezekiel/23/2); [Ezekiel 23:4](../../../kjv/ezekiel/23/4)).

**8.** I saw that, though (whereas)
it was for this very reason (namely), because backsliding (apostate)
Israel had committed adultery I had put her away ([2 Kings 17:6](../../../kjv/2-kings/17/6);
[2 Kings 17:18](../../../kjv/2-kings/17/18)), and given her a bill
of divorce, yet Judah, c. ([2 Kings 17:18](../../../kjv/2-kings/17/18), &c.).
**bill of divorce**—literally,
"a writing of *cuttings* off." The *plural*
implies the completeness of the severance. The use of this metaphor
here, as in the former discourse ([2 Kings 17:18](../../../kjv/2-kings/17/18)), implies a close connection between the discourses. The
epithets are characteristic Israel "apostate" (as the
*Hebrew* for "backsliding" is better rendered); Judah,
not as yet utterly *apostate,* but *treacherous* or
*faithless.*
**also**—herself also, like
Israel.

**9. it**—Some take this verse of
*Judah,* to whom the end of refers. But [Jeremiah 3:10](../../../kjv/jeremiah/3/10)
puts *Judah* in contrast to *Israel* in this verse. "Yet
for all this," referring to the sad example of *Israel;* if
[Jeremiah 3:9](../../../kjv/jeremiah/3/9) referred to *Judah,*
"she" would have been written in [Jeremiah 3:9](../../../kjv/jeremiah/3/9), not "Judah." Translate, "It (the putting
away of Israel) had come to pass through . . . whoredom; and (that
is, for) she (Israel) had defiled the land" &c. [MAURER].
*English Version,* however, *may* be explained to refer to
*Israel.*
**lightness**—"infamy."
[EWALD]. MAURER
not so well takes it from the *Hebrew* root, "voice,"
"fame."

**10. yet**—notwithstanding the
lesson given in Israel's case of the fatal results of apostasy.
**not . . . whole heart**—The
reformation in the eighteenth year of Josiah was not thorough on the
part of the people, for at his death they relapsed into idolatry
([2 Chronicles 34:33](../../../kjv/2-chronicles/34/33); [Hosea 7:14](../../../kjv/hosea/7/14)).

**11. justified herself**—has been
made to appear almost just (that is, comparatively innocent) by the
surpassing guilt of Judah, who adds hypocrisy and treachery to her
sin; and who had the example of Israel to warn her, but in vain
(compare [Ezekiel 16:51](../../../kjv/ezekiel/16/51); [Ezekiel 23:11](../../../kjv/ezekiel/23/11)).
**more than**—in comparison
with.

**12. Go**—not actually; but turn
and proclaim towards the north (Media and Assyria, where the ten
tribes were located by Tiglath-pileser and Shalmaneser, [2 Kings 15:29](../../../kjv/2-kings/15/29);
[2 Kings 17:6](../../../kjv/2-kings/17/6); [2 Kings 18:9](../../../kjv/2-kings/18/9);
[2 Kings 18:11](../../../kjv/2-kings/18/11)).
**Return . . .
backsliding**—*Hebrew, Shubah, Meshubah,* a play on sounds.
In order to excite Judah to godly jealousy ([2 Kings 18:11](../../../kjv/2-kings/18/11)), Jehovah addresses the exiled ten tribes of Israel with a
loving invitation.
**cause . . . anger to
fall**—literally, "I will not let fall My countenance"
(compare [Genesis 4:5](../../../kjv/genesis/4/5); [Genesis 4:6](../../../kjv/genesis/4/6);
[Job 29:3](../../../kjv/job/29/3)), that is, I will not
*continue* to frown on you.
**keep**—"anger"
is to be supplied (see on [Jeremiah 3:5](../../../kjv/jeremiah/3/5)).

**13. Only acknowledge**— ([Deuteronomy 30:1](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/30/1);
[Deuteronomy 30:3](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/30/3); [Proverbs 28:13](../../../kjv/proverbs/28/13)).
**scattered thy ways,** c.—
([Jeremiah 2:25](../../../kjv/jeremiah/2/25)). Not merely the
calves at Beth-el, but the idols in every direction, were the objects
of their worship ([Ezekiel 16:15](../../../kjv/ezekiel/16/15)
[Ezekiel 16:24](../../../kjv/ezekiel/16/24); [Ezekiel 16:25](../../../kjv/ezekiel/16/25)).

**14. I am married**—literally, "I
am Lord," that is, husband to you (so ; compare [Hosea 2:19](../../../kjv/hosea/2/19);
[Hosea 2:20](../../../kjv/hosea/2/20); [Isaiah 54:5](../../../kjv/isaiah/54/5)).
GESENIUS, following the
*Septuagint* version of [Isaiah 54:5](../../../kjv/isaiah/54/5), and Paul's quotation of it ([Isaiah 54:5](../../../kjv/isaiah/54/5)), translates, "I have *rejected* you"; so the
corresponding *Arabic,* and the idea of *lordship,* may
pass into that of *looking down upon,* and so *rejecting.*
But the *Septuagint* in *this* passage translates, "I
will be Lord over you." And the "for" has much more
force in *English Version* than in that of GESENIUS.
The *Hebrew* hardly admits the rendering *though*
[HENGSTENBERG].
**take you one of a city**—Though
but *one or two* Israelites were in a (foreign) city, they shall
not be forgotten; *all* shall be restored ([Isaiah 54:5](../../../kjv/isaiah/54/5)). So, in the spiritual Israel, God gathers one convert here,
another there, into His Church; not the least one is lost ([Matthew 18:14](../../../kjv/matthew/18/14);
[Romans 11:5](../../../kjv/romans/11/5); compare [Romans 11:5](../../../kjv/romans/11/5)).
**family**—a clan or tribe.

**15. pastors**—not religious, but
civil rulers, as Zerubbabel, Nehemiah ([Jeremiah 23:4](../../../kjv/jeremiah/23/4);
[Jeremiah 2:8](../../../kjv/jeremiah/2/8)).

**16. they shall say no more**—The
Jews shall no longer glory in the possession of the ark; it shall not
be missed, so great shall be the blessings of the new dispensation.
The throne of the Lord, *present Himself,* shall eclipse and put
out of mind the ark of the covenant and the mercy seat between the
cherubim, God's former throne. The ark, containing the two tables of
the law, disappeared at the Babylonian captivity, and was not
restored to the second temple, implying that the symbolical "glory"
was to be superseded by a "greater glory" ().
**neither . . . visit
it**—rather, "neither shall *it be missed*" (so in
[Jeremiah 23:4](../../../kjv/jeremiah/23/4)).
**done**—rather, "neither
shall it (the ark) *be made* (that is, be restored) any more"
[MAURER].

**17. Jerusalem**—*the whole
city,* not merely the temple. As it has been the center of the
*Hebrew* theocracy, so it shall be the point of attraction to
the whole earth ([Isaiah 2:2-4](../../../kjv/isaiah/2/2-4);
[Zechariah 2:10](../../../kjv/zechariah/2/10); [Zechariah 2:11](../../../kjv/zechariah/2/11);
[Zechariah 14:16-21](../../../kjv/zechariah/14/16-21)).
**throne of . . . Lord**—The
Shekinah, the symbol of God's peculiar nearness to Israel ([Zechariah 14:16-38](../../../kjv/zechariah/14/16-38)) shall be surpassed by the antitype, God's own throne in
Jerusalem ([Psalms 2:6](../../../kjv/psalms/2/6); [Psalms 2:8](../../../kjv/psalms/2/8);
[Ezekiel 34:23](../../../kjv/ezekiel/34/23); [Ezekiel 34:24](../../../kjv/ezekiel/34/24);
[Zechariah 2:5](../../../kjv/zechariah/2/5)).
**imagination**—rather, as
*Margin,* "the obstinacy" or stubbornness.

**18. Judah . . . Israel . . .
together**—Two distinct apostasies, that of Israel and that of
Judah, were foretold ([Jeremiah 3:8](../../../kjv/jeremiah/3/8);
[Jeremiah 3:10](../../../kjv/jeremiah/3/10)). The two have never
been united since the Babylonish captivity; therefore their joint
restoration must be still future ([Isaiah 11:12](../../../kjv/isaiah/11/12);
[Isaiah 11:13](../../../kjv/isaiah/11/13); [Ezekiel 37:16-22](../../../kjv/ezekiel/37/16-22);
[Hosea 1:11](../../../kjv/hosea/1/11)).
**north**— ([Hosea 1:11](../../../kjv/hosea/1/11)).
**land . . . given . . .
inheritance**— ([Amos 9:15](../../../kjv/amos/9/15)).

**19.** The good land covenanted to
Abraham is to be restored to his seed. But the question arises, How
shall this be done?
**put . . . among . . .
children**—the *Greek* for *adoption* means, literally,
"putting among the sons."
**the children**—that is,
My children. "How shall I receive thee back into My family,
after thou hast so long forsaken Me for idols?" The answer is,
they would acknowledge Him as "Father," and no longer turn
away from Him. God assumes the language of one wondering how so
desperate apostates could be restored to His family and its
privileges (compare [Ezekiel 37:3](../../../kjv/ezekiel/37/3);
CALVIN makes it, How *the
race of Abraham can be propagated again,* being as it were dead);
yet as His purpose has decreed it so, He shows how it shall be
effected, namely, they shall receive from Him the spirit of adoption
to cry, "*My* Father" ([John 1:12](../../../kjv/john/1/12);
[Galatians 4:6](../../../kjv/galatians/4/6)). The elect are
"children" already in God's purpose; this is the ground of
the subsequent realization of this relationship ([Ephesians 1:5](../../../kjv/ephesians/1/5);
[Hebrews 2:13](../../../kjv/hebrews/2/13)).
**pleasant land**— ([Jeremiah 11:5](../../../kjv/jeremiah/11/5);
[Ezekiel 20:6](../../../kjv/ezekiel/20/6); [Daniel 11:16](../../../kjv/daniel/11/16),
*Margin*).
**heritage of . . . hosts**—a
heritage the most goodly of all nations [MAURER];
or a "heritage possessed by powerful hosts" ([Deuteronomy 4:38](../../../kjv/deuteronomy/4/38);
[Amos 2:9](../../../kjv/amos/2/9)). The rendering
"splendors," instead of "hosts," is opposed by
the fact that the *Hebrew* for "splendor" is not found
in the *plural.*

**20. Surely**—rather, "But."
**husband**—literally,
"friend."

**21.** In harmony with the
preceding promises of God, the penitential confessions of Israel are
heard.
**high places**—The scene
of their idolatries is the scene of their confessions. Compare , in which they cast aside their trust in these idolatrous
high places. The publicity of their penitence is also implied
(compare [Jeremiah 7:29](../../../kjv/jeremiah/7/29); [Jeremiah 48:38](../../../kjv/jeremiah/48/38)).

**22.** Jehovah's renewed invitation
([Jeremiah 3:12](../../../kjv/jeremiah/3/12); [Jeremiah 3:14](../../../kjv/jeremiah/3/14))
and their immediate response.
**heal**—forgive ([2 Chronicles 30:18](../../../kjv/2-chronicles/30/18);
[2 Chronicles 30:20](../../../kjv/2-chronicles/30/20); [Hosea 14:4](../../../kjv/hosea/14/4)).
**unto thee**—rather, "in
obedience to thee"; literally, "for thee"
[ROSENMULLER].

**23. multitude of mountains**—that
is, the multitude of *gods* worshipped on them (compare [Psalms 121:1](../../../kjv/psalms/121/1);
[Psalms 121:2](../../../kjv/psalms/121/2), *Margin*).

**24. shame**—that is, the *idols,*
whose worship only covers us with *shame* ([Jeremiah 11:13](../../../kjv/jeremiah/11/13);
[Hosea 9:10](../../../kjv/hosea/9/10)). So far from bringing
us "salvation," they have cost us our cattle and even our
children, whom we have sacrificed to them.

**25.** ().

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