Jeremiah 3:2

Sin

¹ 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.

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.

³ 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.

⁴ Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?

This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.

Compare

BSB: “Lift up your eyes to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been violated? You sat beside the highways waiting for your lovers, like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness.
KJV: 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.
WEB: “Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see! Where have you not been lain with? You have sat waiting for them by the road, as an Arabian in the wilderness. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and with your wickedness.
ASV: Lift up thine eyes unto the bare heights, and see; where hast thou not been lain with? By the ways hast thou sat for them, as an Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.
DARBY: Lift up thine eyes unto the heights and see, where hast thou not been lain with? In the ways hast thou sat for them, as an Arab in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy fornications and with thy wickedness.
BLB: “Lift up your eyes to the barren heights and see; where have you not been violated? Along the pathway you have sat for them, like an Arabian in the desert, and you have defiled the land with your prostitution and with your evil.

ÅB: Løft dine øyne til de bare hauger og se: Hvor er du ikke blitt vanæret? Ved veiene satt du og ventet på dem, som en araber i ørkenen, og du vanhelliget landet ved ditt hor og din ondskap.
OTB: “Se opp til de karrige høydene og tenk etter: er det noe sted du ikke har blitt krenket? Du har ventet ved veikantene etter elskere, som en nomade i ørkenen, og du har forurenset landet med din prostitusjon og ondskap.
B1930: Løft dine øine til de bare hauger og se: Hvor er du ikke blitt vanæret? Ved veiene satt du og ventet på dem, som en araber i ørkenen, og du vanhelliget landet ved ditt hor og din ondskap.

Study notes (Tyndale)

Original text and word study

Cross references

Ezekiel 16:24–25
That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street.
Read in context
Genesis 38:14
And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.
Read in context
Jeremiah 2:7
And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.
Read in context
Ezekiel 8:4–6
And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain.
Read in context
Jeremiah 2:20
For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.
Read in context
Deuteronomy 12:2
Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:
Read in context
Jeremiah 3:1
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.
Read in context
Proverbs 23:28
She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.
Read in context