Jeremiah 3:20

Jeremiah 3:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord.
• New International Version (NIV)But like a woman unfaithful to her husband, so you, Israel, have been unfaithful to me,” declares the Lord.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Surely, as a wife treacherously departs from her husband, So have you dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” says the Lord.
• New Living Translation (NLT)But you have been unfaithful to me, you people of Israel! You have been like a faithless wife who leaves her husband. I, the Lord, have spoken.”

Context of Jeremiah 3:20

18In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land of the north to the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage. 19"'I said, How I would set you among my sons, and give you a pleasant land, a heritage most beautiful of all nations. And I thought you would call me, My Father, and would not turn from following me. Surely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband, so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel, declares the Lord.'" 21A voice on the bare heights is heard, the weeping and pleading of Israel's sons because they have perverted their way; they have forgotten the Lord their God. 22"Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness." "Behold, we come to you, for you are the Lord our God.

Jeremiah 3:20 word by word

אָכֵ֛ן בָּגְדָ֥ה אִשָּׁ֖ה מֵרֵעָ֑הּ כֵּ֣ן בְּגַדְתֶּ֥ם בִּ֛י בֵּ֥ית יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Surelyאָכֵן'âkên · surelyH403
• a wifeאִשָּׁה'ishshâh nâshîym · woman: wifeH802
• treacherouslyבָּגַדbâgad · to act treacherouslyH898
• departeth from her husbandרֵעַrêa‛ rêya‛ · neighborH7453
• with me, O houseבַּ֫יִתbayith · house: householdH1004
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068

Cross-references for Jeremiah 3:20

• Hosea 3:1And the Lord said to me, "Go again, love a woman who is loved by another man and is an adulteress, even as the Lord loves the children of Israel, though they turn to other gods and love cakes of raisins."
• Jeremiah 3:1"If a man divorces his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man's wife, will he return to her? Would not that land be greatly polluted? You have played the whore with many lovers; and would you return to me? declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 5:11For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly treacherous to me, declares the Lord.
• Isaiah 48:8You have never heard, you have never known, from of old your ear has not been opened. For I knew that you would surely deal treacherously, and that from before birth you were called a rebel.
• Ezekiel 16:15"But you trusted in your beauty and played the whore because of your renown and lavished your whorings on any passerby; your beauty became his.
• Hosea 5:7They have dealt faithlessly with the Lord; for they have borne alien children. Now the new moon shall devour them with their fields.
• Hosea 6:7But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me.
• Malachi 2:11Judah has been faithless, and abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the sanctuary of the Lord, which he loves, and has married the daughter of a foreign god.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 3:20

• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Surely as - Rather: “Just as.”Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-20Verses 12-20 See God's readiness to pardon sin, and the blessings reserved for gospel times. These words were proclaimed toward the north; to Israel, the ten tribes, captive in Assyria. They are directed how to return. If we confess our sins, the Lord is faithful and just to forgive them. These promises are fully to come to pass in the bringing back the Jews in after-ages. God will graciously receive those that return to him; and by his grace, he takes…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 19-20But: this transitional word highlights the difference between what the Lord desired and the real situation. The Lord wanted to treat his people as his precious children, but he could not. The covenant marriage between God and his people was broken by the unfaithful wife. The Lord could not ignore this sin (Isaiah 48:8).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. Surely--rather, "But." husband--literally, "friend."Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 3:20

• Backsliders
• Church

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Adultery
• Confusion
• Marry
• Reserve
• Solomon, Song of
• Exodus, the Book of
• Habaziniah

Commentaries on Jeremiah 3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings