God’s Word Translation
Jeremiah 4:1
1The Lord declares, “If you come back, Israel, if you come back to me, if you take your disgusting idols out of my sight and you don’t wander away from me,
Jeremiah 4:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)If thou wilt return, O Israel, saith the Lord, return unto me: and if thou wilt put away thine abominations out of my sight, then shalt thou not remove.
- New International Version (NIV)“If you, Israel, will return, then return to me,” declares the Lord. “If you put your detestable idols out of my sight and no longer go astray,
- English Standard Version (ESV)"If you return, O Israel, declares the Lord, to me you should return. If you remove your detestable things from my presence, and do not waver,
- New King James Version (NKJV)“If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord, “Return to Me; And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, Then you shall not be moved.
Context of Jeremiah 4:1
The Lord declares, “If you come back, Israel, if you come back to me, if you take your disgusting idols out of my sight and you don’t wander away from me, 2if you take the oath, ‘As the Lord lives …’ in an honest, fair, and right way, then the nations will be blessed, and they will be honored by me.” 3This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and to Jerusalem: Plow your unplowed fields, and don’t plant among thorns.
Read all of Jeremiah 4Jeremiah 4:1 word by word
אִם־תָּשׁ֨וּב יִשְׂרָאֵ֧ל׀ נְאֻם־יְהוָ֛ה אֵלַ֖י תָּשׁ֑וּב וְאִם־תָּסִ֧יר שִׁקּוּצֶ֛יךָ מִפָּנַ֖י וְלֹ֥א תָנֽוּד׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- If thou wilt returnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- O Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- unto me: and if thou wilt put awayסוּרsûr ώûr · to turn aside: removeH5493
- thine abominationsשִׁקּוּץshiqqûts shiqqûts · abominationH8251
- out of my sightפָּנֶהpânîym · faceH6440
- then shalt thou not removeנוּדnûd · to wanderH5110
Cross-references for Jeremiah 4:1
- Jeremiah 4:4Be circumcised by the Lord, and get rid of the foreskins of your hearts, people of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. If you don’t, my fury will flare up like a fire. It will burn, and no one will be able to put it out, because of the evil you do.
- Jeremiah 3:12Go and proclaim these things to the north: “ ‘Come back, unfaithful Israel. It is the Lord speaking. I will no longer frown on you because I’m merciful,’ declares the Lord. ‘I will no longer be angry with you.
- Jeremiah 3:1A saying: If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him and marries another man, her first husband shouldn’t go back to her again. The land would become thoroughly polluted. “You have acted like a prostitute who has many lovers. And now you want to come back to me!” declares the Lord.
- Isaiah 31:6You people of Israel, return to the one whom you have so violently rebelled against.
- Hosea 7:16They don’t return to the Most High. They are like a defective bow. Their officials will die in battle because they curse. The people in Egypt will ridicule them for this.
- Hosea 14:1Israel, return to the Lord your God. You have stumbled because of your sins.
- Joel 2:12“But even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart— with fasting, crying, and mourning.”
- Genesis 35:2So Jacob said to his family and those who were with him, “Get rid of the foreign gods which you have, wash yourselves until you are ritually clean, and change your clothes.
- Deuteronomy 27:15“Whoever has a carved or metal statue, anything disgusting to the Lord that was made by a craftsman, and sets it up in secret will be cursed.” Then all the people will say amen.
- Joshua 24:14“Fear the Lord, and serve him with integrity and faithfulness. Get rid of the gods your ancestors served on the other side of the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve only the Lord.
- Judges 10:16Then they got rid of the foreign gods they had and served the Lord. So the Lord could not bear to have Israel suffer any longer.
- 1 Samuel 7:3Samuel told the entire nation of Israel, “If you are returning to the Lord wholeheartedly, get rid of the foreign gods you have, including the statues of the goddess Astarte. Make a commitment to the Lord, and serve only him. Then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”
- 2 Kings 23:13The king made the illegal places of worship east of Jerusalem unclean. They were on the southern part of the Hill of Destruction. King Solomon of Israel had built them for Astarte (the disgusting goddess of the Sidonians), Chemosh (the disgusting god of Moab), and Milcom (the disgusting god of the Ammonites).
- 2 Chronicles 15:8When Asa heard the prophet Oded’s words of prophecy, he was encouraged and put away the detestable idols from all of Judah, Benjamin, and the cities he had captured in the mountains of Ephraim. He also repaired the Lord’s altar in front of the Lord’s entrance hall.
- Ezekiel 11:18They will come and remove all the disgusting and detestable things that are there.
- Ezekiel 18:13He lends money for interest and makes excessive profits. Will this person live? He will not live. He has done all these disgusting things. So he must die, and he will be responsible for his own death.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 4:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1Shalt thou not remove - This was spoken before the Babylonish captivity; and here is a promise that if they will return from their idolatry, they shall not be led into captivity. So, even that positively threatened judgment would have been averted had they returned to the Lord.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1Return - The repentance of Israel described in Jeremiah 3:21-25 was a hope, and not a reality. The return, literally, would be their restoration to their land; spiritually, their abandoning their sins. Jeremiah 4:1-2 should be translated as follows: If thou wouldst return, O Israel, saith Yahweh. Unto Me thou shalt return: And if thou wouldst remove thy abominations from before Me, And not wander to and fro, But wouldst swear truly, uprightly; and justly…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1Exhortations and promises. (Jr 4:1-2) Judah exhorted to repentance. (Jr 4:3-4) Judgements denounced. (Jr 4:5-18) The approaching ruin of Judah. (Jr 4:19-31) Verse 1 ,2 The first two verses should be read with the last chapter. Sin must be put away out of the heart, else it is not put away out of God's sight, for the heart is open before him.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1The Lord noticed that even though the people prayed beautifully, they did not plan to discard their idols or change their way of living (Jeremiah 15:19; Joel 2:12).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-311. return ... return--play on words. "If thou wouldest return to thy land (thou must first), return (by conversion and repentance) to Me." not remove--no longer be an unsettled wanderer in a strange land. So Cain (Ge 4:12, 14).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 4:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 4
- 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
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