Jeremiah 3:21

Jeremiah 3:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)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.
• New International Version (NIV)A cry is heard on the barren heights, the weeping and pleading of the people of Israel, because they have perverted their ways and have forgotten the Lord their God.
• English Standard Version (ESV)A 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.
• New King James Version (NKJV)A voice was heard on the desolate heights, Weeping and supplications of the children of Israel. For they have perverted their way; They have forgotten the Lord their God.

Context of Jeremiah 3:21

19“Then I said, ‘How I would set you among My sons And give you a pleasant land, The most beautiful inheritance of the nations!’ And I said, ‘You shall call Me, My Father, And not turn away from following Me.’ 20Surely, as a woman treacherously departs from her lover, So you have dealt treacherously with Me, O house of Israel,” declares the Lord. A voice is heard on the bare heights, The weeping and the supplications of the sons of Israel; 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. 23Surely, the hills are a deception, A tumult on the mountains. Surely in the Lord our God Is the salvation of Israel.

Jeremiah 3:21 word by word

ק֚וֹל עַל־שְׁפָיִ֣ים נִשְׁמָ֔ע בְּכִ֥י תַחֲנוּנֵ֖י בְּנֵ֣י יִשְׂרָאֵ֑ל כִּ֤י הֶעֱוּוּ֙ אֶת־דַּרְכָּ֔ם שָׁכְח֖וּ אֶת־יְהֹוָ֥ה אֱלֹהֵיהֶֽם׃Read the interlinear

• A voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963
• is heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• bareשְׁפִיshephîy · barenessH8205
• The weepingבְּכִיbekîy · weepingH1065
• the supplicationsתַּחֲנוּןtachănûn tachănûnâh · supplicationH8469
• of the sonsבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• Becauseכִּיkîy · forH3588
• they have pervertedעָוָה‛âvâh · to twistH5753
• their wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
• forgottenשָׁכַחshâkach shâkêach · to forgetH7911
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• their Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430

Cross-references for Jeremiah 3:21

• Jeremiah 30:15Why do you cry out over your injury? Your pain is incurable. Because your iniquity is great And your sins are numerous, I have done these things to you.
• Jeremiah 31:9With weeping they will come, And by supplication I will lead them; I will make them walk by streams of waters, On a straight path in which they will not stumble; For I am a father to Israel, And Ephraim is My firstborn.”
• Jeremiah 50:4“In those days and at that time,” declares the Lord, “the sons of Israel will come, both they and the sons of Judah as well; they will go along weeping as they go, and it will be the Lord their God they will seek.
• Isaiah 15:2They have gone up to the temple and to Dibon, even to the high places to weep. Moab wails over Nebo and Medeba; Everyone’s head is bald and every beard is cut off.
• Ezekiel 7:16Even when their survivors escape, they will be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, each over his own iniquity.
• Zechariah 12:10“I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.
• 2 Corinthians 7:10For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.
• Numbers 22:32The angel of the Lord said to him, “Why have you struck your donkey these three times? Behold, I have come out as an adversary, because your way was contrary to me.
• Job 33:27He will sing to men and say, ‘I have sinned and perverted what is right, And it is not proper for me.
• Proverbs 10:9He who walks in integrity walks securely, But he who perverts his ways will be found out.
• Proverbs 19:3The foolishness of man ruins his way, And his heart rages against the Lord.
• Micah 3:9Now hear this, heads of the house of Jacob And rulers of the house of Israel, Who abhor justice And twist everything that is straight,
• Jeremiah 2:32Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me Days without number.
• Isaiah 17:10For you have forgotten the God of your salvation And have not remembered the rock of your refuge. Therefore you plant delightful plants And set them with vine slips of a strange god.
• Ezekiel 23:35Therefore, thus says the Lord God, ‘Because you have forgotten Me and cast Me behind your back, bear now the punishment of your lewdness and your harlotries.’”
• Hosea 8:14For Israel has forgotten his Maker and built palaces; And Judah has multiplied fortified cities, But I will send a fire on its cities that it may consume its palatial dwellings.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 3:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21A voice was heard upon the high places - Here the Israelites are represented as assembled together to bewail their idolatry and to implore mercy. While thus engaged, they hear the gracious call of Jehovah: -Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 21Upon the high places - Upon those bare table-lands, which previously had been the scene of Israel‘s idolatries Jeremiah 3:2. The prophet supposes the offer of mercy to Israel if repentant to have been accepted, and describes Israel‘s agony of grief now that she is convinced of her sins. Weeping and supplications - literally, “the weeping of earliest prayers for mercy.” For they have … - Rather, because “they hare perverted their way,” literally, made it…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 21-25Verses 21-25 Sin is turning aside to crooked ways. And forgetting the Lord our God is at the bottom of all sin. By sin we bring ourselves into trouble. The promise to those that return is, God will heal their backslidings, by his pardoning mercy, his quieting peace, and his renewing grace. They come devoting themselves to God. They come disclaiming all expectations of relief and succour from any but the Lord. Therefore they come depending upon him only…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21-25The people, held captive in Assyria, claimed they had repented of their sins. However, their words were insincere, and the Lord rejected their plea. God told his people that if they truly wanted to return to him, they had to abandon the hilltop altars where they worshiped idols and remove all traces of idolatry from their religion.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. 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 Jr 3:23, in which they cast aside their trust in these idolatrous high places. The publicity of their penitence is also implied (compare Jr 7:29; 48:38).Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 3:21

• Backsliders
• Church
• Forgetting God
• Repentance
• Sin

In the dictionaries

• God
• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• god, false god, goddess, idol, idolater, idolatrous, idolatry
• Children of Israel
• Adultery
• Confusion
• Marry
• Reserve

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