New English Translation
Jeremiah 3:4
4Even now you say to me, ‘You are my father! You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young.
Jeremiah 3:4 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?
- New International Version (NIV)Have you not just called to me: ‘My Father, my friend from my youth,
- English Standard Version (ESV)Have you not just now called to me, 'My father, you are the friend of my youth—
- New King James Version (NKJV)Will you not from this time cry to Me, ‘My Father, You are the guide of my youth?
Context of Jeremiah 3:4
2“Look up at the hilltops and consider this. You have had sex with other gods on every one of them. You waited for those gods like a thief lying in wait in the desert. You defiled the land by your wicked prostitution to other gods. 3That is why the rains have been withheld, and the spring rains have not come. Yet in spite of this you are obstinate as a prostitute. You refuse to be ashamed of what you have done. Even now you say to me, ‘You are my father! You have been my faithful companion ever since I was young. 5You will not always be angry with me, will you? You will not be mad at me forever, will you?’ That is what you say, but you continually do all the evil that you can.” 6When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods.
Read all of Jeremiah 3Jeremiah 3:4 word by word
הֲל֣וֹא מֵעַ֔תָּה קָרָ֥את לִ֖י אָבִ֑י אַלּ֥וּף נְעֻרַ֖י אָֽתָּה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 3:4
- Jeremiah 3:19“I thought to myself, ‘Oh what a joy it would be for me to treat you like a son! What a joy it would be for me to give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful piece of property there is in all the world!’ I thought you would call me, ‘Father’ and would never cease being loyal to me.
- Jeremiah 31:9They will come back shedding tears of contrition. I will bring them back praying prayers of repentance. I will lead them besides streams of water, along smooth paths where they will never stumble. I will do this because I am Israel’s father; Ephraim is my firstborn son.’”
- Hosea 14:1Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sin has been your downfall!
- Jeremiah 2:27They say to a wooden idol, ‘You are my father.’ They say to a stone image, ‘You gave birth to me.’ Yes, they have turned away from me instead of turning to me. Yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’
- Jeremiah 2:2“Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem: ‘This is what the Lord says: “I have fond memories of you, how devoted you were to me in your early years. I remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted.
- Psalms 48:14For God, our God, is our defender forever! He guides us!
- Psalms 71:5For you give me confidence, O Lord; O Lord, I have trusted in you since I was young.
- Psalms 119:9How can a young person maintain a pure life? By guarding it according to your instructions!
- Proverbs 1:4To impart shrewdness to the morally naive, and a discerning plan to the young person.
- Proverbs 2:17who leaves the husband from her younger days, and forgets her marriage covenant made before God.
- Hosea 2:15From there I will give back her vineyards to her, and turn the “Valley of Trouble” into an “Opportunity for Hope.” There she will sing as she did when she was young, when she came up from the land of Egypt.
- Malachi 2:14Yet you ask, “Why?” The Lord is testifying against you on behalf of the wife you married when you were young, to whom you have become unfaithful even though she is your companion and wife by law.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 3:4
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4Wilt thou not - cry unto me, My father - Wilt thou not allow me to be thy Creator and Preserver, and cease thus to acknowledge idols? See on Jeremiah 2:27; (note).Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 4Or, Hast thou Not from this time called “me, My Father, thou art the” husband “of my youth?” i. e., from the time of Josiah‘s reforms in his eighteenth year, in opposition to “of old time” Jeremiah 2:20.Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 4-5Instead of confessing their sins, the people tried to hide them with sweet talk. However, God saw through their deception. They were right that he would not be angry forever (Psalm 103:9; Isaiah 57:16; Malachi 1:6), but he promised to show his wrath (Jeremiah 4:7).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. 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" (Jr 2:27; Lu 15:18). thou art--rather, "thou wast." guide of ... youth--that is, husband (Jr 2:2; Pr 2:17; Ho 2:7, 15). Husband and father are the two most endearing of ties.Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 3:4
In the dictionaries
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
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