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“I thought to myself, ‘I would love to treat you as my own children!’ I wanted nothing more than to give you this beautiful land— the finest possession in the world. I looked forward to your calling me ‘Father,’ and I wanted you never to turn from me. 20But 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.” Voices are heard high on the windswept mountains, the weeping and pleading of Israel’s people. For they have chosen crooked paths and have forgotten the Lord their God. 22“My wayward children,” says the Lord, “come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.” “Yes, we’re coming,” the people reply, “for you are the Lord our God. 23Our worship of idols on the hills and our religious orgies on the mountains are a delusion. Only in the Lord our God will Israel ever find salvation.

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

Words taken from the KJV.

• A voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963
• was heardשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: hearH8085
• upon the high placesשְׁפִיshephîy · barenessH8205
• weepingבְּכִיbekîy · weepingH1065
• supplicationsתַּחֲנוּןtachănûn tachănûnâh · supplicationH8469
• of the childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• of Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• for they have pervertedעָוָה‛âvâh · to twistH5753
• their wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: conductH1870
• they have forgottenשָׁכַחshâkach shâkêach · to forgetH7911
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• their Godאֱלֹהִים'ĕlôhîym · GodH430

Cross-references for Jeremiah 3:21

• Jeremiah 30:15Why do you protest your punishment— this wound that has no cure? I have had to punish you because your sins are many and your guilt is great.
• Jeremiah 31:9Tears of joy will stream down their faces, and I will lead them home with great care. They will walk beside quiet streams and on smooth paths where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is my oldest child.
• Jeremiah 50:4“In those coming days,” says the Lord, “the people of Israel will return home together with the people of Judah. They will come weeping and seeking the Lord their God.
• Isaiah 15:2Your people will go to their temple in Dibon to mourn. They will go to their sacred shrines to weep. They will wail for the fate of Nebo and Medeba, shaving their heads in sorrow and cutting off their beards.
• Ezekiel 7:16The survivors who escape to the mountains will moan like doves, weeping for their sins.
• Zechariah 12:10“Then I will pour out a spirit of grace and prayer on the family of David and on the people of Jerusalem. They will look on me whom they have pierced and mourn for him as for an only son. They will grieve bitterly for him as for a firstborn son who has died.
• 2 Corinthians 7:10For the kind of sorrow God wants us to experience leads us away from sin and results in salvation. There’s no regret for that kind of sorrow. But worldly sorrow, which lacks repentance, results in spiritual death.
• Numbers 22:32“Why did you beat your donkey those three times?” the angel of the Lord demanded. “Look, I have come to block your way because you are stubbornly resisting me.
• Job 33:27He will declare to his friends, ‘I sinned and twisted the truth, but it was not worth it.
• Proverbs 10:9People with integrity walk safely, but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed.
• Proverbs 19:3People ruin their lives by their own foolishness and then are angry at the Lord.
• Micah 3:9Listen to me, you leaders of Israel! You hate justice and twist all that is right.
• Jeremiah 2:32Does a young woman forget her jewelry, or a bride her wedding dress? Yet for years on end my people have forgotten me.
• Isaiah 17:10Why? Because you have turned from the God who can save you. You have forgotten the Rock who can hide you. So you may plant the finest grapevines and import the most expensive seedlings.
• Ezekiel 23:35“And because you have forgotten me and turned your back on me, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: You must bear the consequences of all your lewdness and prostitution.”
• Hosea 8:14Israel has forgotten its Maker and built great palaces, and Judah has fortified its cities. Therefore, I will send down fire on their cities and will burn up their fortresses.”

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