Jeremiah 4:1

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

“O Israel,” says the Lord, “if you wanted to return to me, you could. You could throw away your detestable idols and stray away no more. 2Then when you swear by my name, saying, ‘As surely as the Lord lives,’ you could do so with truth, justice, and righteousness. Then you would be a blessing to the nations of the world, and all people would come and praise my name.” 3This is what the Lord says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: “Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns.

Jeremiah 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 4:4O people of Judah and Jerusalem, surrender your pride and power. Change your hearts before the Lord, or my anger will burn like an unquenchable fire because of all your sins.
• Jeremiah 3:12Therefore, go and give this message to Israel. This is what the Lord says: “O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever.
• Jeremiah 3:1“If a man divorces a woman and she goes and marries someone else, he will not take her back again, for that would surely corrupt the land. But you have prostituted yourself with many lovers, so why are you trying to come back to me?” says the Lord.
• Isaiah 31:6Though you are such wicked rebels, my people, come and return to the Lord.
• Hosea 7:16They look everywhere except to the Most High. They are as useless as a crooked bow. Their leaders will be killed by their enemies because of their insolence toward me. Then the people of Egypt will laugh at them.
• Hosea 14:1Return, O Israel, to the Lord your God, for your sins have brought you down.
• Joel 2:12That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning.
• Genesis 35:2So Jacob told everyone in his household, “Get rid of all your pagan idols, purify yourselves, and put on clean clothing.
• Deuteronomy 27:15‘Cursed is anyone who carves or casts an idol and secretly sets it up. These idols, the work of craftsmen, are detestable to the Lord.’ And all the people will reply, ‘Amen.’
• Joshua 24:14“So fear the Lord and serve him wholeheartedly. Put away forever the idols your ancestors worshiped when they lived beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt. Serve the Lord alone.
• Judges 10:16Then the Israelites put aside their foreign gods and served the Lord. And he was grieved by their misery.
• 1 Samuel 7:3Then Samuel said to all the people of Israel, “If you want to return to the Lord with all your hearts, get rid of your foreign gods and your images of Ashtoreth. Turn your hearts to the Lord and obey him alone; then he will rescue you from the Philistines.”
• 2 Kings 23:13The king also desecrated the pagan shrines east of Jerusalem, to the south of the Mount of Corruption, where King Solomon of Israel had built shrines for Ashtoreth, the detestable goddess of the Sidonians; and for Chemosh, the detestable god of the Moabites; and for Molech, the vile god of the Ammonites.
• 2 Chronicles 15:8When Asa heard this message from Azariah the prophet, he took courage and removed all the detestable idols from the land of Judah and Benjamin and in the towns he had captured in the hill country of Ephraim. And he repaired the altar of the Lord, which stood in front of the entry room of the Lord’s Temple.
• Ezekiel 11:18“When the people return to their homeland, they will remove every trace of their vile images and detestable idols.
• Ezekiel 18:13and lends money at excessive interest. Should such a sinful person live? No! He must die and must take full blame.

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

• Backsliders
• Condescension of God
• Repentance

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Bless
• Fallow
• Pain
• Wise
• Abomination
• Abomination of Desolation
• Backslide

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