Tree of Life Version
Jeremiah 3:14
14“Return, O backsliding children,” declares Adonai. “For I am your Husband. I will choose you—one from a city and two from a clan— and will bring you to Zion.
Jeremiah 3:14 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Turn, O backsliding children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion:
- New International Version (NIV)“Return, faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband. I will choose you—one from a town and two from a clan—and bring you to Zion.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Return, O faithless children, declares the Lord; for I am your master; I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Return, O backsliding children,” says the Lord; “for I am married to you. I will take you, one from a city and two from a family, and I will bring you to Zion.
Context of Jeremiah 3:14
12Go! Proclaim these words toward the north, saying: “Return backsliding Israel,” says Adonai. “I will no longer frown on you, for I am merciful,” says Adonai. “I will not keep a grudge forever. 13Only acknowledge your iniquity. For you sinned against Adonai your God and scattered your favors to foreign gods under every green tree. You have not obeyed My voice.” It is a declaration of Adonai. “Return, O backsliding children,” declares Adonai. “For I am your Husband. I will choose you—one from a city and two from a clan— and will bring you to Zion. 15I will give you shepherds after My own heart who will feed you knowledge and understanding. 16It will be in those days when you multiply and become fruitful in the land.” It is a declaration of Adonai. “They will no longer talk about the ark of the covenant of Adonai, nor will it come to mind or be remembered. Neither will it be missed or another one made again.
Read all of Jeremiah 3Jeremiah 3:14 word by word
שׁ֣וּבוּ בָנִ֤ים שׁוֹבָבִים֙ נְאֻם־יְהוָ֔ה כִּ֥י אָנֹכִ֖י בָּעַ֣לְתִּי בָכֶ֑ם וְלָקַחְתִּ֨י אֶתְכֶ֜ם אֶחָ֣ד מֵעִ֗יר וּשְׁנַ֙יִם֙ מִמִּשְׁפָּחָ֔ה וְהֵבֵאתִ֥י אֶתְכֶ֖ם צִיּֽוֹן׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Turnשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- O backslidingשׁוֹבָבshôbâb · turning backH7726
- childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
- saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- for I am marriedבָּעַלbâ‛al · rule: to marryH1166
- unto you: and I will takeלָקַחlâqach · to take: takeH3947
- you oneאֶחָד'echâd · oneH259
- of a cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- and twoשְׁנַ֫יִםshenayim shettayim · twoH8147
- of a familyמִשְׁפָּחָהmishpâchâh · familyH4940
- and I will bringבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): bringH935
- you to Zionצִיּוֹןtsîyôn · ZionH6726
Cross-references for Jeremiah 3:14
- Jeremiah 2:19Your own wickedness will rebuke you and your backslidings will chide you. Know then and see how bad and bitter it is for you to forsake Adonai your God. Nor is fear of Me in you.” It is a declaration of the Lord Adonai-Tzva’ot.
- Jeremiah 3:1“If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to be with another man, will he return to her again? Would not such a land be totally polluted? You are a prostitute with many lovers. Now are you returning to Me?” It is a declaration of Adonai.
- Jeremiah 2:2“Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, thus says Adonai: I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, and the way you followed Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.
- Jeremiah 31:32“But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days” —it is a declaration of Adonai— “I will put My Torah within them. Yes, I will write it on their heart. I will be their God and they will be My people.
- Isaiah 54:5For your Maker is your husband —Adonai-Tzva’ot is His Name— the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer. He will be called God of all the earth.
- Hosea 2:19Then I will remove the names of the Baalim out of her mouth, no longer to be mentioned by their name.
- Jeremiah 23:3“I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and will bring them back to their folds, and they will be fruitful and multiply.
- Jeremiah 31:8With weeping and supplications they will come. I will bring them, leading them to walk by streams of water on a straight path where they will not stumble. For I am Israel’s father, and Ephraim is My firstborn.”
- Isaiah 1:9Unless Adonai-Tzva’ot had left us a small remnant, we would have been as Sodom, we would have been as Gomorrah.
- Isaiah 6:13Though a tenth still be in it, it will again be burned. As a terebinth tree or as an oak whose stump remains when cut down, so the holy seed will be the stump.”
- Isaiah 10:22For though your people, O Israel, be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will return. Destruction has been decreed. Justice overflows.
- Isaiah 11:11It will also come about in that day that my Lord will again redeem— a second time with His hand— the remnant of His people who remain from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
- Isaiah 17:6Only gleanings will remain, as when beating an olive tree— two or three olives at the very top, four or five on a fruitful tree’s branches. It is a declaration of Adonai God of Israel.
- Isaiah 24:13So will it be in the earth and among the nations, as when shaking an olive tree, or as when gleanings are left after the grape harvest.
- Ezekiel 34:11For thus says Adonai Elohim: “Here I am! I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.
- Zechariah 13:7Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, against the man who is My companion! It is a declaration of Adonai-Tzva’ot. Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered! I will turn My hand against the little ones.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 3:14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14I will take you one of a city, and two of a family - If there should be but one of a city left, or one willing to return, and two only of a whole tribe, yet will I receive these, and bring them back from captivity into their own land. I have heard these words most sinfully applied to show the nature of a fancied eternal decree of election, that has appointed in several cases one only out of a whole city, and two out of a whole family, to be eternally…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14Children married - The twofold relationship gives a double certainty of acceptance. As children, they were sure of a father‘s love, as a wife they might hope for a revival of past affection from the husband of their youth. One of a city, and two of a family - The family (in Hebrew) is far larger than a city, as it embraces all the descendants of a common ancestor. Thus, the tribe of Judah was divided into only four or five families. However national the…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 12-20Verses 12-20 See God's readiness to pardon sin, and the blessings reserved for gospel times. These words were proclaimed toward the north; to Israel, the ten tribes, captive in Assyria. They are directed how to return. If we confess our sins, the Lord is faithful and just to forgive them. These promises are fully to come to pass in the bringing back the Jews in after-ages. God will graciously receive those that return to him; and by his grace, he takes…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14Return: The Lord once spoke to all Israel like a husband to an unfaithful wife. Now, he calls Israel faithless children. The Lord will bring chosen exiles back to the promised land (Jeremiah 31:6, 32; Hosea 2:19–20; Romans 11:5). to Zion: This refers to Jerusalem in the land of Israel.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. I am married--literally, "I am Lord," that is, husband to you (so Jr 31:32; compare Ho 2:19, 20; Is 54:5). Gesenius, following the Septuagint version of Jr 31:32, and Paul's quotation of it (He 8:9), translates, "I have rejected you"; so the corresponding Arabic, and the idea of lordship, may pass into that of looking down upon, and so rejecting. But the Septuagint in this passage translates, "I will be Lord over you." And the "for" has much more…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 3:14
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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