I thought that after she had done all these things, she would return to Me. But she did not return, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it.
Parallel translations
- WEB I said after she had done all these things, ‘She will return to me;’ but she didn’t return; and her treacherous sister Judah saw it.
- KJV And I said after she had done all these things, Turn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.
- NKJV And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it.
- NASB Yet I thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous sister Judah saw it.
- NLT I thought, ‘After she has done all this, she will return to me.’ But she did not return, and her faithless sister Judah saw this.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God hoped Israel would return, but she did not, and Judah saw it. Both sisters witness and repeat the same sin.
Overview
Yahweh recalls expecting faithless Israel to return, yet she would not, while her treacherous sister Judah looked on. The two kingdoms are pictured as sisters, with Judah observing Israel's example. God's patient hope for repentance is met with continued rebellion, setting up His verdict on both.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Ezek 16:46Your older sister was Samaria, who lived with her daughters to your north; and your younger sister was Sodom, who lived with her daughters to your south.
- Ezek 23:2–4“Son of man, there were two women, daughters of the same mother,
- 2 Chr 30:6–12So the couriers went throughout Israel and Judah with letters from the king and his officials, which read: “Children of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, so that He may return to those of you who remain, who have escaped the grasp of the kings of Assyria.
- Hos 6:1–4Come, let us return to the LORD. For He has torn us to pieces, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bind up our wounds.
- 2 Kgs 17:13–14Yet through all His prophets and seers, the LORD warned Israel and Judah, saying, “Turn from your wicked ways and keep My commandments and statutes, according to the entire Law that I commanded your fathers and delivered to you through My servants the prophets.”
- Jer 3:8–11She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well.
- Hos 14:1Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God, for you have stumbled by your iniquity.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 3:7 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.