Ulangan 30:2

30:2 Then if you and your descendants ¹  turn to the Lord your God and obey him with your whole mind and being ²  just as ³  I am commanding you today,

Ulangan 30:1

The Results of Covenant Reaffirmation

30:1 “When you have experienced all these things, both the blessings and the curses ⁴  I have set before you, you will reflect upon them ⁵  in all the nations where the Lord your God has banished you.

1 Raja-raja 8:48

8:48 When they return to you with all their heart and being ⁶  in the land where they are held prisoner, ⁷  and direct their prayers to you toward the land you gave to their ancestors, your chosen city, and the temple I built for your honor, ⁸ 

Nehemia 1:9

1:9 But if you repent ⁹  and obey ¹⁰  my commandments and do them, then even if your dispersed people are in the most remote location, ¹¹  I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen for my name to reside.’

Yeremia 3:1

3:1 “If a man divorces his wife

and she leaves him and becomes another man’s wife,

he may not take her back again. ¹² 

Doing that would utterly defile the land. ¹³ 

But you, Israel, have given yourself as a prostitute to many gods. ¹⁴ 

So what makes you think you can return to me?” ¹⁵ 

says the Lord.

Yeremia 3:12

The Lord Calls on Israel and Judah to Repent

3:12 “Go and shout this message to my people in the countries in the north. ¹⁶  Tell them,

‘Come back to me, wayward Israel,’ says the Lord.

‘I will not continue to look on you with displeasure. ¹⁷ 

For I am merciful,’ says the Lord.

‘I will not be angry with you forever.

Yeremia 3:22

3:22 Come back to me, you wayward people.

I want to cure your waywardness. ¹⁸ 

Say, ¹⁹  ‘Here we are. We come to you

because you are the Lord our God.

[30:2]  ¹ tn Heb “sons” (so NASB); KJV, ASV, NAB, NIV, NRSV, NLT “children.”

[30:2]  ² tn Or “heart and soul” (also in vv. 6, 10).

[30:2]  ³ tn Heb “according to all.”

[30:1]  ⁴ tn Heb “the blessing and the curse.”

[30:1]  ⁵ tn Heb “and you bring (them) back to your heart.”

[8:48]  ⁶ tn Or “soul.”

[8:48]  ⁷ tn Heb “in the land of their enemies.”

[8:48]  ⁸ tn Heb “your name.” See the note on the word “reputation” in v. 41.

[1:9]  ⁹ tn Heb “turn to me.”

[1:9]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “keep.” See the note on the word “obey” in Neh 1:5.

[1:9]  ¹¹ tn Heb “at the end of the heavens.”

[3:1]  ¹² tn Heb “May he go back to her again?” The question is rhetorical and expects a negative answer.

[3:1]  sn For the legal background for the illustration that is used here see Deut 24:1-4.

[3:1]  ¹³ tn Heb “Would the land not be utterly defiled?” The stative is here rendered actively to connect better with the preceding. The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[3:1]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “But you have played the prostitute with many lovers.”

[3:1]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “Returning to me.” The form is the bare infinitive which the KJV and ASV have interpreted as an imperative “Yet, return to me!” However, it is more likely that a question is intended, expressing surprise in the light of the law alluded to and the facts cited. For the use of the infinitive absolute in the place of a finite verb, cf. GKC 346 §113.ee. For the introduction of a question without a question marker, cf. GKC 473 §150.a.

[3:12]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “Go and proclaim these words to the north.” The translation assumes that the message is directed toward the exiles of northern Israel who have been scattered in the provinces of Assyria to the north.

[3:12]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “I will not cause my face to fall on you.”

[3:22]  ¹⁸ tn Or “I will forgive your apostasies.” Heb “I will [or want to] heal your apostasies.” For the use of the verb “heal” (רָפָא, rafa’) to refer to spiritual healing and forgiveness see Hos 14:4.

[3:22]  ¹⁹ tn Or “They say.” There is an obvious ellipsis of a verb of saying here since the preceding words are those of the Lord and the following are those of the people. However, there is debate about whether these are the response of the people to the Lord’s invitation, a response which is said to be inadequate according to the continuation in 4:1-4, or whether these are the Lord’s model for Israel’s confession of repentance to which he adds further instructions about the proper heart attitude that should accompany it in 4:1-4. The former implies a dialogue with an unmarked twofold shift in speaker between 3:22b-25 and 4:1-4:4 while the latter assumes the same main speaker throughout with an unmarked instruction only in 3:22b-25. This disrupts the flow of the passage less and appears more likely.