Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 3:4

"Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My Father, thou art the guide of my youth?" — Jeremiah 3:4 (ASV)

Will you not from this time cry to me ...? —Better, Have you not from this time cried to me ...? The prophet paints with a stern irony the parade of the surface repentance of Josiah’s reign. There had been a pathetic appeal to God as the forgiving husband of the faithless wife, but nonetheless had the wife returned to her wickedness.

Guide. —The same word as in Proverbs 2:17; the “chief friend,” as applied to the husband.