John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 3:13

"Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against Jehovah thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith Jehovah." — Jeremiah 3:13 (ASV)

God lays down here a condition to prevent hypocrites, relying on His goodness, from becoming more and more hardened, while still thinking that He is bound, as it were, to them. For they usually reason in this way: “God is so kind that He recalls us to Himself, and of His own free will invites even sinners; we may therefore easily settle matters with Him.” Thus hypocrites delude themselves with false thoughts, thinking that they can elude God, since He seeks nothing else but to restore sinners to Himself.

For this reason, an exhortation to repentance should always be connected with the promise of favor. God then reminds the Israelites here that they were greatly deceived if they thought they could obtain pardon without any difficulty.

Therefore he says, know your iniquity. The particle אך, ak, may be rendered “only,” or “but,” or “yet.” I prefer the second meaning, but; for an exception, as I have said, is added here to prevent the Israelites from slumbering in their vices, if they persuaded themselves that God was, as it were, in their power and subject to their will.

We therefore see that the Prophet, modifying what he had said, introduces this sentence: “But in the meantime know your iniquity; otherwise you can expect no peace with God.” Then these words follow: because you have acted wickedly against Jehovah your God. By these words the Prophet proves that the Israelites were guilty, to prevent them from supposing they could escape the wrath of God by evasions.

For we know that often, even those who are conscious of their guilt are not willing to confess their sins; and it is strange that people are so foolish as ever to contend with God. On this account, the Prophets, when they exhorted the people to repent, at the same time brought their sins to light.

If there were frankness and honesty in people, there would be no need to charge them in this way; but as they either boldly deny their sins or are so callous as to be moved by no fear, it is necessary to prick them sharply and even deeply wound them. This is what the Prophet now does. “You,” he says, “have done wickedly against your God”; as if he had said, “I do not now in vain remind you to own your sins, for God Himself condemns you. Do not think that you can gain anything by your subterfuges.”

He also mentions particulars, so that he might confront them more directly: You have dispersed, he says, or scattered, your ways to strangers, under every shady tree. He again compares the Israelites to prostitutes, who commonly so prostitute themselves that they wander from one place to another, inviting and alluring all they meet.

The Prophet then says that the Israelites had dispersed themselves in this way. He speaks delicately on an indelicate subject. But what he means is that the Israelites were not content with one kind of superstition or with one idol, but blended together as many superstitions as they could, and borrowed false notions from all quarters: they were like a wandering prostitute, who prostitutes herself to all men indifferently.

And he calls all their fictitious gods strangers; for as I have often said, they should have regarded Him as their husband. When therefore the Israelites turned away to other gods, they became like a woman who leaves her husband and prostitutes herself to anyone she can find. It is indeed a most common thing for those who forsake the true worship of God to seek for themselves various errors from all quarters and to abandon themselves unreservedly to all kinds of superstitions.

He finally adds, And you have not hearkened to my voice. By this fact the Prophet enhances their sin, for they had been instructed in the doctrine of the law and understood the right way of salvation. How then was it that they polluted themselves in this way with so many superstitions? It could not have been attributed to ignorance. It was, then, their manifest rebellion against God. The Prophet then shows that they had been disobedient and intractable, and that they had relapsed into idolatry and pernicious errors because they had shaken off the yoke of God and did not allow themselves to be ruled and guided by His word.

We now perceive the meaning of this verse:

1. God first requires a confession of sins from the Israelites, and in this way He explains how accessible that return would be which He had previously mentioned. For until a sinner knows his sinfulness, he will never really and from the heart return to God, as the beginning of repentance is the confession of guilt.

2. He then proves them to have been guilty, so that he (the Prophet) might cut off from them every pretext for evasion.

3. He mentions in the third place specific sins, so that he (the Prophet) might hold them, as it were, fast bound: that they had polluted themselves with superstitions, and that they had become not only like an adulterous woman who follows another man, but also like filthy prostitutes, who run here and there and make no difference between men known or unknown.

4. He shows in the last place that all this happened through mere obstinacy. For they had cast aside every regard for God, though He had given them His law and sent the prophets as its faithful interpreters, so that they understood what God approved and what was just and right. The reason then why they went astray was that they closed their ears to God’s word and did not allow themselves to be ruled by it, but became wholly unteachable.

Let us go on—