John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 3:20

"Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith Jehovah." — Jeremiah 3:20 (ASV)

He confirms the first clause of the preceding verse, for he had said that it was hardly possible for the Jews to recover what they had lost and be formed again as a new people. He then shows the reason: they were like an adulteress, as he had previously stated.

But he did not yet wish to take away every hope; he only insisted on this: that they were to seriously consider their sins, so that they might become displeased with themselves and flee to God’s mercy for refuge.

Nor did he do this so much for their sake as for the sake of the people among whom he lived.

For he was particularly mindful, as has often been stated, of the Jews, who had become so hardened in their vices that they did not think this example—by which God intended to terrify them in order to bend their hard hearts to repentance—belonged to them.

For this reason, God so severely reproved Israel, because he had previously said that the Jews were still worse. He then adds—