John Gill Commentary Jeremiah 3

They say, if a man put away his wife
Or, "saying"^F23; wherefore some connect those words with the last verse of the preceding chapter, as if they were a continuation of what the Lord had been there saying, that he would reject their confidences; so Kimchi; but they seem rather to begin a new section, or a paragraph, with what were commonly said among men, or in the law, and as the sense of that; that if a man divorced his wife upon any occasion, and she go from him ;
departs from his house, and is separated from bed and board with him: and become another man's ,
be married to another, as she might according to the law: shall he return unto her again ?
take her to be his wife again; her latter husband not liking her, or being dead? no, he will not; he might not according to the law in (Deuteronomy 24:4) and if there was no law respecting this, it can hardly be thought that he would, it being so contrary to nature, and to the order of civil society:

shall not that land be greatly polluted ?
either Judea, or any other, where such usages should obtain; for this, according to the law, was causing the land to sin, filling it with it, and making it liable to punishment for it; this being an abomination before the Lord. The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions, render it, "shall not that woman be defiled?" she is so by the latter husband; and that is a reason why she is not to be received by the former again, (Deuteronomy 24:4) :

but you have played the harlot with many lovers ;
or served many idols; the number of their gods having been according to the number of their cities, (Jeremiah 2:28) : yet return again to me, says the Lord ;
by repentance, and doing their first works, worshipping and serving him as formerly; so the Targum,

``return now from this time to my worship, says the Lord.'' The Vulgate Latin version adds, "and I will receive you"; this is an instance of great grace in the Lord, and which is not to be found among men.

FOOTNOTES:

• F23: (rwmal) "dicendo", Montanus, Vatablus, Janius & Tremellius

Lift up your eyes unto the high places Where idols were set and worshipped; either places naturally high, as hills and mountains, which were chosen for this service; or high places, artificially made and thrown up for this purpose; see (2 Kings 17:9 2 Kings 17:10 2 Kings 17:11) (21:3) (23:5) (Jeremiah 2:20) , Jarchi interprets the word (Mypv) of "rivulets of water"; and so the Targum, where also idolatry was committed:

and see where you have not been lain with ; see if there is a hill or mountain, or any high place, where you have not committed idolatry; the thing was so notorious, and the facts and instances so many, there was no denying it; every hill and mountain witnessed to their idolatry; to which agrees the Targum, ``see where you have not joined yourself to worship idols:''

in the ways have you sat for them; for the idolaters, waiting for them, to join with them in their idolatries; as harlots used to sit by the wayside to meet with their lovers, to be picked up by them, or to offer themselves to them as prostitutes, (Genesis 38:14Genesis 38:15) which shows that these people were not drawn into idolatry by the temptations and solicitations of others: but they put themselves in the way of it, and solicited it, and others to join with them in it:

as the Arabian in the wilderness ; who dwelt in tents in the wilderness, and sat by the wayside to trade with those that passed by; or else lay in wait in desert and by places to rob all that passed by them; and so the Vulgate Latin version renders it, in the ways you did sit, expecting them as a thief in the wilderness ; the Arabians being noted for thieves and robbers.

The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, render it, as a crow, or raven, of the desert ; the same word signifying a "raven" and an "Arabian": see (1 Kings 17:4) :

and you have polluted the land with your whoredoms and with your wickedness ; the land of Judea, where idolatry was so openly and frequently committed, which brought a load of guilt upon it, and exposed it to the wrath and judgments of God; so the Targum, ``you have made the land guilty with your idols and with your wickedness.''

Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there has been
no latter rain
There were two seasons of the year when rain in common fell upon the land of Israel, called the former and the latter rain, and both are designed here. The former by (Mybybr) , "showers", so called from the multitude of drops in them: these showers, or the former rain, used to fall in the month Marchesvan, which answers to part of our October; it was in autumn, at the fall of the year, at seedtime, when great quantity of rain usually fell, to prepare the earth for sowing, and watering the seed sown; from which that month was sometimes called Bul, as Kimchi observes, from "mabbul", a flood. The latter rain fell in Nisan, which answers to our March; it was in the spring, a little before harvest, which swelled the grain, made the skin the thinner, and the flower the finer. This is called (vwqlm) .

Now, because of the idolatry of these people, those rains were withheld from them, as they were in the times of Ahab, (1 Kings 17:1) , which brought a famine upon them; and was a manifest token of the divine displeasure, and what was threatened them in case they sinned against the Lord, (Deuteronomy 28:23Deuteronomy 28:24) .

And you had a whore's forehead ;
was impudent and unconcerned, repented not of sin, or blushed for it, though such judgments were upon them; hence the Rabbins ^F24 say rains are not withheld but for impudence, according, to this Scripture: you refused to be ashamed ;
to be made ashamed by the admonitions of the prophets, or by the judgments of God; see (Jeremiah 5:3) .

FOOTNOTES:

• F24: T. Bab. Taanith, fol. 7. 2.

Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me
These words are either a confirmation and proof of that impudence with which these people are charged; for had they not been impudent, or had not a forehead like a whorish woman; or were they truly ashamed, they would have cried to the Lord henceforward; called upon him; claimed their relation to him; and owned his favours in time past: or, if they had not been impudent, they would not have dared from this time to have called God their Father and their guide, when they had so wickedly sinned against him; so that this is a charge of hypocrisy and deceit, calling God their Father and guide, when they were at the same time worshipping idols:

or rather they are expressive of the wondrous grace and goodness of God towards this people, that had so highly offended him, yet he expostulates with them, puts words into their mouths to return unto him with, saying: my father ;
I have sinned against thee, and am not worthy of the relation, yet receive me as a returning prodigal: thou art the guide of my youth ;
or, "have been": I acknowledge the favours I have received in time past, which is an aggravation of my sin; reject me not, but receive me graciously into your favour; see (Hosea 14:2) ,

so the Targum interprets the words as a prayer, ``wilt thou not from this time pray before me, saying, thou art my Lord, my Redeemer, which art of old?'' or else they point to them their duty, what they ought to do from henceforward; that seeing the Lord had withheld from them the former and latter rain for their idolatry, it became them to return to him by repentance; and to call upon him, who had been their Father and their guide in time past, to have mercy on them, and avert his judgments from them.

Will he reserve his anger for ever? &c.] These words may be considered as a continuation of the speech put into their mouths to make to the Lord and plead with him, as well as what follows: will he keep it to the end? that is, his anger: no; he will not: this is not according to the nature of God; he retains not his anger for ever, (Micah 7:18), though, according to some versions, this is to be understood of the sins of these people being reserved and kept forever, as their impudence and obstinacy; so the Syriac and Arabic versions; and to which agrees the Targum,

``is it possible that your sins should be kept for you for ever, or the stroke (of punishment) be strengthened upon you to the end?'' so Kimchi, ``says the prophet, if you do this (call him my father) will God reserve your iniquity for you for ever, or keep your sin unto the end? he will not do so; but when you return unto him, he will return unto you, and do you good; but you have not done so.'' The sense is much the same:

behold, you have spoken, and done evil things as you couldest; which were enough to cause the Lord to reserve and keep his anger for ever. There is a double reading here; the Cetib, or writing, is (ytrbd), "I have spoken"; the prophet had spoken to them to return; or the Lord by the prophet had spoken to them, and put the above words into their mouths, and told them what they should say when they returned to the Lord; "but you have done evil things"^F25; notwithstanding such declarations of grace, and do continue to do them: and you have prevailed^F26; as the last clause may be rendered; that I cannot turn away mine anger from you, but must reserve it, and keep it for ever.

The Keri, or reading, is (trbd), "you have spoken"; you have said you will do evil things, and you have done them as you have said, and have prevailed; you have sinned with all your might and main, and have spoken and done as evil things as possibly could be done.

Some choose to render the words thus, "if you had spoken"; the words that were put into their mouths before mentioned; "though you have done evil things, yet you would have prevailed"^F1; that is, with God, to have turned away his anger from you.

FOOTNOTES:

• F25: (twerh yvexw) "sed fecisit mala", Schmidt.
• F26: (lkwxw) "et praevaluisti", Vatablus, Schmidt; "et preavales", Piscator, Gataker; "et evaluisti", Cocceius.
• F1: "Si ita loquereris, quanquam mala [plurirma] fecisti, praevaleres", Grotius.