Jeremiah 3 10

Jeremiah 3:10 kjv

And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me with her whole heart, but feignedly, saith the LORD.

Jeremiah 3:10 nkjv

And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense," says the LORD.

Jeremiah 3:10 niv

In spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to me with all her heart, but only in pretense," declares the LORD.

Jeremiah 3:10 esv

Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the LORD."

Jeremiah 3:10 nlt

But despite all this, her faithless sister Judah has never sincerely returned to me. She has only pretended to be sorry. I, the LORD, have spoken!"

Jeremiah 3 verses

Jeremiah 3 10 Meaning

Jeremiah 3:10 declares that Judah, despite witnessing the severe judgment on her "sister" Israel for egregious apostasy, did not genuinely repent and turn back to God. While there might have been outward displays of return, such as those during King Josiah's reforms, their commitment was not from the core of their being; instead, it was a superficial act, marked by insincerity and deception.

Jeremiah 3 10 Context

Jeremiah chapter 3 opens with a poignant metaphor comparing Israel’s apostasy to a divorced wife who, after prostituting herself with many lovers, cannot return to her first husband. Despite Israel's severe spiritual adultery, the Lord still issued a call for her to "return" (Jer 3:1, 3:7). However, Israel failed to repent and consequently faced divine judgment and exile. Jeremiah 3:6-9 recounts Israel’s explicit harlotry with idolatry and the Lord's "sending her away" (divorcing her metaphorically, leading to the Assyrian exile). Verse 10 then critically pivots to Judah. Having observed the Northern Kingdom’s fall and God's reasons for it, Judah was presented with a clear warning and an opportunity for genuine change. Yet, this verse reveals that Judah too failed this test; her supposed return was merely a show, lacking true heart commitment. This specific prophecy occurs during a period where Josiah's reforms were in effect, indicating that while outward paganism was suppressed, the people's hearts largely remained unchanged and uncommitted to Yahweh.

Jeremiah 3 10 Word analysis

• And yet for all this (וְגַם֙ בְּכָל־ זֹ֔את - ve-gam be-khol-zot): This conjunction signifies a strong contrast or continuation despite prior circumstances. It links directly to Israel's demonstrated unfaithfulness and subsequent judgment in the preceding verses. The phrase highlights a persistent pattern of defiance even after clear divine intervention and warning. It underscores the severity of Judah's action given her historical knowledge.
• her treacherous (בּוֹגְדָה֙ - bogedah): From the root `בָּגַד` (bagad), meaning to deal treacherously, to betray, or to be faithless. This word goes beyond mere unfaithfulness, implying an act of betrayal against a trusted relationship. It describes an active breaking of a covenant, characterized by deception and infidelity, used to describe Judah's spiritual harlotry. The participle form emphasizes an ongoing, characteristic state of treachery.
• sister (אָחוֹן֩ - achotah): Emphasizes the close familial and covenantal ties between the Northern Kingdom (Israel/Ephraim) and the Southern Kingdom (Judah). They shared a common ancestry, law, and God. This relationship intensifies Judah's culpability, as she should have felt a stronger bond of loyalty and a deeper understanding of God's character based on her "sister's" experience.
• Judah (יְהוּדָ֔ה - yehudah): Refers to the Southern Kingdom, which still retained Jerusalem and the temple. Often considered more stable or faithful than Israel, this verse directly challenges that perception by revealing her deep spiritual sickness.
• did not return (לֹא־ שָׁ֖בָה - lo shavah): From the verb `שׁוּב` (shuv), a crucial theological term meaning to turn, return, or repent. The negation `לֹא` (lo) indicates an absolute failure to achieve genuine turning. While outward acts of piety might have occurred (e.g., Josiah's reforms), these actions did not constitute true repentance in God's eyes.
• to me (אֵלַ֣י - elay): Emphasizes the personal nature of the relationship and the demand for allegiance directly to Yahweh, not merely to rituals or abstract laws. The turning must be to God Himself.
• with her whole heart (בְּכָל־ לִבָּהּ֙ - be-khol-libah): `לֵב` (lev), "heart," in biblical context, represents the entire inner person—intellect, will, emotion, conscience, and moral center. The phrase `בְּכָל־` (be-khol), "with all," demands total and undivided commitment. This highlights the requirement for absolute sincerity, love, and loyalty, without reservation or partiality. Its absence reveals the core problem: insincerity.
• but feigned it (כִּ֥י אִם־ בִּשְׁקֶר־ - ki im be-sheqer): Literally "but with falsehood" or "truly, with a lie." `שֶׁקֶר` (sheqer) means falsehood, lie, or deception. This phrase explicitly labels Judah’s actions as hypocritical and disingenuous. Any apparent repentance was a mere facade, a performance lacking truthfulness in its internal motivation and external execution.

Words-group by words-group analysis:

• "And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah": This powerful opening frames Judah's unfaithfulness as uniquely egregious. She is called a "treacherous sister," indicating that her betrayal is amplified by kinship, historical precedent, and clear warning from Israel's fate. It underscores a persistent and observed pattern of sin without real change.
• "did not return to me with her whole heart": This core indictment pinpoints the specific failure. It's not a complete lack of "returning" in action, but a failure to meet the divine standard of wholehearted return. God desires sincere inward transformation, not mere external conformity, and Judah utterly failed to offer this total commitment.
• "but feigned it": This phrase directly clarifies the nature of Judah's insufficient return. It was a pretense, a performance. The superficiality of their actions and worship—likely observed during Josiah's reforms—was recognized by God as a deceptive lie, lacking true allegiance or remorse. It marks Judah as deeply hypocritical.

Jeremiah 3 10 Bonus section

• Juxtaposition with Josiah's Piety: While 2 Kings 23 praises Josiah for turning to the LORD "with all his heart," Jeremiah's prophecy in 3:10 indicates that the people of Judah, despite following Josiah's reforms, did not share his genuine, wholehearted repentance. This suggests a chasm between the leader's devotion and the populace's spiritual state. The outward obedience prompted by the king and the discovery of the Law did not translate into an inner change for the nation as a whole, highlighting the challenge of true spiritual revival from the top-down.
• The Problem of "Seeing": Jeremiah 3:6 explicitly asks, "Have you seen what faithless Israel did...?" The implication is that Judah saw but did not internalize the lesson. Their intellectual knowledge of Israel's fall did not move them to a deep, transformative spiritual response, revealing a critical disconnect between observation and heartfelt action.
• "Feigned it" as a deeper sin: In some prophetic perspectives, superficial repentance can be considered more offensive to God than outright, open rebellion, as it combines disobedience with deception. It's a calculated attempt to manipulate God or one's circumstances while retaining personal sin.
• Echoes in the New Covenant: The requirement for a "whole heart" points forward to the New Covenant where God promises to replace the stony heart with a heart of flesh and write His law on their hearts (Eze 36:26-27; Heb 8:10), ensuring a genuine and internal motivation for obedience. Judah's failure highlights the human inability to achieve such wholehearted devotion apart from divine intervention.

Jeremiah 3 10 Commentary

Jeremiah 3:10 cuts to the heart of Judah’s spiritual condition, revealing a hypocrisy far more insidious than Israel’s blatant idolatry. While Israel openly abandoned Yahweh, Judah engaged in a subtle deception. Having witnessed Israel's dire punishment, Judah might have appeared to "return" through reform movements like King Josiah's; however, God perceived their efforts as a mere "feigning." This superficiality was the central sin: a lack of "wholehearted" devotion. God demands a return that permeates every aspect of the inner being, not a convenient display of piety for public approval or to ward off judgment. This verse underscores the prophetic critique of external ritual without internal reality, emphasizing that true repentance stems from an undivided heart committed fully to God, making insincere allegiance a profound act of treachery.