Bible Strands
Jeremiah 3:20
But as a woman may betray her husband, so you have betrayed Me, O house of Israel,” declares the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses the house of Israel, contrasting His stated desire for a father-son covenant relationship with their current spiritual abandonment. This declaration occurs between His lament over their broken trust and the subsequent voice of Israel weeping for mercy on the barren heights.
The words — The Hebrew verb בָּגְדָ֥ה (ba.ge.Dah) and its plural form בְּגַדְתֶּ֥ם (be.gad.Tem) both translate literally as “to deal treacherously,” anchoring the metaphor in a concrete breach of loyalty.
The thread — The covenant betrayal motif appears in Jeremiah 5:11 and Isaiah 48:8, while the marital analogy directly references the divorce precedent established in Jeremiah 3:1.
Why it lands — The text requires the reader to acknowledge that spiritual unfaithfulness constitutes an active, relational betrayal rather than a passive oversight, demanding a clear-eyed assessment of broken covenant terms.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 48:8 You have never heard; you have never understood; for a long time your ears have not been open. For I knew how deceitful you are; you have been called a rebel from birth.
- Jeremiah 5:11 For the house of Israel and the house of Judah have been utterly unfaithful to Me,” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 3:1 “If a man divorces his wife and she leaves him to marry another, can he ever return to her? Would not such a land be completely defiled? But you have played the harlot with many lovers—and you would return to Me?” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 3:8 She saw that because faithless Israel had committed adultery, I gave her a certificate of divorce and sent her away. Yet that unfaithful sister Judah had no fear and prostituted herself as well.
- Ezekiel 16:15 But because of your fame, you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot. You lavished your favors on everyone who passed by, and your beauty was theirs for the asking.
- Hosea 3:1 Then the LORD said to me, “Go show love to your wife again, though she is loved by another and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love to offer raisin cakes to idols.”
- Hosea 5:7 They have been unfaithful to the LORD; for they have borne illegitimate children. Now the New Moon will devour them along with their land.
- Hosea 6:7 But they, like Adam, have transgressed the covenant; there they were unfaithful to Me.
- Malachi 2:11 Judah has broken faith; an abomination has been committed in Israel and in Jerusalem. For Judah has profaned the LORD’s beloved sanctuary by marrying the daughter of a foreign god.