Jeremiah 3:1
They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the Lord.
Cross-reference
In Jeremiah 3:22, God directly pleads 'Return, O faithless sons; I will heal your faithlessness' — a direct continuation of the invitation.
Jeremiah 3:9 develops the same adultery metaphor, showing how Israel's whoredom polluted the land.
Jeremiah 3:20 compares Israel to an unfaithful wife — the same image used to question her return in this verse.
Jeremiah 3:8 states God gave Israel a certificate of divorce — the exact scenario this verse questions about taking her back.
Jeremiah 3:6 describes Israel's adultery on high hills — the very behavior referenced in this divorce metaphor.
In Jeremiah 8:4-6, the people's refusal to repent is exposed — they 'go backward, not forward', contrasting with the call to return.
In Jeremiah 4:1, the condition is clarified: 'If you return, O Israel, to me you should return' — emphasizing genuine repentance.
Jeremiah 2:23 confronts Israel's denial of defilement with the image of a restless camel — intensifying the harlotry imagery.
Jeremiah 2:7 also uses 'defiled my land' — connecting land pollution to Israel's sin, as in Jeremiah 3:1.
Jeremiah 2:20 describes Israel breaking the yoke and lying as a harlot — it establishes the harlotry metaphor that 3:1 continues.
Jeremiah 2:33 accuses Israel of skill in pursuing lovers — the same unfaithfulness that raises the divorce question here.
In Jeremiah 16:18, the people defiled the land with idols, matching the defilement by adultery here.
In Jeremiah 14:10, God says they love to wander and will not accept them— same unfaithfulness as the divorced wife here.
Jeremiah 13:27 denounces Jerusalem's adulteries on hills — the same prostitution causing the divorce question here.
Jeremiah 11:15 questions the beloved's evil schemes — parallel to the unfaithful wife metaphor in this verse.
Jeremiah 11:13 lists Judah's many gods and altars to Baal — the idolatry that constitutes 'prostitution with many lovers' here.
Leviticus 18:24-28 warns that the land becomes defiled and vomits out inhabitants due to sexual sins — underlying Jeremiah 3:1's pollution theme.
Ezekiel 16:26 specifies harlotry with the Egyptians — part of the same extended allegory of Israel's idolatry as adultery.
Ezekiel 16:28 adds harlotry with Assyrians, highlighting insatiable unfaithfulness — reinforcing the same pattern of relentless idolatry.
Ezekiel 16:29 continues with harlotry to Chaldea, multiplying the acts — climaxing the allegory of unceasing spiritual adultery.
Ezekiel 23:4-49 tells the allegory of two adulterous sisters, Oholah and Oholibah — the fullest parallel to Jeremiah's marriage metaphor.
In Ezekiel 33:11, God declares He takes no pleasure in the wicked's death but wants them to turn — echoing the same gracious call.
Hosea 1:2 commands Hosea to marry a harlot as a symbol of the land's harlotry — directly parallel to Jeremiah's metaphor of Israel as an unfaithful wife.
In Hosea 2:5-7, the same marital unfaithfulness metaphor unfolds — the wife pursues lovers but is blocked, then resolves to return to her first husband.
In Hosea 14:1-4, the call 'Return, O Israel, to the LORD your God' is paired with a promise of healing — nearly identical to Jeremiah's message.
In Zechariah 1:3, 'Return to me, and I will return to you' captures the conditional promise — a concise parallel to Jeremiah's invitation.
In Isaiah 55:6-9, the invitation 'Seek the LORD while he may be found' reinforces God's abundant pardon for those who return.
In Deuteronomy 4:29-31, the promise stands: seeking God wholeheartedly brings mercy — the covenant basis for the call to return.
Deuteronomy 24:1-4 is the divorce law Jeremiah quotes to argue Israel's unfaithfulness would normally bar return.
In Isaiah 50:1, God confirms He gave Israel a certificate of divorce — the same metaphor used here for Israel's unfaithfulness.
In Matthew 19:9, Jesus directly addresses the divorce and remarriage scenario Jeremiah cites, prohibiting it except for adultery.
Leviticus 17:7 uses the same 'go a whoring' metaphor for idolatry — directly connecting to this verse's charge of playing the harlot with many lovers.
Numbers 14:33 speaks of bearing whoredoms as punishment for unfaithfulness — parallel to the metaphor of spiritual adultery used here in God's plea.
In Hosea 3:1, God commands love for an adulterous wife again, reflecting His continued call to Israel despite unfaithfulness here.
In Hosea 2:2, rebuke the unfaithful wife to remove adultery—directly paralleling the divorce and prostitution metaphor here.
Deuteronomy 24:4 is the Mosaic law forbidding remarriage to a divorced wife, which Jeremiah cites as the basis for the adultery metaphor.
In Ezekiel 16:32, she is called an adulterous wife preferring strangers—echoing the unfaithful wife imagery here.
Psalm 106:39 describes Israel 'prostituting themselves' through deeds, directly paralleling the prostitution metaphor.
Isaiah 1:21 depicts Jerusalem as a prostitute, a strong thematic parallel to Jeremiah's metaphor of Israel's unfaithfulness.
In Ezekiel 16:15, Jerusalem trusted her beauty and prostituted to all—directly parallel to Israel's adultery here.
In Matthew 5:31, Jesus quotes the same divorce law from Deuteronomy that Jeremiah uses to illustrate unfaithfulness.
Deuteronomy 31:16 uses the same 'prostitution' imagery for Israel's idolatry, foreshadowing the metaphor in Jeremiah.
In Isaiah 44:22, God blots out sins and calls Israel to return — contrasting the legal barrier to remarriage with divine grace.
In Mark 10:4, Pharisees cite the Mosaic divorce certificate law, the same background Jeremiah uses for his metaphor.
Deuteronomy 22:21 prescribes stoning for a bride who played the harlot — showing the severe penalty the law attached to such unfaithfulness.
Micah 2:10 also warns of land defilement and calls for departure — echoing the same pollution from unfaithfulness.
Isaiah 24:6 describes a curse devouring the earth because of guilt — a broader parallel to land pollution from sin in Jeremiah 3:1.