Jeremiah 3 · Verse 19

Jeremiah 3:19

But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.
Jeremiah 3:19, King James Version

Jeremiah 3:19 in other translations

BSBThen I said, ‘How I long to make you My sons and give you a desirable land, the most beautiful inheritance of all the nations!’ I thought you would call Me ‘Father’ and never turn away from following Me.
WEB“But I said, ‘How I desire to put you among the children, and give you a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the armies of the nations!’ and I said, ‘You shall call me “My Father”, and shall not turn away from following me.’
ASVBut I said, How I will put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations! and I said, Ye shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away from following me.
YLTAnd I have said, How do I put thee among the sons, And give to thee a desirable land, A beauteous inheritance of the hosts of nations, And I say, My father--ye do call to Me, And from after Me ye do not turn back.
DARBYAnd as for me, I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee the pleasant land, the goodly inheritance of the hosts of the nations? And I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from following me.
BBEBut I said, How am I to put you among the children, and give you a desired land, a heritage of glory among the armies of the nations? and I said, You are to say to me, My father; and not be turned away from me.
WebsterBut I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.

What does Jeremiah 3:19 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
19. The good land covenanted to Abraham is to be restored to his seed. But the question arises, How shall this be done? put ... among ... children--the Greek for adoption means, literally, "putting among the sons." the children--that is, My children. "How shall I receive thee back into My family, after thou hast so long forsaken Me for idols?" The answer is, they would acknowledge Him as "Father," and no longer turn away from Him. God assumes the language of one wondering how so desperate apostates could be restored to His family and its privileges (compare Eze 37:3; Calvin makes it, How the race of Abraham can be propagated again, being as it were dead); yet as His purpose has decreed it so, He shows how it shall be effected, namely, they shall receive from Him the spirit of adoption to cry, "My Father" (Joh 1:12; Ga 4:6). The elect are "children" already in God's purpose; this is the ground of the subsequent realization of this relationship (Ep 1:5; He 2:13). pleasant land--(Jr 11:5; Eze 20:6; Da 11:16, Margin). heritage of ... hosts--a heritage the most goodly of all nations [Maurer]; or a "heritage possessed by powerful hosts" (De 4:38; Am 2:9). The rendering "splendors," instead of "hosts," is opposed by the fact that the Hebrew for "splendor" is not found in the plural.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 19 How shalt I put thee among the children - As if he had said, How can ye be accounted a holy seed, who are polluted? How can ye be united to the people of God, who walk in the path of sinners? How can ye be taken to heaven, who are unholy within, and unrighteous without? And I said, Thou shalt call me, My father - This is the answer to the above question. They could not be put among the children unless they became legal members of the heavenly family: and they could not become members of this family unless they abandoned idolatry, and took the Lord for their portion. Nor could they be continued in the privileges of the heavenly family, unless they no more turned away from their heavenly Father.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 3:12-20

See God's readiness to pardon sin, and the blessings reserved for gospel times. These words were proclaimed toward the north; to Israel, the ten tribes, captive in Assyria. They are directed how to return. If we confess our sins, the Lord is faithful and just to forgive them. These promises are fully to come to pass in the bringing back the Jews in after-ages. God will graciously receive those that return to him…

Read the full comment on Jeremiah 3:12-20 →

Jeremiah 3:19 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וְאָנֹכִ֣יve.'a.no.Khiand IH595
אָמַ֗רְתִּי'a.Mar.tiI thoughtH559
אֵ֚יךְ'eikhhow!H349
אֲשִׁיתֵ֣ךְ'a.shi.TekhI will set youH7896
בַּבָּנִ֔יםba.ba.Nimamong the sonsH1121
וְאֶתֶּן\־ve.'e.ten-so I may giveH5414
לָךְ֙loKhto <the> you
אֶ֣רֶץ'E.retza land ofH776
חֶמְדָּ֔הchem.DahdesireH2532
נַחֲלַ֥תna.cha.Latan inheritance ofH5159
צְבִ֖יtze.Vibeauty ofH6643
צִבְא֣וֹתtziv.'otbeauties ofH6643
גּוֹיִ֑םgo.YimnationsH1471
וָאֹמַ֗רva.'o.Marand I thoughtH559
אָבִי֙'a.Vifather myH1
תִּקְרְאִיtik.re.'u-you will callH7121
לִ֔יLi<to> <the> me
וּמֵאַחֲרַ֖יu.me.'a.cha.Raiand from after meH310
לֹ֥אlo'notH3808
תָשֽׁוּבִי\׃ta.shu.vuyou will turn awayH7725

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Jeremiah 3:19

  • Jeremiah 3:4

    Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?

  • Romans 8:15-17

    For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

  • Jeremiah 31:9

    They shall come with weeping, and with supplications will I lead them: I will cause them to walk by the rivers of waters in a straight way, wherein they shall not stumble: for I am a father to Israel, and Ephraim is my firstborn.

  • Isaiah 63:16

    Doubtless thou art our father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Israel acknowledge us not: thou, O Lord, art our father, our redeemer; thy name is from everlasting.

  • 1 John 3:1-3

    Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.

  • Jeremiah 32:39-40

    And I will give them one heart, and one way, that they may fear me for ever, for the good of them, and of their children after them: And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me.

  • Matthew 6:8-9

    Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.

  • Isaiah 64:8

    But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand.

  • Hosea 11:8

    How shall I give thee up, Ephraim? how shall I deliver thee, Israel? how shall I make thee as Admah? how shall I set thee as Zeboim? mine heart is turned within me, my repentings are kindled together.

  • Hebrews 10:39

    But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.

  • Ezekiel 20:6

    In the day that I lifted up mine hand unto them, to bring them forth of the land of Egypt into a land that I had espied for them, flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands:

  • 2 Corinthians 6:17-18

    Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
How.
5:7; Ho 11:8
put thee.
4; 31:9,20; Joh 1:11-13; 2Co 6:17,18; Ga 3:26; 4:5-7; Eph 1:5
1Jo 3:1-3
pleasant land. Heb. land of desire.
12:10; Ps 106:24; Eze 20:6; Da 8:9; 11:16,41,45
goodly heritage. Heb. heritage of glory, or beauty.
Pr 3:35; 1Pe 1:3,4
Thou shalt.
4; Isa 63:16; 64:8; Mt 6:8,9; Ro 8:15-17; Ga 4:5
shalt not.
32:39,40; Heb 10:39
from me. Heb. from after me.

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Jeremiah 3:18

    In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I have given for an inheritance unto your fathers.

  • Jeremiah 3:19

    But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, Thou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away from me.

  • Jeremiah 3:20

    Surely as a wife treacherously departeth from her husband, so have ye dealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord.

Read all of Jeremiah 3

Jeremiah 3:19 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Yo empero dije: ¿Cómo te pondré por hijos, y te daré la tierra deseable, la rica heredad de los ejércitos de las gentes? Y dije: Padre mío me llamarás, y no te apartarás de en pos de mí.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Et moi j’ai dit: Comment te mettrai-je parmi les fils, et te donnerai-je un pays désirable, le bel héritage des armées des nations? Et j’ai dit: Vous m’appellerez: Mon père! et vous ne vous détournerez pas de moi…
German
Elberfelder 1871		Und ich sprach: Wie will ich dich unter den Söhnen stellen und dir ein köstliches Land geben, ein Erbteil, das die herrlichste Zierde der Nationen ist! Und ich sprach: Ihr werdet mir zurufen: Mein Vater! und werdet euch nicht von mir abwenden.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Ego autem dixi: Quomodo ponam te in filios, et tribuam tibi terram desiderabilem, hæreditatem præclaram exercituum gentium? Et dixi: Patrem vocabis me, et post me ingredi non cessabis.