Jeremiah 3 · Verse 4

Jeremiah 3:4

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

Jeremiah 3:4, King James Version

Jeremiah 3:4 in other translations

BSB	Have you not just called to Me, ‘My Father, You are my friend from youth.
WEB	Will you not from this time cry to me, ‘My Father, you are the guide of my youth!’?
ASV	Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My Father, thou art the guide of my youth?
YLT	Hast thou not henceforth called to Me, ‘My father, Thou art the leader of my youth?
DARBY	Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?
BBE	Will you not, from this time, make your prayer to me, crying, My father, you are the friend of my early years?
Webster	Wilt thou not from this time cry to me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?

What does Jeremiah 3:4 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

4. from this time--not referring, as Michaelis thinks, to the reformation begun the year before, that is, the twelfth of Josiah; it means--now at once, now at last. me--contrasted with the "stock" whom they had heretofore called on as "father" (Jr 2:27; Lu 15:18). thou art--rather, "thou wast." guide of ... youth--that is, husband (Jr 2:2; Pr 2:17; Ho 2:7, 15). Husband and father are the two most endearing of ties.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 4 Wilt thou not - cry unto me, My father - Wilt thou not allow me to be thy Creator and Preserver, and cease thus to acknowledge idols? See on Jer 2:27 (note).

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 3:1-5

Exhortations to repentance. (Jr 3:1-5) Judah more guilty than Israel. (Jr 3:6-11) But pardon is promised. (Jr 3:12-20) The children of Israel express their sorrow and repentance. (Jr 3:21-25) Verses 1-5 In repentance, it is good to think upon the sins of which we have been guilty, and the places and companies where they have been committed. How gently the Lord had corrected them! In receiving penitents, he is God…

Read the full comment on Jeremiah 3:1-5 →

Jeremiah 3:4 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.

הֲל֣וֹאha.Lo'¿ notH3808

מֵעַ֔תָּהme.'A.tahfrom nowH6258

קָרָ֥אתka.ra.tihave you calledH7121

לִ֖יlito <the> me

אָבִ֑י'a.ViO father myH1

אַלּ֥וּף'a.Luf[were] [the] close friend ofH441

נְעֻרַ֖יne.'u.Raiyouth<s> myH5271

אָֽתָּה\׃'A.tahyouH859

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

Cross references for Jeremiah 3:4

Jeremiah 2:2
Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
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 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.
Proverbs 2:17
Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God.
Hosea 2:15
And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
Jeremiah 2:27
Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.
Psalms 71:17
O God, thou hast taught me from my youth: and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous works.
Jeremiah 31:18-20
I have surely heard Ephraim bemoaning himself thus; Thou hast chastised me, and I was chastised, as a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke: turn thou me, and I shall be turned; for thou art the Lord my God. Surely after that I was turned, I repented; and after that I was instructed, I smote upon my thigh: I was ashamed, yea, even confounded, because I did bear the reproach of my youth. Is Ephraim my dear son? is he a pleasant child? for since I spake against him, I do earnestly remember him still: therefore my bowels are troubled for him; I will surely have mercy upon him, saith the Lord.
Psalms 119:9
ב BETH. Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
Psalms 48:14
For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.
Proverbs 1:4
To give subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion.
Psalms 71:5
For thou art my hope, O Lord God: thou art my trust from my youth.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

Wilt thou.
19; 31:9,18-20; Ho 14:1-3
My father.
2:27
the guide.
2:2; Ps 48:14; 71:5,17; 119:9; Pr 1:4; 2:17; Ho 2:15; Mal 2:14

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

Context

Jeremiah 3:3
Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.
Jeremiah 3:4
Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art the guide of my youth?
Jeremiah 3:5
Will he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.

Read all of Jeremiah 3

Jeremiah 3:4 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	A lo menos desde ahora, ¿no clamarás á mí, Padre mío, guiador de mi juventud?
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Ne me crieras-tu pas désormais: Mon Père! tu es le conducteur de ma jeunesse?
German Elberfelder 1871	Nicht wahr? von jetzt an rufst du mir zu: Mein Vater, der Freund meiner Jugend bist du!
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Ergo saltem amodo voca me: Pater meus, dux virginitatis meæ tu es: