Jeremiah 3:23

Context

In the book of Jeremiah, 3:6–4:4 is introduced as a word received in the days of King Josiah (Jeremiah 3:6). This section likens the northern kingdom of Israel and Judah, which had forsaken God, to an unfaithful wife and calls them to return to God. Jeremiah 3:10 rebukes Judah for not returning wholeheartedly but only "feignedly."

In verse 22, God calls, "Return, ye backsliding children," and the people answer, "Behold, we come unto thee." Verse 23 is the people's confession that follows this response. In verses 24–25 the people go on to confess their sin, saying that "shame"—that is, idolatry—has devoured the labor of their fathers.

The "hills" and the "multitude of mountains" are associated with the high places. The high places were altars built on elevated sites, where foreign gods such as Baal were worshiped. The same background appears in Jeremiah 2:20 and 3:2, 6.

Interpretation

• Historical and literary reading: The verse is read as a rejection of idolatry, declaring that the noisy rites and festivals held on the hills bring no salvation.
• Reading as a prayer of repentance: This interpretation regards verses 22–25 as a model confession of repentance that God taught His people. In this reading, returning to God goes hand in hand with abandoning every other source of reliance.
• Reading as a confession of faith: Various Protestant traditions read the verse as a confession that the source of salvation lies in God alone. They understand it in the same vein as Jonah 2:9: "Salvation is of the LORD."
• Reading alongside Psalm 121: Some interpreters connect Psalm 121:1, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills," with this verse, taking it to mean that help comes not from the gods of the high places but from the LORD, who made heaven and earth. Other interpreters take the hills of Psalm 121 to be the hills along the pilgrim route up to Jerusalem.

Questions of Application

• Translation issues: The Hebrew text of this verse is brief and grammatically difficult, so translations render it in different ways. The Hebrew word hamon, which the Korean Revised Version renders as "clamoring throng," can mean tumult, noise, or multitude. Some English translations render the hills themselves as a "deception."
• Sincerity of the confession: The rebuke of Jeremiah 3:10 and the condition of Jeremiah 4:1–4 ("If thou wilt return") stand on either side of this confession. Accordingly, some view the confession as a repentance that actually took place, while others view it as an anticipation of the repentance that ought to come. Hosea 6:1–4, where similar words of repentance are followed by God's lament, is also compared with it.
• Extended application: In preaching, the "hills" are sometimes applied more broadly to sources of reliance other than God, such as wealth or power. It is also pointed out, however, that the original context refers to the pagan cults of ancient Israel.

Related Passages

• Jeremiah 3:22
• Psalm 121:1–2
• Psalm 124:8
• Isaiah 43:10–11
• Jonah 2:9