The Meaning of Jeremiah 3:3 Explained

Jeremiah 3:3

KJV: 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.

YLT: And withheld are showers, and gathered rain hath not been. The forehead of a whorish woman thou hast, Thou hast refused to be ashamed.

Darby: And the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; but thou hast a harlot's forehead, thou refusest to be ashamed.

ASV: Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; yet thou hast a harlot's forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Jeremiah 3:3 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Consequently the Lord had withheld rain from the land, as He had threatened to do if His people departed from Him ( Leviticus 26:19; Deuteronomy 28:23-24). In the spring, when the people needed rain so their crops would mature, the heavens were dry. In spite of this punishment they refused to repent. They did not feel shame for their apostasy but instead behaved brazenly. To have a "harlot"s forehead" was to be brazenfaced. [1]
"God"s withholding of the rains should have indicated clearly enough to the people that their fertility rites ensured nothing; the God of covenant was as much Lord of the natural world as he was of the events of history." [2]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 3

1  God's great mercy to Judah the polluted land
6  Judah is worse than Israel
12  The promises of the gospel to the penitent
20  Israel reproved, and called by God, makes a solemn confession of their sins

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 3:3 mean?

Therefore have been withheld the showers and latter rain no there has been and a forehead of a harlot harlot's have had You You refuse to be ashamed
וַיִּמָּנְע֣וּ רְבִבִ֔ים וּמַלְק֖וֹשׁ ל֣וֹא הָיָ֑ה וּמֵ֨צַח אִשָּׁ֤ה זוֹנָה֙ הָ֣יָה לָ֔ךְ מֵאַ֖נְתְּ הִכָּלֵֽם

וַיִּמָּנְע֣וּ  Therefore  have  been  withheld 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Nifal, Consecutive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: מָנַע  
Sense: to withhold, hold back, keep back, refrain, deny, keep restrain, hinder.
רְבִבִ֔ים  the  showers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: רְבִיבִים  
Sense: copious showers, heavy showers.
וּמַלְק֖וֹשׁ  and  latter  rain 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מַלְקֹושׁ  
Sense: latter rain, spring rain.
ל֣וֹא  no 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
הָיָ֑ה  there  has  been 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
וּמֵ֨צַח  and  a  forehead 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֵצַח  
Sense: brow, forehead.
אִשָּׁ֤ה  of  a  harlot 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אִשָּׁה  
Sense: woman, wife, female.
זוֹנָה֙  harlot's 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: זָנָה 
Sense: to commit fornication, be a harlot, play the harlot.
הָ֣יָה  have  had 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
מֵאַ֖נְתְּ  You  refuse 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, second person feminine singular
Root: מָאַן  
Sense: (Piel) to refuse.
הִכָּלֵֽם  to  be  ashamed 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Infinitive construct
Root: כָּלַם  
Sense: to insult, shame, humiliate, blush, be ashamed, be put to shame, be reproached, be put to confusion, be humiliated.