'Return' in the Bible

That is to say, “If a man divorces his wifeAnd she goes [away] from himAnd becomes another man’s [wife],Will he return to her again? [Of course not!]Will not that land [where such a thing happened] be completely desecrated?But you [rebelled against Me and you] are a prostitute with many lovers;Yet you turn to Me.” says the Lord.

I thought, ‘After she has done all these things she will return to Me’; but she did not return, and her treacherous (faithless) sister Judah saw it.

Yet in spite of all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to Me with her whole heart, but rather in [blatant] deception [she merely pretended obedience to King Josiah’s reforms],” declares the Lord.

Go and proclaim these words toward the north [where the ten tribes have been taken as captives] and say,‘Return, faithless Israel,’ says the Lord;‘I will not look on you in anger.For I am gracious and merciful,’ says the Lord;‘I will not be angry forever.

‘Return, O faithless children [of the twelve tribes],’ says the Lord,‘For I am a master and husband to you,And I will take you [not as a nation, but individually]—one from a city and two from a [tribal] family—And I will bring you to Zion.’

“Return, O faithless sons,” [says the Lord],“I will heal your unfaithfulness.”[They answer] “Behold, we come to You,For You are the Lord our God.

“If you will return, O Israel,” says the Lord,“If you will return to Me,And if you will put away your detestable things and remove your man-made gods from My sight,And not stray or waver,

O Lord, do not Your eyes look for truth?You [have seen their faithless heart and] have stricken them,But they did not weaken;You have consumed them,But they refused to take correction or instruction.They have made their faces harder than rock;They have refused to repent and return to You.

“Moreover [Jeremiah], you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord,“Do men fall and not rise up again?Does one turn away [from God] and not repent and return [to Him]?

“Why then has this people of JerusalemTurned away with a perpetual turning away [from Me]?They hold tightly to deceit (idolatry);They refuse to repent and return [to God].

“Even the stork in the skyKnows her seasons [of migration],And the turtledove, the swallow and the craneObserve the time of their return.But My people do not knowThe law of the Lord.

And it shall come about that after I have uprooted them, I will return and have compassion on them; and I will bring them back again, each one to his inheritance and each one to his land.

“Their nobles have sent their servants for water;They have come to the cisterns and found no water.They have returned with empty vessels;They have been shamed and humiliated,And they cover their heads.

“I will winnow (sort, separate) them with a winnowing forkAt the gates of the land;I will deprive them of children, I will destroy My people;They did not repent and turn from their [evil] ways.

Therefore, thus says the Lord [to Jeremiah],“If you repent [and give up this mistaken attitude of despair and self-pity], then I will restore you [to a state of inner peace]So that you may stand before Me [as My obedient representative];And if you separate the precious from the worthless [examining yourself and cleansing your heart from unwarranted doubt concerning My faithfulness],You will become My spokesman.Let the people turn to you [and learn to value My values]—But you, you must not turn to them [with regard for their idolatry and wickedness].

Now then, say to the men of Judah and to the citizens of Jerusalem, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Behold, I am shaping a disaster and working out a plan against you. Turn back, each of you from his evil way; correct your habits and change your actions for the better.”’

Do not weep for the dead or mourn for him;But weep bitterly for the one who goes away [into exile],For he will never returnAnd see his native country [again].

For thus says the Lord in regard to Shallum (Jehoahaz) the [third] son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father and who went from this place, “Shallum will not return here anymore;

But as for the land to which they long to return, they will not return to it.

I will give them a heart to know Me, [understanding fully] that I am the Lord; and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart.

“For thus says the Lord, ‘When seventy years [of exile] have been completed for Babylon, I will visit (inspect) you and keep My good promise to you, to bring you back to this place.

For behold (hear this), the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘when I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will return them to the land that I gave to their forefathers and they will take possession of it.’”

‘Fear not, O Jacob My servant,’ says the Lord,‘Nor be dismayed or downcast, O Israel;For behold, I will save you from a distant land [of exile]And your descendants from the land of their captivity.Jacob will return and will be quiet and at ease,And no one will make him afraid.

“Behold, I am bringing them from the north country,And I will gather them from the remote parts of the earth,Among them [will be] the blind and the lame,The woman with child and she who labors in childbirth, together;A great company, they will return here [to Jerusalem].

Thus says the Lord,“Restrain your voice from weepingAnd your eyes from tears,For your work will be rewarded,” says the Lord;“And your children will return from the enemy’s land.

“Place for yourself road signs [toward Canaan],Make for yourself guideposts;Turn your thought and attention to the highway,To the way by which you went [into exile].Retrace your steps, O virgin of Israel,Return to these your cities.

“How long will you hesitate [to return],O you faithless and renegade daughter?For the Lord has created a new thing in the land [of Israel]:A woman will encompass (tenderly love) a man.”

the [sound of the] voice of joy and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, the [song-filled] voice of those who say,“Give praise and thanks to the Lord of hosts,For the Lord is good;For His [steadfast] lovingkindness (mercy) endures forever”;and of those who bring a thank offering into the house of the Lord. For I will restore the fortunes of the land as they were at first,’ says the Lord.

But afterward they backed out [of the covenant] and made the male servants and the female servants whom they had set free return [to them], and brought the male servants and the female servants again into servitude.

Yet you backed out [of the covenant] and profaned My Name, and each man took back his servants, male and female, whom had been set free in accordance with their desire, and you brought them into servitude [again] to be your male servants and your female servants.”’

Behold, I am going to command [the Chaldeans who rule Babylon],’ says the Lord, ‘and I will bring them back to this city; and they will fight against it and take it and set it on fire. I will make the cities of Judah a desolation without inhabitant.’”

I have also sent to you all My servants the prophets, sending them repeatedly, saying, ‘Let every one of you turn now from his evil way and alter your behavior, and do not follow other gods to worship and serve them; and then you will live in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers. But you have not submitted or listened to Me.

“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘This is what you are to say to the king of Judah, who sent you to Me to inquire of Me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, will return to Egypt, to their own land.

Therefore now, please listen, O my lord the king; please let my petition come before you and be acceptable and do not make me return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, that I may not die there.”

so none of the survivors from the remnant of Judah who have entered the land of Egypt to live there will survive, even though they lift up their souls in longing to return to the land of Judah, [the place] to which they long to return to live; none will return except a few refugees.’”

Yet a small number [of My choosing] who escape the sword will return from the land of Egypt to the land of Judah; and all the remnant of Judah who have gone to the land of Egypt to reside there will know whose words will stand, Mine or theirs.

“But as for you, do not fear, O My servant Jacob,Nor be dismayed, O Israel!For behold, I will save you from [your captivity in] a distant land,And your descendants from the land of their exile;And Jacob will return and be quiet and secure,And no one will make him afraid.

Concerning the sons (descendants) of Ammon.Thus says the Lord:“Does Israel have no sons [to reclaim Gad from the Ammonites]?Has he no heir?Why then has Malcam taken possession of GadAnd [why do] his people live in the cities [of Gad]?

“For behold, I will stir up and bring up against BabylonAn assembly of great nations from the north country.They will equip themselves and set up the battle lines against her;From there she will be taken captive.Their arrows will be like an expert warriorWho will not return empty-handed.

“Cut off the sower from BabylonAnd the one who handles the sickle at the time of harvest.For fear of the sword of the oppressorEveryone will return to his own peopleAnd everyone will flee to his own land.