The final two verses of this section (Jeremiah 4:3–4) conclude what Jeremiah has been saying about repentance in Jeremiah 3:1–4:4, and also prepare the reader for the section on judgment that will follow in Jeremiah 4:5–6:30.
The words in Jeremiah 4:3–4 are spoken to Jeremiah’s immediate audience, the men of Judah and Jerusalem.
He is urging them to true repentance. The entire community collectively and individually is being challenged to assess how they stand before the Lord.1 However, Judah is part of the bigger picture being drawn in Jeremiah 3:1–4:4. Judah is what remains of Israel as the covenant people through whom the Lord is working out his purpose of blessing all nations.
3 For thus says the LORD to the men of Judah and Jerusalem: “Break up your fallow ground, and sow not among thorns.