Jeremiah 2
Judah’s Apostasy
1 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2“Go and aproclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says:“I remember regarding you the ▼
▼Or faithfulness
,
cdevotion of your youth, Your love when you were a bride,
dYour following after Me in the wilderness,
Through a land not sown.
3 “Israel was eholy to the Lord,
The ffirst of His harvest.
gAll who ate of it became guilty;
Evil came upon them,” declares the Lord.’”
4 Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. 5This is what the Lord says:
“ hWhat injustice did your fathers find in Me,
That they went far from Me,
And walked after iemptiness and became empty?
6 “They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord
Who jbrought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who kled us through the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and of pits,
Through a land of drought and of ▼
▼Or the shadow of death
deep darkness, Through a land that no one crossed
And where no person lived?’
7 “I brought you into the mfruitful land
To eat its fruit and its good things.
But you came and ndefiled My land,
And you made My inheritance an abomination.
8 “The opriests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the Law pdid not know Me;
The ▼
▼Lit shepherds
rulers also revolted against Me, And the rprophets prophesied by Baal
And walked after sthings that were of no benefit.
9 “Therefore I will still tcontend with you,” declares the Lord,
“And I will contend with your sons’ sons.
10 “For ucross to the coastlands of ▼
▼I.e., Cyprus and other islands
Kittim and see, And send to wKedar and observe closely,
And see if there has been anything like this!
11 “Has a nation changed gods,
When xthey were not gods?
But My people have yexchanged their glory
For that which is of no benefit.
12 “Be appalled at this, zyou heavens,
And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.
13 “For My people have committed two evils:
They have abandoned Me,
The aafountain of living waters,
To carve out for themselves abcisterns,
Broken cisterns
That do not hold water.
14 “Is Israel aca slave? Or is he a servant born in the home?
Why has he become plunder?
15 “The young adlions have roared at him,
They have ▼
▼Lit given their voice
roared loudly. And they have afmade his land a waste;
His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.
16 “Also the ▼
▼Lit sons
men of ahMemphis and Tahpanhes Have ▼
▼Lit grazed
shaved ajyour head. 17 “Have you not akdone this to yourself
By your abandoning the Lord your God
When He alled you in the way?
18 “But now what are you doing amon the road to Egypt,
Except to drink the waters of the ▼
▼Heb Shihor
,
aoNile? Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,
Except to drink the waters of the Euphrates River?
19 “ apYour own wickedness will correct you,
And your aqapostasies will punish you;
Know therefore and see that it is evil and arbitter
For you to abandon the Lord your God,
And asthe fear of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord ▼
▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
God of armies. 20 “For long ago ▼
▼Or you
,
avI broke your yoke And tore off your restraints;
But you said, ‘I will not serve!’
For on every awhigh hill
And under every leafy tree
You have lain down as a prostitute.
21 “Yet I axplanted you as a choice vine,
A completely faithful seed.
How then have you turned yourself before Me
Into the aydegenerate shoots of a foreign vine?
22 “Although you azwash yourself with lye
And ▼
▼Lit acquire much soap for yourself
use much soap, The bbstain of your guilt is before Me,” declares the Lord ▼
▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
God. 23 “ bdHow can you say, ‘I am not defiled,
I have not gone after the beBaals’?
Look at your way in the bfvalley!
Know what you have done!
You are a swift young camel bgrunning about senselessly on her ways,
24 A bhwild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,
That sniffs the wind in her passion.
Who can turn her away in her mating season?
None who seek her will grow weary;
In her month they will find her.
25 “Keep your feet from being bare,
And your throat from thirst;
But you said, ‘ biIt is ▼
▼Or desperate
hopeless! No! For I have bkloved strangers,
And I will walk after them.’
26 “Like the shame of a blthief when he is discovered,
So the house of Israel is shamed;
They, their kings, their leaders,
Their priests, and their prophets,
27 Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have turned their bmbacks to Me,
And not their faces;
But in the bntime of their ▼
▼Or evil
trouble they will say, ‘Arise and save us!’
28 “But where are your bpgods
Which you made for yourself?
Let them arise, if they can bqsave you
In the time of your ▼
▼Or evil
trouble! For bsas many as the number of your cities
Are your gods, Judah.
29 “Why do you contend with Me?
You have btall revolted against Me,” declares the Lord.
30 “ buIn vain I have struck your sons;
They did not accept discipline.
Your bvsword has devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.
31 “You generation, look to the word of the Lord.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a bwland of thick darkness?
Why do My people say, ‘ bxWe are free to roam;
We will no longer come to You’?
32 “Can a virgin forget her jewelry,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people have byforgotten Me
For days without number.
33 “How well you prepare your way
To seek love!
Therefore even to the wicked women
You have taught your ways.
34 “Also on your skirts is found
The bzlifeblood of the innocent poor;
You did not find them cabreaking in.
But in spite of all these things,
35 You said, ‘I am innocent;
Surely His anger is turned away from me.’
Behold, I will cbenter into judgment with you
Because you ccsay, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 “Why do you cdgo around so much
Changing your way?
Also, ceyou will be put to shame by Egypt,
Just as you were put to shame by cfAssyria.
37 “From this place as well you will go out
With cgyour hands on your head;
For the Lord has rejected chthose in whom you trust,
And you will not prosper with them.”
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