2Ki 21:2-9, Jer 2-3 | ESV | STEP | And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord , according to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel .

2 And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord, ^aaccording to the despicable practices of the nations whom the Lord drove out before the people of Israel. 3 For he rebuilt the high places ^bthat Hezekiah his father had destroyed, and he erected altars for Baal and made ^can Asherah, ^das Ahab king of Israel had done, ^eand worshiped all the host of heaven and served them. 4 ^fAnd he built altars in the house of the Lord, of which the Lord had said, ^g“In Jerusalem will I put my name.” 5 And he built altars ^hfor all the host of heaven in ⁱthe two courts of the house of the Lord. 6 ^jAnd he burned his son as an offering ^{▼▼Hebrew made his son pass through the fire} and ^lused fortune-telling and ^momens and dealt ⁿwith mediums and with necromancers. He did much evil in the sight of the Lord, provoking him to anger. 7 And the carved image of ^oAsherah that he had made he set in the house of which the Lord said to David and to Solomon his son, “In this house, ^pand in Jerusalem, which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, I will put my name forever. 8 ^qAnd I will not cause the feet of Israel to wander anymore out of the land that I gave to their fathers, if only they will be careful to do according to all that I have commanded them, and according to all the Law that my servant Moses commanded them.” 9 But they did not listen, and Manasseh led them astray to do more evil than the nations had done whom the Lord destroyed before the people of Israel.

Jeremiah 2

Israel Forsakes the Lord

1 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,

“I remember the devotion of ^ryour youth,
your love ^sas a bride,
^thow you followed me in the wilderness,
^uin a land not sown.
3 ^vIsrael was holy to the Lord,
^wthe firstfruits of his harvest.
^xAll who ate of it incurred guilt;
disaster came upon them,

declares the Lord.”
4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord:

^y“What wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
^zand went after ^aaworthlessness, and became worthless?
6 They did not say, ^ab‘Where is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us ^acin the wilderness,
in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
in a land that none passes through,
where no man dwells?’
7 ^adAnd I brought you into a plentiful land
to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, ^aeyou defiled my land
and made my heritage an abomination.
8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
^afThose who handle the law did not know me;
^agthe shepherds ^{▼▼Or rulers} transgressed against me;
^aithe prophets prophesied by Baal
and went after ^ajthings that do not profit.
9 “Therefore ^akI still contend with you,

declares the Lord,
and ^alwith your children’s children I will contend.
10 For cross to the coasts of ^amCyprus and see,
or send to ^anKedar and examine with care;
see if there has been such a thing.
11 ^aoHas a nation changed its gods,
^apeven though they are no gods?
But my people ^aqhave changed their glory
for ^arthat which does not profit.
12 Be appalled, ^asO heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,

declares the Lord,
13 for my people have committed two evils:
^atthey have forsaken ^aume,
the fountain of ^avliving waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.
14 ^aw“Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
Why then has he become a prey?
15 ^axThe lions have roared against him;
they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
his cities are in ruins, ^aywithout inhabitant.
16 Moreover, the men of ^azMemphis and ^baTahpanhes
^bbhave shaved ^{▼▼Hebrew grazed} the crown of your head.
17 ^bdHave you not brought this upon yourself
by forsaking the Lord your God,
when ^behe led you in the way?
18 ^bfAnd now what do you gain by going to Egypt
to drink the waters of ^bgthe Nile?
^bhOr what do you gain by going to Assyria
to drink the waters of ^bithe Euphrates? ^{▼▼Hebrew the River}
19 ^bkYour evil will chastise you,
and ^blyour apostasy will reprove you.
Know and see that it is evil and ^bmbitter
for ^bnyou to forsake the Lord your God;
the fear of me is not in you,

declares the Lord God of hosts.
20 “For long ago I ^bobroke your yoke
and burst your bonds;
but you said, ^bp‘I will not serve.’
Yes, ^bqon every high hill
and under every green tree
you bowed down ^brlike a whore.
21 ^bsYet I planted you a choice vine,
wholly of pure seed.
^btHow then have you turned degenerate
and become a wild vine?
22 Though you wash yourself with lye
and use much soap,
^buthe stain of your guilt is still before me,

declares the Lord God.
23 ^bvHow can you say, ‘I am not unclean,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
Look at your way ^bwin the valley;
know what you have done—
a restless young camel running here and there,
24 ^bxa wild donkey used to the wilderness,
in her heat sniffing the wind!
Who can restrain her lust?
None who seek her need weary themselves;
in her month they will find her.
25 Keep ^byyour feet from going unshod
and ^bzyour throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless,
^cafor I have loved foreigners,
and after them I will go.’
26 “As a thief is shamed when caught,
so the house of Israel shall be shamed:
^cbthey, their kings, their officials,
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 back to me,
and not their face.
But ^ccin the time of their trouble they say,
‘Arise and save us!’
28 But ^cdwhere are your gods
that you made for yourself?
Let them arise, ^ceif they can save you,
in your time of trouble;
for ^cfas many as your cities
are your gods, O Judah.
29 “Why do you contend with me?
You have all transgressed against me,

declares the Lord.
30 In vain have I ^cgstruck your children;
they took no correction;
^chyour own sword devoured your prophets
like a ravening lion.
31 And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
or a land of thick darkness?
Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,
we will come no more to you’?
32 ^ciCan a virgin forget her ornaments,
or a bride her attire?
Yet ^cjmy people have forgotten me
days without number.
33 “How well you direct your course
to seek love!
So that even to wicked women
you have taught your ways.
34 Also on your skirts is found
^ckthe lifeblood of the guiltless poor;
you did not find them ^clbreaking in.
Yet in spite of all these things
35 you say, ‘I am innocent;
surely his anger has turned from me.’
^cmBehold, I will bring you to judgment
for ^cnsaying, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 ^coHow much you go about,
changing your way!
You shall be ^cpput to shame by Egypt
as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37 From it too you will come away
with ^cqyour hands on your head,
for the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,
and you will not prosper by them.

Jeremiah 3

1 ^cr“If ^{▼▼Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew Saying, “If} a man divorces his wife
and she goes from him
and becomes another man’s wife,
will he return to her?
^ctWould not that land be greatly polluted?
^cuYou have played the whore with many lovers;
and would you return to me?

declares the Lord.
2 Lift up your eyes to ^cvthe bare heights, and see!
Where have you not been ravished?
^cwBy the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers
like an Arab in the wilderness.
^cxYou have polluted the land
with your vile whoredom.
3 ^cyTherefore the showers have been withheld,
and the spring rain has not come;
yet you have ^czthe forehead of a whore;
you refuse to be ashamed.
4 Have you not just now ^dacalled to me,
‘My father, you are the friend of my youth—
5 ^dbwill he be angry forever,
will he be indignant to the end?’
Behold, you have spoken,
but you have done all the evil that you could.”

Faithless Israel Called to Repentance

6 The Lord said to me in the days of ^dcKing Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, ^ddhow she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there ^deplayed the whore? 7 And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous ^dfsister Judah saw it. 8 She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, ^dgI had sent her away with ^dha decree of divorce. ^diYet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went ^djand played the whore. 9 Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with ^dkstone and tree. 10 Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me ^dlwith her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord.”

11 And the Lord said to me, ^dm“Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward ^dnthe north, and say,

^do“‘Return, faithless Israel,

declares the Lord.
I will not look on you in anger,
for ^dpI am merciful,

declares the Lord;
^dqI will not be angry forever.
13 ^drOnly acknowledge your guilt,
that you rebelled against the Lord your God
and scattered your favors among foreigners under ^dsevery green tree,
and that you have not obeyed my voice,

declares the Lord.
14 ^dtReturn, O faithless children,

declares the Lord;
^dufor I am your master;
I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
and I will bring you to Zion.
15 “‘And ^dvI will give you shepherds after my own heart, ^dwwho will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again. 17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, ^dxand all nations shall gather to it, ^dyto the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. 18 ^dzIn those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land ^eaof the north to ^ebthe land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.

19 “‘I said,
How I would set you among my sons,
and give you a pleasant land,
a heritage most beautiful of all nations.
And I thought you would ^eccall me, My Father,
and would not turn from following me.
20 ^edSurely, as a treacherous wife leaves her husband,
so have you been treacherous to me, O house of Israel,

declares the Lord.’”
21 A voice on the ^eebare heights is heard,
^efthe weeping and pleading of Israel’s sons
because they have perverted their way;
they have forgotten the Lord their God.
22 ^eg“Return, O faithless sons;
^ehI will heal your faithlessness.”
“Behold, we come to you,
for you are the Lord our God.
23 Truly ^eithe hills are a delusion,
the orgies ^{▼▼Hebrew commotion} on the mountains.
^ekTruly in the Lord our God
is the salvation of Israel.
24 “But from our youth the shameful thing has devoured all for which our fathers labored, their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 ^elLet us lie down in our shame, and let our dishonor cover us. For ^emwe have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, from our youth even to this day, and we have not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.”