Deuteronomy 4:6-8

6 ^aKeep them and do them, for ^bthat will be your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the peoples, who, when they hear all these statutes, will say, ‘Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.’ 7For ^cwhat great nation is there that has ^da god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon him? 8And what great nation is there, that has statutes and rules so ^erighteous as all this law that I set before you today?

Deuteronomy 28:1-14

Blessings for Obedience

1“And ^fif you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you ^ghigh above all the nations of the earth. 2And all these blessings shall come upon you and ^hovertake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God. 3Blessed shall you be in the city, and ⁱblessed shall you be in the field. 4Blessed shall be ^jthe fruit of your womb and the fruit of your ground and the fruit of your cattle, the increase of your herds and the young of your flock. 5Blessed shall be your basket and your ^kkneading bowl. 6Blessed shall you be ^lwhen you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.

7“The Lord ^mwill cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated before you. They shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. 8The Lord ⁿwill command the blessing on you in your barns and ^oin all that you undertake. ^pAnd he will bless you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 9 ^qThe Lord will establish you as a people holy to himself, as he has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the Lord your God and walk in his ways. 10And ^rall the peoples of the earth shall see that you are ^scalled by the name of the Lord, and they shall be ^tafraid of you. 11And ^uthe Lord will make you abound in prosperity, in ^vthe fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your livestock and in the fruit of your ground, within the land that the Lord swore to your fathers to give you. 12The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, ^wto give the rain to your land in its season and ^xto bless all the work of your hands. And ^yyou shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. 13And the Lord will make you ^zthe head and not the tail, and you shall only go up and not down, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God, which I command you today, being careful to do them, 14 ^aaand if you do not turn aside from any of the words that I command you today, to the right hand or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.

Judges 2:6-14

The Death of Joshua

6When Joshua dismissed the people, the people of Israel went each to his inheritance to take possession of the land. 7 ^abAnd the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great work that the Lord had done for Israel. 8And Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110 years. 9And they buried him within the boundaries of ^achis inheritance in Timnath-heres, ^adin the hill country of Ephraim, north of the mountain of Gaash. 10And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.

Israel’s Unfaithfulness

11 ^aeAnd the people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the Lord and served the Baals. 12 ^afAnd they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers, who had brought them out of the land of Egypt. ^agThey went after other gods, from among the gods of the peoples who were around them, and ^ahbowed down to them. ^aiAnd they provoked the Lord to anger. 13They abandoned the Lord ^ajand served the Baals and the Ashtaroth. 14 ^akSo the anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel, and he ^algave them over to plunderers, who plundered them. ^amAnd he sold them into the hand of their surrounding enemies, ^anso that they could no longer withstand their enemies.

Jeremiah 2:2-25

2“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,

“I remember the devotion of ^aoyour youth,
your love ^apas a bride,
^aqhow you followed me in the wilderness,
^arin a land not sown.
3 ^asIsrael was holy to the Lord,
^atthe firstfruits of his harvest.
^auAll who ate of it incurred guilt;
disaster came upon them,

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

^av“What wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
^awand went after ^axworthlessness, and became worthless?
6They did not say, ^ay‘Where is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us ^azin 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 ^baAnd I brought you into a plentiful land
to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, ^bbyou defiled my land
and made my heritage an abomination.
8The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
^bcThose who handle the law did not know me;
^bdthe shepherds ▼

▼Or rulers

transgressed against me;
^bfthe prophets prophesied by Baal
and went after ^bgthings that do not profit.
9 “Therefore ^bhI still contend with you,

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

declares the Lord,
13for my people have committed two evils:
^bqthey have forsaken ^brme,
the fountain of ^bsliving waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.
14 ^bt“Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
Why then has he become a prey?
15 ^buThe lions have roared against him;
they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
his cities are in ruins, ^bvwithout inhabitant.
16Moreover, the men of ^bwMemphis and ^bxTahpanhes
^byhave shaved ▼

▼Hebrew grazed

the crown of your head.
17 ^caHave you not brought this upon yourself
by forsaking the Lord your God,
when ^cbhe led you in the way?
18 ^ccAnd now what do you gain by going to Egypt
to drink the waters of ^cdthe Nile?
^ceOr what do you gain by going to Assyria
to drink the waters of ^cfthe Euphrates? ▼

▼Hebrew  the River

19 ^chYour evil will chastise you,
and ^ciyour apostasy will reprove you.
Know and see that it is evil and ^cjbitter
for ^ckyou 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 ^clbroke your yoke
and burst your bonds;
but you said, ^cm‘I will not serve.’
Yes, ^cnon every high hill
and under every green tree
you bowed down ^colike a whore.
21 ^cpYet I planted you a choice vine,
wholly of pure seed.
^cqHow then have you turned degenerate
and become a wild vine?
22Though you wash yourself with lye
and use much soap,
^crthe stain of your guilt is still before me,

declares the Lord God.
23 ^csHow can you say, ‘I am not unclean,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
Look at your way ^ctin the valley;
know what you have done—
a restless young camel running here and there,
24 ^cua 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.
25Keep ^cvyour feet from going unshod
and ^cwyour throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless,
^cxfor I have loved foreigners,
and after them I will go.’

Hosea 13:1

The Lord’s Relentless Judgment on Israel

1 When Ephraim spoke, there was trembling;
^cyhe was exalted in Israel,
but he incurred guilt ^czthrough Baal and died.