aa[See ver. 8 above]
db[See ver. 11 above]
dh[See ver. 10 above]
di[See ver. 10 above]
dj[See ver. 14 above]
dl[See ver. 10 above]
dm[See ver. 14 above]
dn[See ver. 11 above]
dt[See ver. 19 above]

Jeremiah 2

Israel Forsakes the Lord

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

“I remember the devotion of ayour youth,
your love bas a bride,
chow you followed me in the wilderness,
din a land not sown.
3 eIsrael was holy to the Lord,
fthe firstfruits of his harvest.
gAll 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:

hWhat wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
iand went after jworthlessness, and became worthless?
6They did not say, kWhere is the Lord
who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us lin 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 mAnd I brought you into a plentiful land
to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, nyou defiled my land
and made my heritage an abomination.
8The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
oThose who handle the law did not know me;
pthe shepherds
Or rulers
transgressed against me;
rthe prophets prophesied by Baal
and went after sthings that do not profit.
9 Therefore tI still contend with you,

declares the Lord,
and uwith your children’s children I will contend.
10For cross to the coasts of vCyprus and see,
or send to wKedar and examine with care;
see if there has been such a thing.
11 xHas a nation changed its gods,
yeven though they are no gods?
But my people zhave changed their glory
for aathat which does not profit.
12Be appalled, abO heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,

declares the Lord,
13for my people have committed two evils:
acthey have forsaken adme,
the fountain of aeliving waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.
14 af“Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
Why then has he become a prey?
15 agThe lions have roared against him;
they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
his cities are in ruins, ahwithout inhabitant.
16Moreover, the men of aiMemphis and ajTahpanhes
akhave shaved
Hebrew grazed
the crown of your head.
17 amHave you not brought this upon yourself
by forsaking the Lord your God,
when anhe led you in the way?
18 aoAnd now what do you gain by going to Egypt
to drink the waters of apthe Nile?
aqOr what do you gain by going to Assyria
to drink the waters of arthe Euphrates?
Hebrew  the River

19 atYour evil will chastise you,
and auyour apostasy will reprove you.
Know and see that it is evil and avbitter
for awyou 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 axbroke your yoke
and burst your bonds;
but you said, ay‘I will not serve.’
Yes, azon every high hill
and under every green tree
you bowed down balike a whore.
21 bbYet I planted you a choice vine,
wholly of pure seed.
bcHow then have you turned degenerate
and become a wild vine?
22Though you wash yourself with lye
and use much soap,
bdthe stain of your guilt is still before me,

declares the Lord God.
23 beHow can you say, ‘I am not unclean,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
Look at your way bfin the valley;
know what you have done
a restless young camel running here and there,
24 bga 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 bhyour feet from going unshod
and biyour throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless,
bjfor 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:
bkthey, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets,
27who 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 blin the time of their trouble they say,
Arise and save us!’
28But bmwhere are your gods
that you made for yourself?
Let them arise, bnif they can save you,
in your time of trouble;
for boas 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.
30In vain have I bpstruck your children;
they took no correction;
bqyour own sword devoured your prophets
like a ravening lion.
31And 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 brCan a virgin forget her ornaments,
or a bride her attire?
Yet bsmy 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.
34Also on your skirts is found
btthe lifeblood of the guiltless poor;
you did not find them bubreaking in.
Yet in spite of all these things
35you say, ‘I am innocent;
surely his anger has turned from me.’
bvBehold, I will bring you to judgment
for bwsaying, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 bxHow much you go about,
changing your way!
You shall be byput to shame by Egypt
as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37From it too you will come away
with bzyour hands on your head,
for the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,
and you will not prosper by them.

Jeremiah 27

The Yoke of Nebuchadnezzar

1In the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah
Or Jehoiakim
the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord.
2Thus the Lord said to me: cbMake yourself straps and ccyoke-bars, and put them on your neck. 3Send word
Hebrew  Send them
to the king of ceEdom, the king of cfMoab, the king of the sons of cgAmmon, the king of chTyre, and the king of Sidon by the hand of the envoys who have come to Jerusalem to Zedekiah king of Judah.
4Give them this charge for their masters: ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: This is what you shall say to your masters: 5“It is I who ciby my great power and my outstretched arm cjhave made the earth, with the men and animals that are on the earth, ckand I give it to whomever it seems right to me. 6 clNow I have given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, cmmy servant, cnand I have given him also the beasts of the field to serve him. 7 coAll the nations shall serve him and cphis son and cqhis grandson, cruntil the time of his own land comes. csThen many nations and great kings shall make him their slave.

8“‘“But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, ctand put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation cuwith the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand. 9So cvdo not listen to your cwprophets, your diviners, your dreamers, your cxfortune-tellers, or your sorcerers, who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon.’ 10 cyFor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you, with the result that you will be removed far from your land, and I will drive you out, and you will perish. 11 czBut any nation that will bring its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon and serve him, I will leave on its own land, to work it and dwell there, declares the Lord.”’”

12To daZedekiah king of Judah I spoke in like manner: dbBring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and dcserve him and his people and live. 13 ddWhy will you and your people die deby the sword, by famine, and by pestilence, dfas the Lord has spoken concerning any nation that will not serve the king of Babylon? 14 dgDo not listen to the words of the prophets who are saying to you, ‘You shall not serve the king of Babylon,’ dhfor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 15I have not sent them, declares the Lord, but dithey are prophesying falsely in my name, with the result that I will drive you out and you will perish, you and the prophets who are prophesying to you.”

16Then I spoke to the priests and to all this people, saying, “Thus says the Lord: djDo not listen to the words of your prophets who are prophesying to you, saying, dkBehold, the vessels of the Lord’s house will now shortly be brought back from Babylon,’ dlfor it is a lie that they are prophesying to you. 17 dmDo not listen to them; dnserve the king of Babylon and live. Why should this city dobecome a desolation? 18If they are prophets, and if the word of the Lord is with them, then dplet them intercede with the Lord of hosts, dqthat the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem may not go to Babylon. 19 drFor thus says the Lord of hosts concerning the pillars, the sea, the stands, and the rest of the vessels that are left in this city, 20which Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon did not take away, dswhen he took into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon Jeconiah the son of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, and all the nobles of Judah and Jerusalem 21thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, dtconcerning the vessels that are left in the house of the Lord, in the house of the king of Judah, and in Jerusalem: 22 duThey shall be carried to Babylon dvand remain there dwuntil the day when I visit them, declares the Lord. dxThen I will bring them back dyand restore them to this place.”

Copyright information for ESV