Jeremiah 2:1–6

ISRAEL ACCUSED OF APOSTASY

2 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Go and announce directly to Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says:

I remember the loyalty of your youth,ac

your love as a bride—

how you followed me in the wilderness,

in a land not sown.

3 Israel was holy to the Lord,ad

the firstfruits of his harvest.ae

All who ate of it found themselves guilty;af

disaster came on them.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

4 Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob

and all families of the house of Israel.

5 This is what the Lord says:

What fault did your ancestors find in mea

that they went so far from me,

followed worthless idols,b

and became worthless themselves?c

6 They stopped asking, “Where is the Lordd

who brought us from the land of Egypt,

who led us through the wilderness,e

through a land of deserts and ravines,

through a land of drought and darkness,A

a land no one traveled through

and where no one lived?”