Jeremiah 2:1–7

ISRAEL ACCUSED OF APOSTASY

2The 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.

³Israel 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.

⁴Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob

and all families of the house of Israel.

⁵This is what the Lord says:

What fault did your ancestors find in me^a

that they went so far from me,

followed worthless idols,^b

and became worthless themselves?^c

⁶They stopped asking, “Where is the Lord^d

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?”

⁷I brought you to a fertile land^f

to eat its fruit and bounty,

but after you entered, you defiled my land;^g

you made my inheritance^h detestable.