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, ^d

your love as a bride—

how you followed Me in the wilderness,

in a land not sown.

³Israel was holy to the Lord, ^e

the firstfruits of His harvest. ^f

All who ate of it found themselves guilty; ^g

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 fathers find in Me ^h

that they went so far from Me,

followed worthless idols, ⁱ

and became worthless themselves? ^j

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

who brought us from the land of Egypt,

who led us through the wilderness, ^l

through a land of deserts and ravines,

through a land of drought and darkness, ^m

a land no one traveled through

and where no one lived?”

⁷I brought you to a fertile land ⁿ

to eat its fruit and bounty,

but after you entered, you defiled My land; ^o

you made My inheritance ^pdetestable.