Jeremiah 2:4–13

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.

⁸The priests quit asking, “Where is the Lord?”

The experts in the law no longer knew Me, ^q

and the rulers ^rrebelled against Me.

The prophets prophesied by ^sBaal ^t

and followed useless idols. ^u

⁹Therefore, I will bring a case against you again.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

I will bring a case against your children’s children. ^v

¹⁰Cross over to Cyprus ^wxand take a look.

Send someone to Kedar ^yand consider carefully;

see if there has ever been anything like this:

¹¹Has a nation ever exchanged its gods? ^z

(But they were not gods! ^a)

Yet My people have exchanged their ^bGlory

for useless idols. ^c

¹²Be horrified at this, heavens; ^d

be shocked and utterly appalled.

This is the Lord’s declaration.

¹³For My people have committed a double evil:

They have abandoned Me, ^e

the fountain of living water, ^f

and dug cisterns for themselves,

cracked cisterns that cannot hold water. ^g