Jeremiah 2:8–3:25

8 The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and wthey that handle the law knew me not: xthe pastors also transgressed against me, and xxthe prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after ythings that do not profit. 9 Wherefore I zwill yet plead with you, saith the Lord, and awith your children’s children will I plead. 10 aaFor pass ||over the isles of bChittim, and see; and send unto cKedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing. 11 dHath a nation changed their gods, ewhich are yet no gods? but my people fhave changed their glory for gthat which doth not profit. 12 Be astonished, hO ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord. 13 For my people have committed two evils; ikthey have forsaken me klthe fountain of mliving waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

14 nIs Israel a servant? is he oa homeborn slave? why is he †spoiled? 15 pThe young lions roared upon him, and †yelled, and qthey made his land waste: rhis cities are burned qswithout inhabitant. 16 Also the children of tNoph and uTahapanes ||have broken the crown of thy head. 17 wHast thou not procured this unto thyself, iin that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, xwhen he led thee by the way? 18 And now ywhat hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of zSihor? or awhat hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of bthe river? 19 cThine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy dbackslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and ebitter, fthat thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts. 20 For of old time gI have broken thy yoke, and gburst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not ||transgress; when hiupon every high hill and under every green tree kthou wanderest, ilplaying the harlot. 21 Yet mI had planted thee na noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into othe degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? 22 For though pthou wash thee with qnitre, and take thee much rsoap, yet thine iniquity is smarked before me, saith the Lord God. 23 tHow canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way ttin the valley, know what thou hast done: ||thou art ua swift uudromedary traversing her ways; 24 ||vwA wild ass †used to the wilderness, that vsnuffeth up the wind at †her pleasure; in her xoccasion who can ||turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; yin her month they shall find her. 25 Withhold zthy foot from being unshod, and thy throat afrom thirst: bbut thou saidst, ||cThere is no hope: no; for I have loved dstrangers, and after them will I go. 26 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, ddtheir kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, 27 Saying to ea stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast ||brought me forth: for they have turned †their back unto me, and not their face: but eein the time of their ftrouble they will say, Arise, and save us. 28 But gwhere are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, hif they can save thee in the time of thy †ftrouble: ifor according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah. 29 kWherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord. 30 In vain lhave I smitten your children; they received no correction: myour own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

31 nO generation, see ye the word of the Lord. oHave I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, †pWe are lords; we will come no more unto thee? 32 Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her qattire? yet rmy people have forgotten me days without number. 33 Why rrtrimmest thou thy way to seek love? stherefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways. 34 Also in thy skirts is found tthe blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by †secret search, but upon all these. 35 Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, uI will plead with thee, vbecause thou sayest, I have not sinned. 36 wWhy gaddest thou about so much to xchange thy way? ythou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, was thou wast ashamed of Assyria. 37 Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and zthine hands upon thine head: for the Lord hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.

3 †They say, aIf a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, ashall he return unto her again? shall not that bland be greatly polluted? but thou hast cplayed the harlot with many lovers; yet dreturn again to me, saith the Lord. 2 Lift up thine eyes unto ethe high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. fIn the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and bthou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness. 3 Therefore gthe showers have been withholden, and there hath been no hlatter rain; and thou hadst ia whore’s forehead, kthou refusedst to be ashamed. 4 Wilt thou not from this time cry unto me, My father, thou art lthe guide of mmy youth? 5 nWill he reserve his anger for ever? will he keep it to the end? Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou couldest.

6 *The Lord said also unto me in the days of Josiah the king, Hast thou seen that which obacksliding Israel hath done? pshe is gone up upon every high mountain and under every green tree, and there hath cplayed the harlot. 7 qAnd I said after she had done all these things, dTurn thou unto me. But she returned not. And her rtreacherous ssister Judah saw it. 8 And I saw, twhen for all the causes whereby obacksliding Israel committed adultery uI had put her away, and given her va bill of divorce; tyet her rtreacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also. 9 And it came to pass through the ||lightness of her whoredom, that bshe defiled the land, and committed adultery with wstones and with stocks. 10 And yet for all this her rtreacherous sister Judah hath not turned unto me xwith her whole heart, but †feignedly, saith the Lord. 11 And the Lord said unto me, The obacksliding Israel yhath justified herself more than rtreacherous Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these words toward zthe north, and say, dReturn, thou obacksliding Israel, saith the Lord; and I will not acause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am bmerciful, saith the Lord, and cI will not keep anger for ever. 13 dOnly acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the Lord thy God, and hast escattered thy ways to the fstrangers gunder every green tree, and hye have not obeyed my voice, saith the Lord. 14 iTurn, jO backsliding children, saith the Lord; for kI am married unto you: and I will take you lone of a city, and mtwo of a family, and I will bring you to Zion: 15 And nI will give you opastors according to mine heart, pwhich shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and increased in the land, in those days, saith the Lord, they shall say no more, The ark of the covenant of the Lord: neither shall it †come to mind: neither shall they remember it; neither shall they visit it; neither shall ||that be done any more. 17 At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the Lord; and qall the nations shall be gathered unto it, rto the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: neither sshall they walk any more after the ||imagination of their evil heart. 18 In those days tthe house of Judah shall walk ||with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of uthe north to vthe land that I have ||given for an inheritance unto your fathers. 19 But I said, How shall I put thee among the children, and give thee a †pleasant land, †a goodly heritage of the hosts of nations? and I said, xThou shalt call me, My father; and shalt not turn away †from me. 20 Surely as a wife xxtreacherously departeth from her †husband, so yhave ye xxdealt treacherously with me, O house of Israel, saith the Lord.

21 A voice was heard upon zthe high places, weeping and asupplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and bthey have forgotten the Lord their God. 22 cReturn, ye backsliding children, and I dwill heal your ebackslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God. 23 Truly in vain is salvation hoped for ffrom the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly gin the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel. 24 For hshame hath devoured ithe labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters. 25 We lie down in our shame, and jour confusion covereth us: for kwe have sinned against the Lord our God, we and our fathers, lfrom our youth even unto this day, and mhave not obeyed the voice of the Lord our God.