Jeremiah 2:1–7

Yahweh Remembers Israel’s Faithfulness

2And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,^{a 2}“Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying,^b ‘Thus says Yahweh,

“I remember concerning you the loyal love of your childhood,^c

the love of your betrothal-time,

your going^d after me in the desert,^e

in the land not sown.

³Israel was holy to Yahweh,

the first fruit of his produce.

All those who ate it were held guilty;

disaster came to them,” declares^f Yahweh.’ ”

The Unfaithfulness of Israel’s Ancestors

⁴Hear the word of Yahweh, O house of Jacob, and all the clans^g of the house of Israel. ⁵Thus says Yahweh:

“What injustice did your ancestors^h find in me

that they were far from me,

and they went after the vanity,

and they became vain?

⁶And they did not say,

‘Where is Yahweh,

the one who brought us up from the land of Egypt,

the one who led us in the desert,ⁱ

in a land of desert plains and gorges,^j

in a land of dryness and deep darkness,

in a land that no one passes through,^k

and no human lives there?’

⁷And I brought you to the land of the orchard,

to eat its fruit, and its good things.^l

But you entered and defiled my land,

and my inheritance you made a detestable thing.^m