Jeremiah 2:4–13

^4–6Hear God’s Message, House of Jacob!

Yes, you—House of Israel!

God’s Message: “What did your ancestors find fault with in me

that they drifted so far from me,

Took up with Sir Windbag

and turned into windbags themselves?

It never occurred to them to say, ‘Where’s God,

the God who got us out of Egypt,

Who took care of us through thick and thin, those rough-and-tumble

wilderness years of parched deserts and death valleys,

A land that no one who enters comes out of,

a cruel, inhospitable land?’

^7–8“I brought you to a garden land

where you could eat lush fruit.

But you barged in and polluted my land,

trashed and defiled my dear land.

The priests never thought to ask, ‘Where’s God?’

The religion experts knew nothing of me.

The rulers defied me.

The prophets preached god Baal

And chased empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes.

^9–11“Because of all this, I’m bringing charges against you”

—God’s Decree—

“charging you and your children and your grandchildren.

Look around. Have you ever seen anything quite like this?

Sail to the western islands and look.

Travel to the Kedar wilderness and look.

Look closely. Has this ever happened before,

That a nation has traded in its gods

for gods that aren’t even close to gods?

But my people have traded my Glory

for empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes.

^12–13“Stand in shock, heavens, at what you see!

Throw up your hands in disbelief—this can’t be!”

God’s Decree.

“My people have committed a compound sin:

they’ve walked out on me, the fountain

Of fresh flowing waters, and then dug cisterns—

cisterns that leak, cisterns that are no better than sieves.