Jeremiah 2

Chapter 2

Judah’s Apostasy

¹Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,

²“Go and ^aproclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord,

“I remember concerning you the ^1bdevotion of your youth,

The love of your betrothals,

^cYour following after Me in the wilderness,

Through a land not sown.

³“Israel was ^aholy to the Lord,

The ^bfirst of His harvest.

^cAll who ate of it became guilty;

Evil came upon them,” declares the Lord.’ ”

⁴Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.

⁵Thus says the Lord,

“^aWhat injustice did your fathers find in Me,

That they went far from Me

And walked after ^bemptiness and became empty?

⁶“They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord

Who ^abrought us up out of the land of Egypt,

Who ^bled us through the wilderness,

Through a land of deserts and of pits,

Through a land of drought and of ¹deep darkness,

Through a land that no one crossed

And where no man dwelt?’

⁷“I brought you into the ^afruitful land

To eat its fruit and its good things.

But you came and ^bdefiled My land,

And My inheritance you made an abomination.

⁸“The ^apriests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’

And those who handle the law ^bdid not know Me;

The ¹rulers also transgressed against Me,

And the ^cprophets prophesied by Baal

And walked after ^dthings that did not profit.

⁹“Therefore I will yet ^acontend with you,” declares the Lord,

“And with your sons’ sons I will contend.

¹⁰“For ^across to the coastlands of ¹Kittim and see,

And send to ^bKedar and observe closely

And see if there has been such a thing as this!

¹¹“Has a nation changed gods

When ^athey were not gods?

But My people have ^bchanged their glory

For that which does not profit.

¹²“Be appalled, ^aO heavens, at this,

And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.

¹³“For My people have committed two evils:

They have forsaken Me,

The ^afountain of living waters,

To hew for themselves ^bcisterns,

Broken cisterns

That can hold no water.

¹⁴“Is Israel ^aa slave? Or is he a homeborn servant?

Why has he become a prey?

¹⁵“The young ^alions have roared at him,

They have ¹roared loudly.

And they have ^bmade his land a waste;

His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.

¹⁶“Also the ¹men of ^aMemphis and Tahpanhes

Have ²shaved the ^bcrown of your head.

¹⁷“Have you not ^adone this to yourself

By your forsaking the Lord your God

When He led you in the way?

¹⁸“But now what are you doing ^aon the road to Egypt,

To drink the waters of the ^1bNile?

Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,

To drink the waters of the ²Euphrates?

¹⁹“^aYour own wickedness will correct you,

And your ^bapostasies will reprove you;

Know therefore and see that it is evil and ^cbitter

For you to forsake the Lord your God,

And ^dthe dread of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord ¹God of hosts.

²⁰“For long ago ^1aI broke your yoke

And tore off your bonds;

But you said, ‘I will not serve!’

For on every ^bhigh hill

And under every green tree

You have lain down as a harlot.

²¹“Yet I ^aplanted you a choice vine,

A completely faithful seed.

How then have you turned yourself before Me

Into the ^bdegenerate shoots of a foreign vine?

²²“Although you ^awash yourself with lye

And ¹use much soap,

The ^bstain of your iniquity is before Me,” declares the Lord ²God.

²³“^aHow can you say, ‘I am not defiled,

I have not gone after the ^bBaals’?

Look at your way in the ^cvalley!

Know what you have done!

You are a swift young camel ^dentangling her ways,

²⁴A ^awild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,

That sniffs the wind in her passion.

In the time of her ¹heat who can turn her away?

All who seek her will not become weary;

In her month they will find her.

²⁵“Keep your feet from being unshod

And your throat from thirst;

But you said, ‘^aIt is ¹hopeless!

No! For I have ^bloved strangers,

And after them I will walk.’

²⁶“As the ^athief is shamed when he is discovered,

So the house of Israel is shamed;

They, their kings, their princes

And their priests and their prophets,

²⁷Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’

And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’

For they have turned their ^aback to Me,

And not their face;

But in the ^btime of their ¹trouble they will say,

‘Arise and save us.’

²⁸“But where are your ^agods

Which you made for yourself?

Let them arise, if they can ^bsave you

In the time of your ¹trouble;

For ^caccording to the number of your cities

Are your gods, O Judah.

²⁹“Why do you contend with Me?

You have ^aall transgressed against Me,” declares the Lord.

³⁰“^aIn vain I have struck your sons;

They accepted no chastening.

Your ^bsword has devoured your prophets

Like a destroying lion.

³¹“O generation, heed the word of the Lord.

Have I been a wilderness to Israel,

Or a ^aland of thick darkness?

Why do My people say, ‘^bWe are free to roam;

We will no longer come to You’?

³²“Can a virgin forget her ornaments,

Or a bride her attire?

Yet My people have ^aforgotten Me

Days without number.

³³“How well you prepare your way

To seek love!

Therefore even ¹the wicked women

You have taught your ways.

³⁴“Also on your skirts is found

The ^alifeblood of the innocent poor;

You did not find them ^bbreaking in.

But in spite of all these things,

³⁵Yet you said, ‘I am innocent;

Surely His anger is turned away from me.’

Behold, I will ^aenter into judgment with you

Because you ^bsay, ‘I have not sinned.’

³⁶“Why do you ^ago around so much

Changing your way?

Also, ^byou will be put to shame by Egypt

As you were put to shame by ^cAssyria.

³⁷“From this place also you will go out

With ^ayour hands on your head;

For the Lord has rejected ^bthose in whom you trust,

And you will not prosper with them.”