Jeremiah 2:1–7

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,

“I remember the devotion of your youth,

your love as a bride,

how you followed me in the wilderness,

in a land not sown.

Israel was holy to the Lord,

the firstfruits of his harvest.

All who ate of it incurred guilt;

disaster came upon them,

declares the Lord.”

Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:

“What wrong did your fathers find in me

that they went far from me,

and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?

They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord

who brought us up from the land of Egypt,

who led us in the wilderness,

in a land of deserts and pits,

in a land of drought and deep darkness,

in a land that none passes through,

where no man dwells?’

And I brought you into a plentiful land

to enjoy its fruits and its good things.

But when you came in, you defiled my land

and made my heritage an abomination.

The word of the Lord came to me: “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:

“This is what the Lord says:

“ ‘I remember the devotion of your youth,

how as a bride you loved me

and followed me through the wilderness,

through a land not sown.

Israel was holy to the Lord,

the firstfruits of his harvest;

all who devoured her were held guilty,

and disaster overtook them,’ ”

declares the Lord.

Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob,

all you clans of Israel.

This is what the Lord says:

“What fault did your ancestors find in me,

that they strayed so far from me?

They followed worthless idols

and became worthless themselves.

They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord,

who brought us up out of Egypt

and led us through the barren wilderness,

through a land of deserts and ravines,

a land of drought and utter darkness,

a land where no one travels and no one lives?’

I brought you into a fertile land

to eat its fruit and rich produce.

But you came and defiled my land

and made my inheritance detestable.

The word of the Lord came to me: “Go and announce directly to Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says:

I remember the loyalty of your youth,

your love as a bride—

how you followed me in the wilderness,

in a land not sown.

Israel was holy to the Lord,

the firstfruits of his harvest.

All who ate of it found themselves guilty;

disaster came on them.”

This is the Lord’s declaration.

Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob

and all families of the house of Israel.

This is what the Lord says:

What fault did your ancestors find in me

that they went so far from me,

followed worthless idols,

and became worthless themselves?

They stopped asking, “Where is the Lord

who brought us from the land of Egypt,

who led us through the wilderness,

through a land of deserts and ravines,

through a land of drought and darkness,

a land no one traveled through

and where no one lived?”

I brought you to a fertile land

to eat its fruit and bounty,

but after you entered, you defiled my land;

you made my inheritance detestable.

The Lord gave me another message. He said, “Go and shout this message to Jerusalem. This is what the Lord says:

“I remember how eager you were to please me

as a young bride long ago,

how you loved me and followed me

even through the barren wilderness.

In those days Israel was holy to the Lord,

the first of his children.

All who harmed his people were declared guilty,

and disaster fell on them.

I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Listen to the word of the Lord, people of Jacob—all you families of Israel! This is what the Lord says:

“What did your ancestors find wrong with me

that led them to stray so far from me?

They worshiped worthless idols,

only to become worthless themselves.

They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord

who brought us safely out of Egypt

and led us through the barren wilderness—

a land of deserts and pits,

a land of drought and death,

where no one lives or even travels?’

“And when I brought you into a fruitful land

to enjoy its bounty and goodness,

you defiled my land and

corrupted the possession I had promised you.

And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying, “Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says Yahweh,

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

the love of your betrothal-time,

your going after me in the desert,

in the land not sown.

Israel was holy to Yahweh,

the first fruit of his produce.

All those who ate it were held guilty;

disaster came to them,” declares Yahweh.’ ”

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

“What injustice did your ancestors find in me

that they were far from me,

and they went after the vanity,

and they became vain?

And 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,

in a land of desert plains and gorges,

in a land of dryness and deep darkness,

in a land that no one passes through,

and no human lives there?’

And I brought you to the land of the orchard,

to eat its fruit, and its good things.

But you entered and defiled my land,

and my inheritance you made a detestable thing.

Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord. Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: Thus saith the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? Neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.