The Lord Recalls Israel’s Earlier Faithfulness

2:1 The Lord spoke to me. He said: 2:2 “Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem:1 ‘This is what the Lord says: “I have fond memories of you,2 how devoted you were to me in your early years.3 I remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted. 2:3 Israel was set apart to the Lord; they were like the first fruits of a harvest to him.4 All who tried to devour them were punished; disaster came upon them,” says the Lord.’ ”