Jeremiah 2
2
God’s Case Against Israel
1Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2“Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord:
“I remember you,
The kindness of your #Ezek. 16:8; Hos. 2:15youth,
The love of your betrothal,
#Deut. 2:7; Jer. 2:6When you went after Me in the wilderness,
In a land not sown.
3#(Ex. 19:5, 6; Deut. 7:6; 14:2)Israel was holiness to the Lord,
#James 1:18; Rev. 14:4The firstfruits of His increase.
#Jer. 12:14All that devour him will offend;
Disaster will #Gen. 12:3; Is. 41:11; Jer. 30:15, 16; 50:7come upon them,” says 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:
#Is. 5:4; Mic. 6:3“What injustice have your fathers found in Me,
That they have gone far from Me,
#2 Kin. 17:15; Jer. 8:19; (Jon. 2:8); Rom. 1:21Have followed idols,
And have become idolaters?
6Neither did they say, ‘Where is the Lord,
Who #Ex. 20:2; Is. 63:11brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who led us through #Deut. 8:15; 32:10the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and pits,
Through a land of drought and the shadow of death,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no one dwelt?’
7I brought you into #Num. 13:27a bountiful country,
To eat its fruit and its goodness.
But when you entered, you #Num. 35:33; Is. 24:5; Hos. 4:3defiled My land
And made My heritage an abomination.
8The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the #Rom. 2:20law did not know Me;
The rulers also transgressed against Me;
#Jer. 23:13The prophets prophesied by Baal,
And walked after things that do not profit.
9“Therefore #Jer. 2:35; Ezek. 20:35, 36; Mic. 6:2I will yet bring charges against you,” says the Lord,
“And against your children’s children I will bring charges.
10For pass beyond the coasts of Cyprus and see,
Send to Kedar and consider diligently,
And see if there has been such a #Jer. 18:13thing.
11#Mic. 4:5Has a nation changed its gods,
Which are #Ps. 115:4; Is. 37:19not gods?
#Ps. 106:20; Rom. 1:23But My people have changed their Glory
For what does not profit.
12Be astonished, O heavens, at this,
And be horribly afraid;
Be very desolate,” says the Lord.
13“For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the #Ps. 36:9; Jer. 17:13; (John 4:14)fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.
14“Is Israel #(Ex. 4:22)a servant?
Is he a homeborn slave?
Why is he plundered?
15#Is. 1:7; Jer. 50:17The young lions roared at him, and growled;
They made his land waste;
His cities are burned, without inhabitant.
16Also the people of Noph and #2 Kin. 23:29–37; Jer. 43:7–9Tahpanhes
Have broken the crown of your head.
17#Jer. 4:18Have you not brought this on yourself,
In that you have forsaken the Lord your God
When #Deut. 32:10He led you in the way?
18And now why take #Is. 30:1–3the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of #Josh. 13:3Sihor?
Or why take the road to #Hos. 5:13Assyria,
To drink the waters of the River?
19Your own wickedness will #Is. 3:9; Jer. 4:18; Hos. 5:5correct you,
And your backslidings will rebuke you.
Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing
That you have forsaken the Lord your God,
And the fear of Me is not in you,”
Says the Lord God of hosts.
20“For of old I have #Lev. 26:13broken your yoke and burst your bonds;
And #Ex. 19:8; Josh. 24:18; Judg. 10:16; 1 Sam. 12:10 you said, ‘I will not transgress,’
When #Deut. 12:2; Is. 57:5, 7; Jer. 3:6on every high hill and under every green tree
You lay down, #Ex. 34:15playing the harlot.
21Yet I had #Ex. 15:17; Ps. 44:2; 80:8; Is. 5:2planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality.
How then have you turned before Me
Into #Deut. 32:32; Is. 5:4the degenerate plant of an alien vine?
22For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap,
Yet your iniquity is #Job 14:16, 17; Jer. 17:1, 2; Hos. 13:12marked before Me,” says the Lord God.
23“How#Prov. 30:12 can you say, ‘I am not polluted,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
See your way in the valley;
Know what you have done:
You are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways,
24A wild donkey used to the wilderness,
That sniffs at the wind in her desire;
In her time of mating, who can turn her away?
All those who seek her will not weary themselves;
In her month they will find her.
25Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst.
But you said, #Is. 57:10; Jer. 18:12‘There is no hope.
No! For I have loved #Jer. 3:13aliens, and after them I will go.’
26“As the thief is ashamed when he is found out,
So is the house of Israel ashamed;
They and their kings and their princes, and their priests and their #Is. 28:7; Jer. 5:31prophets,
27Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
And to a #Jer. 3:9stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’
For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face.
But in the time of their #Judg. 10:10; Is. 26:16; Hos. 5:15trouble
They will say, ‘Arise and save us.’
28But #Deut. 32:37; Judg. 10:14where are your gods that you have made for yourselves?
Let them arise,
If they #Is. 45:20can save you in the time of your trouble;
For #2 Kin. 17:30, 31; Jer. 11:13according to the number of your cities
Are your gods, O Judah.
29“Why will you plead with Me?
You all have transgressed against Me,” says the Lord.
30“In vain I have #Is. 9:13chastened your children;
They #Is. 1:5; Jer. 5:3; 7:28received no correction.
Your sword has #Neh. 9:26; Jer. 26:20–24; Acts 7:52; 1 Thess. 2:15devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.
31“O generation, see the word of the Lord!
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a land of darkness?
Why do My people say, ‘We are lords;
#Deut. 32:15; Jer. 2:20, 25We will come no more to You’?
32Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people #Ps. 106:21; Is. 17:10; Jer. 3:21; 13:25; Hos. 8:14have forgotten Me days without number.
33“Why do you beautify your way to seek love?
Therefore you have also taught
The wicked women your ways.
34Also on your skirts is found
#2 Kin. 21:16; 24:4; Ps. 106:38; Jer. 7:6; 19:4The blood of the lives of the poor innocents.
I have not found it by secret search,
But plainly on all these things.
35#Jer. 2:23, 29; Mal. 2:17; 3:8Yet you say, ‘Because I am innocent,
Surely His anger shall turn from me.’
Behold, #Jer. 2:9I will plead My case against you,
#(Prov. 28:13; 1 John 1:8, 10)Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
36#Jer. 31:22; Hos. 5:13; 12:1Why do you gad about so much to change your way?
Also #Is. 30:3you shall be ashamed of Egypt #2 Chr. 28:16as you were ashamed of Assyria.
37Indeed you will go forth from him
With your hands on #2 Sam. 13:19; Jer. 14:3, 4your head;
For the Lord has rejected your trusted allies,
And you will #Jer. 37:7–10not prosper by them.
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Jeremiah 2: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 2
2
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
2 "Go, and cry out to the ears of Jerusalem, saying: Thus says the Lord: I have remembered you, taking pity on your youth and on the charity of your betrothal, when you followed me into the desert, into a land which is not sown.
3 Israel is holy to the Lord, the first of his fruits. All those who devour him commit an offense. Evils will overwhelm them, says the Lord."
4 Listen to the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all you families of the house of Israel.
5 Thus says the Lord: "What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they would draw far away from me, and would walk after emptiness, and would become empty?
6 And they have not said: 'Where is the Lord, who caused us to ascend from the land of Egypt; who led us through the desert, through an uninhabited and impassable land, through a land of drought and of the image of death, through a land in which no one walked and in which no man lived?'
7 And I led you into the land of Carmel, so that you would eat from its fruit and from its excellence. And having entered it, you defiled my land, and you turned my inheritance into an abomination.
8 The priests have not sad: 'Where is the Lord?' And those who held the law did not know me. And the pastors betrayed me. And the prophets prophesied in Baal and followed idols.
9 Because of this, I will still contend in judgment against you, says the Lord, and I will dispute with your sons.
10 Cross over to the isles of Kittim, and gaze. And send to Kedar, and consider diligently. And see if anything like this has ever been done.
11 See if a nation has ever changed their gods, though certainly those are not gods. Yet truly, my people have exchanged their glory for an idol.
12 Be astonished at this, O heavens, and be utterly desolate, O gates of heaven, says the Lord.
13 For my people have done two evils. They have forsaken me, the Fountain of living water, and they have dug for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that are unable to hold water.
14 Is Israel a servant, or one born into slavery? Then why has he become a prey?
15 The lions have roared over him, and they have uttered their voice. They have set his land in solitude; his cities have been burned up, and there is no one who lives in them.
16 Likewise, the sons of Memphis and of Tahpanhes have defiled you, even to the top of the head.
17 Has this not been done to you because you abandoned the Lord your God, in that time when he was leading you by the way?
18 And now what do you want from the way of Egypt, but to drink their turbid water? And what do you want from the way of the Assyrians, but to drink the water of their river?
19 Your own malice will reprove you, and your own apostasy will rebuke you! But know and perceive this: it is an evil and bitter thing for you to forsake the Lord your God, and to be without my fear within you, says the Lord, the God of hosts.
20 From ancient times, you have broken my yoke; you have torn apart my bonds, and you have said, 'I will not serve.' For on every high hill, and under every leafy tree, you have been debased, O harlot.
21 Yet I planted you as an elect vineyard, with only true seed. Then how have you been turned away from me, toward that which is depraved, O strange vineyard?
22 Even if you wash yourself with soap, and increase your use of herbal soaps, you are still stained by your iniquity in my sight, says the Lord God.
23 How can you say: 'I have not been polluted. I have not walked after Baal?' Consider your ways in the steep valley. Acknowledge what you have done, so that you may be like a swift runner, following his course.
24 A wild donkey accustomed to solitude, out of the desire in his soul, caught the scent of his lover. Now nothing will turn him away from her. All those who seek her will not cease. But they will find her in her menstruation.
25 You should keep your foot from being naked, and your throat from being thirsty. But you have said: 'I have lost hope. I will not do it. For certainly, I have loved strangers, and I will walk after them.'
26 In the same way that a thief is confounded when he has been apprehended, so the house of Israel has been confounded, they and their kings, their leaders and priests and prophets.
27 For they say to a piece of wood, 'You are my father,' and to a stone, 'You have conceived me.' They have turned their back to me, and not their face. But in the time of their affliction, they will say: 'Rise up and deliver us.'
28 Where are your gods that you made for yourselves? Let them rise up and deliver you in the time of your affliction. For certainly, your gods were like the number of your cities, O Judah.
29 Why do you want to contend against me in judgment? You have all forsaken me, says the Lord.
30 I have struck your children to no effect; they have not accepted discipline. Your own sword has devoured your prophets. Your generation is like a raging lion.
31 Consider the word of the Lord. Have I become like a wilderness to Israel, or like a land late to bear fruit? Then why have my people said, 'We are withdrawing; we will no longer approach you'?
32 Can a virgin forget her ornament, or a bride the covering across her breast? Yet truly, my people have forgotten me, for innumerable days.
33 Why are you striving to claim that your way is good, as if to seek my love, when all the while you are also displaying your malice by your own way,
34 and in your armpits there is found the blood of poor and innocent souls? I have found them, not in ditches, but everywhere that I mentioned previously.
35 And you have said: 'I am innocent and without sin. And because of this, let your fury be turned away from me.' Behold, I will contend with you in judgment, because you have said: 'I have not sinned.'
36 How exceedingly vile you have become, repeating your ways again and again! And so, you will be ashamed of Egypt, just as you were ashamed of Assur.
37 For you will also depart from that place, and your hand will be upon your head. For the Lord has crushed your confidence, and you will have nothing prosperous by it."
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