Jeremiah 2
2
The Lord’s Case against His People
1The Lord gave me another message. He said, 2“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.
3In those days Israel was holy to the Lord,
the first of his children.#2:3 Hebrew the firstfruits of his harvest.
All who harmed his people were declared guilty,
and disaster fell on them.
I, the Lord, have spoken!”
4Listen to the word of the Lord, people of Jacob—all you families of Israel! 5This 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.
6They 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?’
7“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.
8The priests did not ask,
‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who taught my word ignored me,
the rulers turned against me,
and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal,
wasting their time on worthless idols.
9Therefore, I will bring my case against you,”
says the Lord.
“I will even bring charges against your children’s children
in the years to come.
10“Go west and look in the land of Cyprus#2:10 Hebrew Kittim.;
go east and search through the land of Kedar.
Has anyone ever heard of anything
as strange as this?
11Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones,
even though they are not gods at all?
Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God#2:11 Hebrew their glory.
for worthless idols!
12The heavens are shocked at such a thing
and shrink back in horror and dismay,”
says the Lord.
13“For my people have done two evil things:
They have abandoned me—
the fountain of living water.
And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns
that can hold no water at all!
The Results of Israel’s Sin
14“Why has Israel become a slave?
Why has he been carried away as plunder?
15Strong lions have roared against him,
and the land has been destroyed.
The towns are now in ruins,
and no one lives in them anymore.
16Egyptians, marching from their cities of Memphis#2:16 Hebrew Noph. and Tahpanhes,
have destroyed Israel’s glory and power.
17And you have brought this upon yourselves
by rebelling against the Lord your God,
even though he was leading you on the way!
18“What have you gained by your alliances with Egypt
and your covenants with Assyria?
What good to you are the streams of the Nile#2:18a Hebrew of Shihor, a branch of the Nile River.
or the waters of the Euphrates River?#2:18b Hebrew the river?
19Your wickedness will bring its own punishment.
Your turning from me will shame you.
You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is
to abandon the Lord your God and not to fear him.
I, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!
20“Long ago I broke the yoke that oppressed you
and tore away the chains of your slavery,
but still you said,
‘I will not serve you.’
On every hill and under every green tree,
you have prostituted yourselves by bowing down to idols.
21But I was the one who planted you,
choosing a vine of the purest stock—the very best.
How did you grow into this corrupt wild vine?
22No amount of soap or lye can make you clean.
I still see the stain of your guilt.
I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!
Israel, an Unfaithful Wife
23“You say, ‘That’s not true!
I haven’t worshiped the images of Baal!’
But how can you say that?
Go and look in any valley in the land!
Face the awful sins you have done.
You are like a restless female camel
desperately searching for a mate.
24You are like a wild donkey,
sniffing the wind at mating time.
Who can restrain her lust?
Those who desire her don’t need to search,
for she goes running to them!
25When will you stop running?
When will you stop panting after other gods?
But you say, ‘Save your breath.
I’m in love with these foreign gods,
and I can’t stop loving them now!’
26“Israel is like a thief
who feels shame only when he gets caught.
They, their kings, officials, priests, and prophets—
all are alike in this.
27To an image carved from a piece of wood they say,
‘You are my father.’
To an idol chiseled from a block of stone they say,
‘You are my mother.’
They turn their backs on me,
but in times of trouble they cry out to me,
‘Come and save us!’
28But why not call on these gods you have made?
When trouble comes, let them save you if they can!
For you have as many gods
as there are towns in Judah.
29Why do you accuse me of doing wrong?
You are the ones who have rebelled,”
says the Lord.
30“I have punished your children,
but they did not respond to my discipline.
You yourselves have killed your prophets
as a lion kills its prey.
31“O my people, listen to the words of the Lord!
Have I been like a desert to Israel?
Have I been to them a land of darkness?
Why then do my people say, ‘At last we are free from God!
We don’t need him anymore!’
32Does a young woman forget her jewelry,
or a bride her wedding dress?
Yet for years on end
my people have forgotten me.
33“How you plot and scheme to win your lovers.
Even an experienced prostitute could learn from you!
34Your clothing is stained with the blood of the innocent and the poor,
though you didn’t catch them breaking into your houses!
35And yet you say,
‘I have done nothing wrong.
Surely God isn’t angry with me!’
But now I will punish you severely
because you claim you have not sinned.
36First here, then there—
you flit from one ally to another asking for help.
But your new friends in Egypt will let you down,
just as Assyria did before.
37In despair, you will be led into exile
with your hands on your heads,
for the Lord has rejected the nations you trust.
They will not help you at all.
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Jeremiah 2: NLT
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Jeremiah 2
2
Jeremiah 2
1¶ Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
2Go and cry out in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord: I remember thee, the mercy of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou didst go after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
3Israel was holiness unto the Lord and the firstfruits of his increase; all that devour him shall be found guilty; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord.
4Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel;
5thus hath the Lord said, What iniquity have your fathers found in me that they are gone far from me and have walked after vanity and are become vain?
6Neither did they say, 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?
7And 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 my heritage an abomination.
8The priests did not say, Where is the Lord? and those that handled the law did not know me; the pastors also rebelled against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal and walked after things that do not profit.
9¶ Therefore I will yet enter into judgment with you, saith the Lord, and I will plead with your children’s children.
10For pass over the isles of Chittim and see; and send unto Kedar and consider diligently and see if there be such a thing.
11Has a nation changed their gods? Even though they are not gods. But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.
12Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this; and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, said the Lord.
13For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters to hew them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
14¶ Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn slave? Why has he been given over as a prey?
15The young lions roared upon him and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are deserted without inhabitant.
16Even the sons of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.
17Could this not have come upon you peradventure because thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way?
18And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt? to drink the waters of the Nile? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria? to drink the waters of the river Eufrates?
19Thine own wickedness shall chastise thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee; know therefore and see how evil and bitter it is, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God and that my fear is lacking in thee, saith the Lord GOD of the hosts.
20¶ For of old time I have broken thy yoke and burst thy bands; and thou didst say, I will not serve sin. With all this, upon every high hill and under every green tree thou dost wander, playing the harlot.
21Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, a seed of Truth, all of her; how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?
22For though thou wash thee with nitre and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is sealed before me, saith the Lord GOD.
23How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? See thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
24a wild ass used to the wilderness that breathes according to the desire of her soul; from her lust, who shall stop her? All those that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.
25Withhold thy foot from being unshod and thy throat from thirst; but thou didst say, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them I will go.
26As the thief is ashamed when he is taken, so shall the house of Israel be ashamed: they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets,
27saying to a piece of firewood, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they say, Arise and deliver us.
28But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? Let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble, for according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah.
29¶ Why will ye plead with me? Ye have all rebelled against me, saith the Lord.
30I have smitten your children in vain; they have received no correction; your own sword has devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
31O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? Why do my people say, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?
32Shall the virgin, perchance, forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
33Why dost thou trim thy way to seek love? therefore thou hast also taught the wicked ones thy ways.
34Even in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents; thou didst not find them in any trespass, but by all these things.
35Yet thou didst say, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will enter into judgment with thee because thou hast said, I did not sin.
36Why dost thou talk so much, changing thy ways? Thou shalt also be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
37Thou shalt also go forth from him with thine hands upon thine head; for the Lord has rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.
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The Jubilee Bible 2000 (JUB) by Ransom Press International