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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Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright 1996, 2004, 2007, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation.
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Jeremiah 2
2
1And there is a word of Jehovah unto me, saying,
2‘Go, and thou hast called in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus said Jehovah: I have remembered for thee The kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, Thy going after Me in a wilderness, in a land not sown.
3Holy [is] Israel to Jehovah, The first-fruit of His increase, All consuming him are guilty, Evil cometh in unto them, an affirmation of Jehovah.
4Hear a word of Jehovah, O house of Jacob, And all ye families of the house of Israel.
5Thus said Jehovah: What — have your fathers found in Me perversity, That they have gone far off from Me, And go after the vanity, and become vain,
6And have not said, Where [is] Jehovah, Who bringeth us up out of the land of Egypt, Who leadeth us in a wilderness, In a land of deserts and pits, In a dry land, and of death-shade, In a land — none hath passed through it, Nor dwelt hath man there?’
7Yea, I bring you in to a land of fruitful fields, To eat its fruit and its goodness, And ye come in and defile My land, And Mine inheritance have made an abomination.
8The priests have not said, ‘Where [is] Jehovah?’ And those handling the law have not known Me. And the shepherds transgressed against Me, And the prophets have prophesied by Baal, And after those who profit not have gone.
9Therefore, yet I plead with you, An affirmation of Jehovah, And with your sons' sons I plead.
10For, pass to the isles of Chittim, and see, And to Kedar send, and consider well, And see if there hath been like this:
11Hath a nation changed gods? (And they [are] no gods!) And My people hath changed its honour For that which doth not profit.
12Be astonished, ye heavens, at this, Yea, be frightened, be greatly wasted, An affirmation of Jehovah.
13For two evils hath My people done, Me they have forsaken, a fountain of living waters, To hew out for themselves wells — broken wells, That contain not the waters.
14A servant [is] Israel? Is he a child of the house? Wherefore hath he been for a prey?
15Against him roar do young lions, They have given forth their voice, And make his land become a desolation, His cities have been burnt without inhabitant.
16Also sons of Noph and Tahapanes Consume thee — the crown of the head!
17Dost thou not do this to thyself? [By] thy forsaking Jehovah thy God, At the time He is leading thee in the way?
18And now, what — to thee in the way of Egypt, To drink the waters of Sihor? And what — to thee in the way of Asshur, To drink the waters of the River?
19Instruct thee doth thy wickedness, And thy backslidings reprove thee, Know and see that an evil and a bitter thing [Is] thy forsaking Jehovah thy God, And My fear not being on thee, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah of Hosts.
20For from of old thou hast broken thy yoke, Drawn away thy bands, and sayest, ‘I do not serve,’ For, on every high height, and under every green tree, Thou art wandering — a harlot.
21And I planted thee a choice vine, wholly a true seed, And how hast thou been turned to Me, To the degenerate shoots of a strange vine?
22But though thou dost wash with nitre, And dost multiply to thyself soap, Marked is thine iniquity before Me, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.
23How sayest thou, ‘I have not been defiled, After the Baalim I have not gone?’ See thy way in a valley, know what thou hast done, A swift dromedary winding her ways,
24A wild ass accustomed to a wilderness, In the desire of her soul she hath swallowed up wind, Her meeting — who doth turn her back? None seeking her do weary themselves, In her month they find her.
25Withhold thy foot from being unshod, And thy throat from thirst, And thou sayest, ‘It is incurable, No, for I have loved strangers, and after them I go.’
26As the shame of a thief when he is found, So put to shame have been the house of Israel, They, their kings, their heads, And their priests, and their prophets,
27Saying to wood, ‘My father [art] thou!’ And to a stone, ‘Thou hast brought me forth,’ For they turned unto me the back and not the face, And in the time of their vexation, They say, ‘Arise Thou, and save us.’
28And where [are] thy gods, that thou hast made to thyself? Let them arise, if they may save thee, In the time of thy vexation, For — the number of thy cities have been thy gods, O Judah,
29Why do ye strive with Me? All of you have transgressed against Me, An affirmation of Jehovah.
30In vain I have smitten your sons, Instruction they have not accepted, Devoured hath your sword your prophets, As a destroying lion.
31O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah: A wilderness have I been to Israel? A land of thick darkness? Wherefore have My people said, ‘We mourned, We come not in again unto Thee.’
32Doth a virgin forget her ornaments? A bride her bands? And My people have forgotten Me days without number.
33What — dost thou make pleasing thy ways to seek love? Therefore even the wicked thou hast taught thy ways.
34Also in thy skirts hath been found the blood of innocent needy souls, Not by digging have I found them, but upon all these.
35And thou sayest, ‘Because I have been innocent, Surely turned back hath His anger from me?’ Lo, I have been judged with thee, Because of thy saying, ‘I have not sinned.’
36What? thou art very vile to repeat thy way, Even of Egypt thou art ashamed, As thou hast been ashamed of Asshur,
37Also from this thou goest out, And thy hands on thy head, For Jehovah hath kicked at thy confidences, And thou dost not give prosperity to them!
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