Jeremiah 2
2
Israel's Unfaithfulness
1The Lord told me 2to go to Jerusalem and tell everyone that he had said:
When you were my young bride,
you loved me and followed me
through the barren desert.
3You belonged to me alone,
like the first part of the harvest,
and I severely punished
those who mistreated you.
4Listen, people of Israel,#2.4 Israel: After the nation was divided, the northern kingdom was called “Israel,” and the southern kingdom was called “Judah” (see 1 Kings 12.1-20). In 722 b.c. the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom, and Judah was all that was left. And so in the book of Jeremiah the name “Israel” is most often used of the southern kingdom.
5and I, the Lord, will speak.
I was never unfair
to your ancestors,
but they left me
and became worthless
by following worthless idols.
6Your ancestors refused
to ask for my help,
though I had rescued them
from Egypt
and led them through
a treacherous, barren desert,
where no one lives
or dares to travel.
7I brought you here to my land,
where food is abundant,
but you made my land filthy
with your sins.
8The priests who teach my laws
don't care to know me.
Your leaders rebel against me;
your prophets
give messages from Baal
and worship false gods.
The Lord Accuses His People
9I will take you to court
and accuse you
and your descendants
* 10of a crime that no nation
has ever committed before.
Just ask anyone, anywhere,
from the eastern deserts
to the islands in the west.
11You will find that no nation
has ever abandoned its gods
even though they were false.
I am the true and glorious God,
but you have rejected me
to worship idols.
12Tell the heavens
to tremble with fear!
13You, my people, have sinned
in two ways—
you have rejected me, the source
of life-giving water,
and you've tried to collect water
in cracked and leaking pits
dug in the ground.
14People of Israel,
you weren't born slaves;
you were captured in war.
15Enemies roared like lions
and destroyed your land;
towns lie burned and empty.
16Soldiers from the Egyptian towns
of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have cracked your skulls.
17It's all your own fault!
You stopped following me,
the Lord your God,
18and you trusted the power
of Egypt and Assyria.#2.18 trusted … Assyria: Hebrew “went to Egypt and drank from the Shihor River, and you went to Assyria and drank from the Euphrates River.”
19Your own sins will punish you,
because it was a bitter mistake
for you to reject me
without fear of punishment.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have spoken.
20Long ago you left me
and broke all ties between us,
refusing to be my servant.
Now you worship other gods
by having sex
on hilltops or in the shade
of large trees.#2.20 having sex … trees: In some Canaanite religions, worshipers had sex with temple prostitutes, who represented their gods; many of the Canaanite places of worship were on hilltops or under large trees.
21You were a choice grapevine,
but you have become
a wild, useless vine.
Israel Is Stained with Guilt
22The Lord said:
People of Israel,
you are stained with guilt,
and no soap or bleach
can wash it away.
23You deny your sins
and say, “We aren't unclean.
We haven't worshiped Baal.”#2.23 Baal: The Hebrew text has “the Baals,” probably because the god Baal was believed to be present in different forms at different places of worship.
But think about what you do
in Hinnom Valley.#2.23 Hinnom Valley: Hebrew “the valley” (see 7.31-32; 19.1-6).
You run back and forth
like young camels,
as you rush to worship one idol
after another.
24You are a female donkey
sniffing the desert air,
wanting to mate
with just anyone.
You are an easy catch!
25Your shoes are worn out,
and your throat is parched
from running here and there
to worship foreign gods.
“Stop!” I shouted,
but you replied, “No!
I love those gods too much.”
26You and your leaders
are more disgraceful
than thieves—
you and your kings,
your priests and prophets
27worship stone idols
and sacred poles
as if they had created you
and had given you life.
You have rejected me,
but when you're in trouble,
you cry to me for help.
28Go cry to the gods you made!
There should be enough of them
to save you,
because Judah has as many gods
as it has towns.
Israel Rebels against the Lord
29The Lord said to Israel:
You accuse me of not saving you,
but I say you have rebelled.
30I tried punishing you,
but you refused
to come back to me,
and like fierce lions
you killed my prophets.
31Now listen to what I say!
Did I abandon you in the desert
or surround you with darkness?
You are my people,
yet you have told me,
“We'll do what we want,
and we refuse
to worship you!”
32A bride could not forget
to wear her jewelry
to her wedding,
but you have forgotten me
day after day.
33You are so clever
at finding lovers
that you could give lessons
to a prostitute.
34You killed innocent people
for no reason at all.
And even though their blood
can be seen on your clothes,
35you claim to be innocent,
and you want me to stop
being angry with you.
So I'll take you to court,
and we'll see who is right.
36When Assyria let you down,
you quickly ran to Egypt,
but you'll find no help there,
37and you will leave
in great sadness.#2.37 in great sadness: Or “as prisoners.”
I won't let you find help
from those you trust.
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Jeremiah 2: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Jeremiah 2
2
Israel Accused of Apostasy
1The word of the Lord came to me: 2“Go and announce directly to Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says:
I remember the loyalty of your youth,#Ezk 16:8,60; Hs 2:15; Rv 2:4
your love as a bride —
how you followed me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.
3Israel was holy to the Lord,#Dt 7:6
the firstfruits of his harvest.#Jms 1:18
All who ate of it found themselves guilty;#Gn 12:3; Ps 105:14–15; Is 41:11
disaster came on them.”
This is the Lord’s declaration.
4Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob
and all families of the house of Israel.
5This is what the Lord says:
What fault did your ancestors find in me#Is 5:4; Mc 6:3
that they went so far from me,
followed worthless idols,#2Kg 17:15; Jr 2:25; Hs 2:5
and became worthless themselves?#Ps 115:8; Hs 9:10; Rm 1:21
6They stopped asking, “Where is the Lord#Jdg 6:13; Jb 35:10
who brought us from the land of Egypt,
who led us through the wilderness,#Dt 8:15; 32:10
through a land of deserts and ravines,
through a land of drought and darkness,#2:6 Or shadow of death
a land no one traveled through
and where no one lived?”
7I brought you to a fertile land#Ex 3:8; Dt 8:7–10; Jr 4:26
to eat its fruit and bounty,
but after you entered, you defiled my land;#Nm 35:33; Ezk 36:17
you made my inheritance#Jr 16:18 detestable.
8The priests quit asking, “Where is the Lord?”
The experts in the law no longer knew me,#Hs 4:6; Mal 2:7; Lk 11:52
and the rulers#Jr 23:1–4; Ezk 34 rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by#2:8 = in the name of Baal#Jr 2:23; 9:14
and followed useless idols.#Hab 2:8
9Therefore, I will bring a case against you again.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
I will bring a case against your children’s children.#Ex 20:5; Is 3:13; Mc 6:1–8
10Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus#2:10 Lit to the islands of Kittim#Gn 10:4; Nm 24:24; Is 23:1,12; Am 6:2; Ac 13:4 and take a look.
Send someone to Kedar#Ps 120:5 and consider carefully;
see if there has ever been anything like this:
11Has a nation ever exchanged its gods?#Mc 4:5
(But they were not gods!#Jr 16:20; Gl 4:8)
Yet my people have exchanged their#2:11 Alt Hb tradition reads my Glory
for useless idols.#Ps 106:20; Hs 4:7; Rm 1:23; 1Pt 1:18
12Be appalled at this, heavens;#Dt 32:1; Is 1:2; Mc 6:1
be shocked and utterly desolated!
This is the Lord’s declaration.
13For my people have committed a double evil:
They have abandoned me,#Jdg 10:13
the fountain of living water,#Ps 36:9; Jr 17:13; Jn 4:10
and dug cisterns for themselves —
cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.#Is 55:2; Gl 1:6–7
Consequences of Apostasy
14Is Israel a slave?
Was he born into slavery?#2:14 Lit born of a house
Why else has he become a prey?
15The young lions have roared at him;#Is 5:29
they have roared loudly.
They have laid waste his land.#Is 1:7
His cities are in ruins, without inhabitants.
16The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes#Jr 44:1; 46:14,19; Ezk 30:13,16,18
have also broken your skull.
17Have you not brought this on yourself#Jr 4:18
by abandoning the Lord your God
while he was leading you along the way?
18Now what will you gain
by traveling along the way to Egypt#Is 30:1–2; 31:1
to drink the water of the Nile?#2:18 Lit of Shihor
What will you gain
by traveling along the way to Assyria#Hs 7:11
to drink the water of the Euphrates?#Is 8:7
19Your own evil will discipline you;#Is 3:9; Hs 5:5
your own apostasies will reprimand you.
Recognize#2:19 Lit Know and see how evil and bitter#Jr 4:18 it is
for you to abandon the Lord your God
and to have no fear of me.
This is the declaration of the Lord God of Armies.
20For long ago I#2:20 LXX reads you broke your yoke;#Lv 26:13; Is 10:27; Nah 1:13
I#2:20 LXX reads you tore off your chains.
You insisted, “I will not serve!”
On every high hill
and under every green tree#Dt 12:2; 1Kg 14:23; 2Kg 17:10; Is 57:5; Jr 3:6; Ezk 6:13; Hs 4:13
you lay down like a prostitute.#Ezk 16:28; Hs 2:5
21I planted you, a choice vine#Gn 49:11; Ps 80:8; Is 5:2
from the very best seed.
How then could you turn into
a degenerate, foreign vine?#Is 5:4
22Even if you wash with lye
and use a great amount of bleach,#2:22 Lit cleansing agent#Ps 51:2,7; Mal 3:2; Eph 5:26
the stain of your iniquity is still in front of me.#Ps 90:8
This is the Lord God’s declaration.
23How can you protest, “I am not defiled;
I have not followed the Baals”?#Jr 2:8; 9:14
Look at your behavior in the valley;
acknowledge what you have done.#Gn 3:13; 1Sm 15:13; Pr 28:13; Jr 3:13; 1Jn 1:8
You are a swift young camel
twisting and turning on her way,
24a wild donkey#Jb 39:5; Hs 8:9 at home#2:24 Lit donkey taught in the wilderness.
She sniffs the wind in the heat of her desire.
Who can control her passion?
All who look for her will not become weary;
they will find her in her mating season.#2:24 Lit her month
25Keep your feet from going bare
and your throat from thirst.
But you say, “It’s hopeless;#Jr 18:12
I love strangers,#Dt 32:16; Jr 3:13
and I will continue to follow them.”
26Like the shame of a thief when he is caught,
so the house of Israel has been put to shame.#Jr 2:36; 6:15; 8:9,12; Rm 6:21
They, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets#Ezr 9:7
27say to a tree, “You are my father,”
and to a stone, “You gave birth to me.”
For they have turned their back to me
and not their face,#2Ch 29:6; Jr 18:17; 32:33; Ezk 8:16
yet in their time of disaster#Jdg 10:9–10; Is 26:16 they beg,
“Rise up and save us!”
28But where are your gods you made for yourself?
Let them rise up and save you#Dt 32:37–38; Jdg 10:14; Is 45:20
in your time of disaster if they can,
for your gods are as numerous as your cities, Judah.
Judgment Deserved
29Why do you bring a case against me?#Jr 2:9
All of you have rebelled against me.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
30I have struck down your children in vain;
they would not accept discipline.#Pr 3:11; Is 1:5; 9:13; Jr 5:3; 17:23; 32:33; Am 4:10
Your own sword has devoured your prophets#Mt 23:34
like a ravaging lion.
31Evil generation,#Dt 1:35; Mt 12:45; Lk 11:29
pay attention to the word of the Lord!
Have I been a wilderness to Israel
or a land of dense darkness?#Jr 50:12; Hs 2:3
Why do my people claim,
“We will go where we want;#2:31 Or “We have taken control, or “We can roam
we will no longer come to you”?
32Can a young woman forget her jewelry#Is 61:10
or a bride her wedding sash?
Yet my people have forgotten me#Ps 106:21; Jr 13:25; 18:15; Ezk 22:12; 23:35; Hs 8:14
for countless days.
33How skillfully you pursue love;
you also teach evil women your ways.
34Moreover, your skirts are stained
with the blood of the innocent poor.#2Kg 21:16; 24:4; Ps 106:38; Jr 19:4; 22:3,17
You did not catch them breaking and entering.#Ex 22:2
But in spite of all these things
35you claim, “I am innocent.#Jb 33:9
His anger is sure to turn away from me.”
But I will certainly judge you
because you have said, “I have not sinned.”#Pr 28:13; 1Jn 1:8,10
36How unstable you are,#Jms 1:8
constantly changing your ways!
You will be put to shame by Egypt#Is 30:3
just as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37Moreover, you will be led out from here
with your hands on your head#2Sm 13:19
since the Lord has rejected those you trust;#1Sm 15:23,26; 2Kg 17:20; Jr 7:29
you will not succeed even with their help.#2:37 Lit with them
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