Jeremiah 2
2
Judah Was Not Faithful
1The Lord’s message came to me: 2“Jeremiah, go and speak to the people of Jerusalem. Tell them that this is what the Lord says:
“‘At the time you were a young nation, you were faithful to me.
You followed me like a young bride.
You followed me through the desert,
through a land that had never been used for farmland.
3The people of Israel were a holy gift to the Lord.
They were the first fruit he gathered.
Any people who tried to hurt them were judged guilty.
Bad things happened to those wicked people.’”
This message is from the Lord.
4Family of Jacob, hear the Lord’s message.
Tribes of Israel, listen.
5This is what the Lord says:
“Do you think that I was not fair to your ancestors?
Is that why they turned away from me?
Your ancestors worshiped worthless idols,
and they became worthless themselves.
6Your ancestors did not say,
‘The Lord brought us out of Egypt.
He led us through the desert,
through a dry and rocky land.
He led us through a dark and dangerous land.
No one lives there;
people don’t even travel through that land.
But the Lord led us through that land.
So where is he now?’
7“I brought you into a good land,
a land filled with many good things.
I did this so that you could eat the fruit and crops that grow there.
But you only made my land ‘dirty.’
I gave that land to you,
but you made it a bad place.
8“The priests did not ask,
‘Where is the Lord?’
The people who know the law did not want to know me.
The leaders of the people of Israel turned against me.
The prophets spoke#2:8 spoke Or “prophesied.” in the name of the false god Baal.
They worshiped worthless idols.”
9The Lord says, “So now I will accuse you again,
and I will also accuse your grandchildren.
10Go across the sea to the Islands of Kittim.#2:10 Islands of Kittim The name means the Island of Cyprus. But the name was often used for the other islands and coastlands of the Mediterranean Sea.
Send someone to the land of Kedar.
Look very carefully.
See if anyone has ever done anything like this.
11Has any nation ever stopped worshiping their old gods
so that they could worship new gods?
No! And their gods are not really gods at all!
But my people stopped worshiping their glorious God
and started worshiping idols that are worth nothing.
12“Skies, be shocked at what happened!
Shake with great fear!”
This message is from the Lord.
13“My people have done two evil things.
They turned away from me,
and they dug their own water cisterns.#2:13 they dug … cisterns That is, they made false gods.
I am the source of living water;
those cisterns are broken and cannot hold water.
14“Israel is not a slave, is he?
He was not born a slave, was he?
Then why did the enemy carry him away as a captive?
15Like a lion the enemy has roared at Israel.
They have destroyed your#2:15 your Hebrew, “his,” referring to “Israel,” which here means his people, as in verse 16. land.
Your cities have been burned,
and no one is left in them.
16People from Memphis and Tahpanhes#2:16 Memphis and Tahpanhes Two cities in Egypt.
have smashed the top of your head.
17This trouble is your own fault.
The Lord your God was leading you the right way,#2:17 was leading … way This is not in the ancient Greek version.
but you turned away from him.
18People of Judah, think about this:
How did it help you to go to Egypt and drink from the Nile River?
How did it help you to go to Assyria and drink from the Euphrates River?
19You have done wrong,
and that will only bring punishment to you.
Trouble will come to you,
and it will teach you a lesson.
Think about it and understand how bad it is to turn away from the Lord your God.
It is wrong not to fear and respect me.”
This message is from Lord GOD All-Powerful.
20“Judah, long ago you broke free from me,
like an ox that breaks its yoke and the ropes that held it.
You said to me, ‘I will not serve you!’
On every high hill and under every green tree,
you acted like a prostitute.#2:20 On every … prostitute This means the people worshiped their false gods in these places.
21Judah, I planted you like a special vine.
You were all from good seed.
How did you turn into a different vine
that grows bad fruit?
22Even if you wash yourself with lye,
even if you use much soap,
I can still see your guilt.”
This message is from the Lord GOD.
23“Judah, how can you say to me,
‘I am not guilty because I have not worshiped the Baal idols’?
Think about what you did in the valley.
Think about what you have done.
You are like a fast she-camel
that runs from place to place.
24You are like a wild donkey that lives in the desert.
At mating time, she sniffs the wind.
No one can control her when she is in heat.
At mating time, every male that wants her will get her.
She is easy to find.
25Judah, stop chasing after idols!
Stop wanting those other gods.
But you say, ‘It is no use! I cannot stop!
I love those other gods.
I can’t stop chasing them.’
26“A thief is ashamed
when people catch him stealing.
The people of Israel should be ashamed too
and so should their kings and leaders, priests and prophets.
27They say to pieces of wood,
‘You are my father.’
They say to a rock,
‘You gave birth to me.’
All these people will be ashamed.
They don’t look to me for help.
They have turned their backs to me.
But when the people of Judah get into trouble, they say to me,
‘Come and save us!’
28But where are the idols you made for yourselves?
Let’s see if they come and save you when you are in trouble!
People of Judah, you have as many idols
as you have cities!
29“Why do you argue with me?
You have all turned against me.”
This message was from the Lord.
30“I punished you people of Judah,
but it did not help.
You did not come back
when you were punished.
With your swords you killed the prophets who came to you.
Like a dangerous lion, you killed the prophets.”
31People of this generation,
pay attention to the Lord’s message!
“Have I been like a desert to the people of Israel?
Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to them?
My people say, ‘We are free to go our own way.
We will not come back to you!’
Why do they say these things?
32A young woman does not forget her jewelry.
A bride does not forget to wear her wedding dress.
But my people have forgotten me
too many times to count.
33“Judah, you have become so good at finding lovers.
Even the worst women could learn some evil ways from you.
34You have blood on your hands!
It is the blood of poor, innocent people.
You did not catch them breaking into your house.
You killed them for no reason!
35But still, you say, ‘I am innocent.
God is not angry with me.’
So I will also judge you guilty of lying, because you say,
‘I have done nothing wrong.’
36You go from one place to another looking for help,
always changing your mind.
But Egypt will also disappoint you,
just as Assyria did.
37So you will eventually leave Egypt too,
and you will hide your face in shame.
You trusted these countries,
but the Lord rejected them,
so they cannot help you win.
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© 1987, 2004 Bible League International
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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