Jeremiah 2
2
God's Care for Israel
1The LORD told me 2to proclaim this message to everyone in Jerusalem.
“I remember how faithful you were when you were young,
how you loved me when we were first married;
you followed me through the desert,
through a land that had not been sown.
3Israel, you belonged to me alone;
you were my sacred possession.
I sent suffering and disaster
on everyone who hurt you.
I, the LORD, have spoken.”
The Sin of Israel's Ancestors
4Listen to the LORD's message, you descendants of Jacob, you tribes of Israel. 5The LORD says:
“What accusation did your ancestors bring against me?
What made them turn away from me?
They worshipped worthless idols
and became worthless themselves.
6They did not care about me,
even though I rescued them from Egypt
and led them through the wilderness:
a land of deserts and sand dunes,
a dry and dangerous land
where no one lives
and no one will even travel.
7I brought them into a fertile land,
to enjoy its harvests and its other good things.
But instead they ruined my land;
they defiled the country I had given them.
8The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’
My own priests did not know me.
The rulers rebelled against me;
the prophets spoke in the name of Baal
and worshipped useless idols.
The LORD's Case against his People
9“And so I, the LORD, will state my case against my people again.
I will bring charges against their descendants.
10Go west to the island of Cyprus,
and send someone eastwards to the land of Kedar.
You will see that nothing like this has ever happened before.
11No other nation has ever changed its gods,
even though they were not real.
But my people have exchanged me,
the God who has brought them honour,
for gods that can do nothing for them.
12And so I command the sky to shake with horror,
to be amazed and astonished,
13for my people have committed two sins:
they have turned away from me,
the spring of fresh water,
and they have dug cisterns,
cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all.
The Results of Israel's Unfaithfulness
14“Israel is not a slave;
he was not born into slavery.
Why then do his enemies hunt him down?
15They have roared at him like lions;
they have made his land a desert,
and his towns lie in ruins, completely abandoned.
16Yes, those of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have cracked his skull.
17Israel, you brought this on yourself!
You deserted me, the LORD your God,
while I was leading you along the way.
18What do you think you will gain by going to Egypt
to drink water from the Nile?
What do you think you will gain by going to Assyria
to drink water from the Euphrates?
19Your own evil will punish you,
and your turning from me will condemn you.
You will learn how bitter and wrong it is
to abandon me, the LORD your God,
and no longer to remain faithful to me.
I, the Sovereign LORD Almighty, have spoken.”
Israel Refuses to Worship the LORD
20The Sovereign LORD says,
“Israel, long ago you rejected my authority;
you refused to obey me and worship me.
On every high hill
and under every green tree
you worshipped fertility gods.
21I planted you like a choice vine
from the very best seed.
But look what you have become!
You are like a rotten, worthless vine.
22Even if you washed with the strongest soap,
I would still see the stain of your guilt.
23How can you say you have not defiled yourself,
that you have never worshipped Baal?
Look how you sinned in the valley;
see what you have done.
You are like a wild camel on heat,
running about loose,
24rushing into the desert.#2.24 Probable text rushing into the desert; Hebrew a wild donkey used to the desert.
When she is on heat, who can control her?
No male that wants her has to trouble himself;
she is always available at mating time.
25Israel, don't wear your feet out,
or let your throat become dry
from chasing after other gods.
But you say, ‘No! I can't turn back.
I have loved foreign gods
and will go after them.’ ”
Israel Deserves to be Punished
26The LORD says, “Just as a thief is disgraced when caught, so all you people of Israel will be disgraced — your kings and officials, your priests and prophets. 27You will all be disgraced — you that say that a tree is your father and that a rock is your mother. This will happen because you turned away from me instead of turning to me. But when you are in trouble, you ask me to come and save you.
28“Where are the gods that you made for yourselves? When you are in trouble, let them save you — if they can! Judah, you have as many gods as you have cities. 29What is your complaint? Why have you rebelled against me? 30I punished you, but it did no good; you would not let me correct you. Like a raging lion, you have murdered your prophets. 31People of Israel, listen to what I am saying. Have I been like a desert to you, like a dark and dangerous land? Why, then, do you say that you will do as you please, that you will never come back to me? 32Does a young woman forget her jewellery, or a bride her wedding dress? But my people have forgotten me for more days than can be counted. 33You certainly know how to chase after lovers. Even the worst of women can learn from you. 34Your clothes are stained with the blood of the poor and innocent, not with the blood of burglars.
“But in spite of all this, 35you say, ‘I am innocent; surely the LORD is no longer angry with me.’ But I, the LORD, will punish you because you deny that you have sinned. 36You have cheapened yourself by turning to the gods of other nations. You will be disappointed by Egypt, just as you were by Assyria. 37You will turn away from Egypt, hanging your head in shame. I, the LORD, have rejected those you trust; you will not gain anything from them.”
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Jeremiah 2: GNBDC
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Good News Bible. Scripture taken from the Good News Bible (r) (Today's English Version Second Edition, UK/British Edition). Copyright © 1992 British & Foreign Bible Society. Used by permission.
Yirmeyahu (Jer) 2
2
1The word of Adonai came to me: 2“Go and shout in the ears of Yerushalayim that this is what Adonai says:
‘I remember your devotion when you were young;
how, as a bride, you loved me;
how you followed me through the desert,
through a land not sown.
3“‘Isra’el is set aside for Adonai,
the firstfruits of his harvest;
all who devour him will incur guilt;
evil will befall them,” says Adonai.
4Hear the word of Adonai, house of Ya‘akov
and all families in the house of Isra’el;
5here is what Adonai says:
“What did your ancestors find wrong with me
to make them go so far away from me,
to make them go after nothings
and become themselves nothings?
6They didn’t ask, ‘Where is Adonai,
who brought us out of the land of Egypt,
who led us through the desert,
through a land of wastes and ravines,
through a land of drought and death-dark shadows,
through a land where no one travels
and where no one ever lived?’
7I brought you into a fertile land
to enjoy its fruit and all its good things;
but when you entered, you defiled my land
and made my heritage loathsome.
8The cohanim didn’t ask, ‘Where is Adonai?’
Those who deal with the Torah did not know me,
the people’s shepherds rebelled against me;
the prophets prophesied by Ba‘al
and went after things of no value.
9“So again I state my case against you,” says Adonai,
“and state it against your grandchildren too.
10Cross to the coasts of the Kitti’im and look;
send to Kedar and observe closely;
see if anything like this has happened before:
11has a nation ever exchanged its gods
(and theirs are not gods at all!)?
Yet my people have exchanged their Glory
for something without value.
12Be aghast at this, you heavens!
Shudder in absolute horror!” says Adonai.
13“For my people have committed two evils:
they have abandoned me,
the fountain of living water,
and dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns,
that can hold no water!
14“Is Isra’el a slave, born into serfdom?
If not, why has he become plunder?
15The young lions are roaring at him —
how loudly they are roaring!
They desolate his country,
demolishing and depopulating his cities.
16The people of Nof and Tachpanches
feed on the crown of your head.
17“Haven’t you brought this on yourself
by abandoning Adonai your God
when he led you along the way?
18If you go to Egypt, what’s in it for you?
Drinking water from the Nile?
If you go to Ashur, what’s in it for you?
Drinking water from the [Euphrates] River?
19Your own wickedness will correct you,
your own backslidings will convict you;
you will know and see how bad and bitter
it was to abandon Adonai your God,
and how fear of me is not in you,”
says Adonai Elohim-Tzva’ot.
20“For long ago I broke your yoke;
when I snapped your chains, you said, ‘I won’t sin.’
Yet on every high hill, under every green tree,
you sprawled and prostituted yourself.
21But I planted you as a choice vine
of seed fully tested and true.
How did you degenerate
into a wild vine for me?
22Even if you scrub yourself
with soda and plenty of soap,
the stain of your guilt is still there before me,”
says Adonai Elohim.
23“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled,
I have not pursued the ba‘alim’?
Look at your conduct in the valley,
understand what you have done.
You are a restive young female camel,
running here and there,
24wild, accustomed to the desert,
sniffing the wind in her lust —
who can control her when she’s in heat?
Males seeking her need not weary themselves,
for at mating season they will find her.
25“Stop before your shoes wear out,
and your throat is dry from thirst!
But you say, ‘No, it’s hopeless!
I love these strangers, and I’m going after them.’
26Just as a thief is ashamed when caught,
so is the house of Isra’el ashamed —
they, their kings, their leaders,
their cohanim and their prophets,
27who say to a log, ‘You are my father,’
and to a stone, ‘You gave us birth.’
For they have turned their backs to me
instead of their faces.
But when trouble comes, they will plead,
‘Rouse yourself and save us!’
28Where are your gods that you made for yourselves?
Let them rouse themselves,
if they can save you when trouble comes.
Y’hudah, you have as many gods
as you have cities!
29Why argue with me? You have all
rebelled against me!” says Adonai.
30“In vain have I struck down your people.
They would not receive correction.
Your own sword has devoured your prophets
like a marauding lion.
31You of this generation,
look at the word of Adonai:
Have I been a desert to Isra’el?
or a land of oppressive darkness?
Why do my people say, ‘We’re free to roam,
we will no longer come to you’?
32Does a girl forget her jewellery,
or a bride her wedding sash?
Yet my people have forgotten me,
days beyond numbering.
33You are so clever in your search for love
that the worst of women can learn from you!
34Right there on your clothing
is the blood of the innocent poor,
although you never caught them breaking and entering.
Yet concerning all these things,
35you say, ‘I am innocent;
surely he’s no longer angry at me.’
Here, I am passing sentence on you,
because you say, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’
36You cheapen yourself
when you change course so often —
you will be disappointed by Egypt too,
just as you were disappointed by Ashur.
37Yes, you will leave him too,
with your hands on your heads [in shame].
For Adonai rejects those in whom you trust;
from them you will gain nothing.”
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