Jeremiah 2
2
Yahweh Remembers Israel’s Faithfulness
1And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,#Literally “to say” 2“Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying,#Literally “to say” ‘Thus says Yahweh,
“I remember concerning you the loyal love of your childhood,#Or “youth”
the love of your betrothal-time,
your going#Or “walking” after me in the desert,#Or “wilderness”
in the land not sown.
3Israel was holy to Yahweh,
the first fruit of his produce.
All those who ate it were held guilty;
disaster came to them,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.’ ”
The Unfaithfulness of Israel’s Ancestors
4Hear the word of Yahweh, O house of Jacob, and all the clans#Or “families” of the house of Israel. 5Thus says Yahweh:
“What injustice did your ancestors#Or “fathers” find in me
that they were far from me,
and they went after the vanity,
and they became vain?
6And they did not say,
‘Where is Yahweh,
the one who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
the one who led us in the desert,#Or “wilderness”
in a land of desert plains and gorges,#Hebrew “gorge”
in a land of dryness and deep darkness,
in a land that no one passes through,#Literally “no man passes through in it”
and no human lives there?’
7And I brought you to the land of the orchard,
to eat its fruit, and its good things.#Hebrew “good thing”
But you entered and defiled my land,
and my inheritance you made a detestable thing.#Or “abomination”
8The priests did not say, ‘Where is Yahweh?’
and those who handle the law did not know me,
and the shepherds have rebelled against me,#Literally “broken with me”
and the prophets prophesied by Baal,
and they went after things which do not profit.
The Unfaithfulness of Contemporary Israel
9Therefore#Literally “To thus” I again bring a lawsuit against you,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh,
“and with your children#Literally “sons of your sons” I bring a lawsuit.
10For go over to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
and send to Kedar and consider very closely,
and see if there has been a thing like this:
11Has a nation exchanged gods? And they are not gods!
But my people have exchanged their glory for that which does not profit.
12Be appalled, O heavens, at this, and shudder;
be utterly desolate,” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
13“For my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me, the source#Or “fountain” of living water,
to hew out for themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
14Is Israel a slave? Or a slave born in a house?#Literally “born of a house”
Why has he become plunder?
15The young lions have roared against him,
they have raised#Literally “given” their voices.#Hebrew “voice”
And they have made his land as horror;
his cities are destroyed, without#Literally “from not” an inhabitant.
16Moreover, people of Memphis and Tahpanhes
will shave#Literally “pasture” your skull.#Or “crown of your head”
17Did you not do this to yourself,
by forsaking Yahweh, your God,
at the time of your leading in the way?
18And now why do you go#Literally “what for you” the way of Egypt
to drink the waters of the Shihor?
And why do you go#Literally “what for you” the way of Assyria
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?#Literally “river”
19Your wickedness will chastise you,
and your apostasies will reprove you.
Therefore know and see that it is evil and bitter,
your forsaking of Yahweh, your God,
and fear of me is not in you,”
declares#Literally “a declaration of” the Lord, Yahweh of hosts.
20“For from long ago you have broken your yoke,
you tore to pieces your bonds.
And you said, ‘I will not serve!’
But on every high hill and under every leafy tree
you were lying down as a prostitute.
21Yet I planted you as a choice vine,
all of it a seed of trustworthiness.
How then have you altered before me
into something that is degenerate, the foreign vine?
22For if you wash with natron,
and you use much soap,#Literally “make numerous for yourself alkaline salt”
your guilt is sticking as a stain before#Literally “to the face of” me,”
declares#Literally “a declaration of” the Lord Yahweh.
23“How can you say, ‘I have not defiled myself,
I have not gone after the Baals?’
Look at your way in the valley,
know what you have done.
You are a young she-camel,
interweaving her ways.
24A wild ass accustomed to the desert,#Or “wilderness”
in the desire of her soul.
She gasps for wind in her rutting time.
Who can quell#Or “restrain” her lust?
All those who seek her will not grow weary,
in her month they will find her.
25Restrain your foot from being barefoot,
and your throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless.
No! For I have loved strangers,
and after them I will go.’#Or “walk”
26As the shame of a thief when he is caught in the act,
so the house of Israel will be ashamed.
They, their kings, their officials,
and their priests, and their prophets.
27Those who say to the tree, ‘You are my father,’
and to the stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’
For they have turned their backs#Literally “neck” to me, and not their faces.
But in the time of their trouble they say, ‘Arise and save us.’
28But where are your gods that you made for yourself?
Let them arise if they can save you in the time of your trouble.
For according to the number of your towns
are your gods, O Judah.
29Why do you complain to me?
All of you have rebelled against me,”#Literally “broken with me” declares#Literally “a declaration of” Yahweh.
30“For in vain#Literally “the vanity” I have struck your children.
They accepted no discipline.
Your sword devoured your prophets,
like a ravening#Or “destroying” lion.
31O generation, you see the word of Yahweh.
Have I been a desert#Or “wilderness” to Israel? Or a land of great darkness?
Why do my people say, ‘We roam about freely,
we will not come again to you’?
32Can a young woman forget her ornaments?#Or “jewelry” Or a bride her sashes?
Yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
33How well you do on your way to seek love!
Therefore#Literally “To thus” even to the wicked woman you can teach your ways.
34Also on your skirts is found
the blood of the life of the innocent, the poor.
You did not find them in the act of breaking into a house.
But in spite of all these things,
35yet you say, ‘But I am innocent,
surely his anger has turned away from me.’
Look, I am entering into judgment with you
because of your saying, ‘I have not sinned.’
36How you go about so much changing your way!
Also by Egypt you will be put to shame,
just as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37Also from there you will come out
with your hands on your head,
for Yahweh has rejected those in whom you trust,#Literally “in your objects of trust”
and you will not prosper through them.
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Jeremiah 2: LEB
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Jeremiah 2
2
1The Lord's message came to me, saying, 2Go and announce to the people of Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says:#2:2. As is usual in this translation, when a prophet is speaking for God no quote marks are used. This avoids too many quote within quote marks, and also it is sometimes problematic to differentiate between God's words and those of the prophet himself. In addition there are many times when the phrase “This what the Lord says” is repeated frequently which should normally start a set of quote marks, ending up with a large number of “nested” quotations. A similar situation exists with the phrase “declares the Lord,” which also should be outside quote marks, but would add considerably to their number. For this reason quote marks are kept to a minimum and generally used only when speakers other than Jeremiah or the Lord need to be represented.
I remember when you were young how devoted to me you were. I remember how you loved me when you were my bride. I remember how you followed me in the desert, in a land where nothing is grown.
3Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest. Anyone who ate this harvest was guilty of sin, and they experienced the disastrous results, declares the Lord.
4Listen to the Lord's message, descendants of Jacob, all you Israelites. 5This is what the Lord says: What did your forefathers think was wrong with me that they went so far away from me? They went off to worship useless idols, and as a result became useless themselves! 6They didn't ask themselves, “Where is the Lord who led us from Egypt, who led us through the wasteland, through a land of deserts and ravines, a land of drought and darkness, a land that no one travels through and where no one lives?”
7I led you into a productive land to eat all the good things that grow there. But you came and made my land unclean, making it offensive to me. 8Your priests did not ask, “Where is the Lord?” Your teachers of the law no longer believed in me, and your leaders rebelled against me. Your prophets prophesied by calling on Baal and followed worthless idols.
9So I'm going to confront you again, declares the Lord, and I will bring charges against your children's children.
10Travel over to the islands of Cyprus#2:10. Hebrew: “Kittim.” The meaning is to go to the farthest west. and take a look; go to the land of Kedar#2:10. Kedar was far to the east. and examine carefully to see if anything like this has ever happened before. 11Has a nation ever changed its gods? —even though they're not gods at all! Yet my people have traded their glorious God for worthless idols.
12You heavens, you should be appalled, shocked and horrified! declares the Lord. 13For my people have done two evil things. They have abandoned me, the source of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that can't hold water.
14Are Israelites slaves? Were they born into slavery? So why have they become victims? 15The young lions roared at you; they growled loudly. They have devastated your country; your towns lie in ruins. No one lives there. 16The men of Memphis#2:16. “Memphis”: Septuagint reading. Hebrew, “Toph.” Memphis and Tahpanhes were towns in Egypt. The shaving of heads was a humiliation inflicted on a captured people. and Tahpanhes have shaved your heads.
17Didn't you bring this on yourself by abandoning the Lord your God when he was leading you in the right way? 18Now what will you benefit as you travel back to Egypt to drink the waters of Shihor River?#2:18. The Shihor River was a branch of the Nile River. What will you gain on your way to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates River?
19Your own wickedness will discipline you; your own disobedience will teach you a lesson. Think about it and you'll recognize what a bitter evil it is for you to abandon the Lord your God and not to respect me, declares the Lord God Almighty.
20You broke off your yoke and ripped off your chains long ago. “I won't worship you!” you declared. On the contrary, you lay down like a prostitute on every high hill and under every green tree.
21I was the one who planted you like the finest vine, grown from the very best seed. How could you degenerate into a useless wild vine?
22Even bleach and plenty of soap can't get rid of your guilty stains. I still see them, declares the Lord God. 23How dare you say, “I'm not unclean! I haven't gone to worship the Baals!” Look at what you've been doing down in the valley. Admit what you've done! You're a young female camel, racing around everywhere. 24You're a female donkey living in the desert, sniffing the wind for a mate because she's in heat. No one can control her at mating time. All those who're looking for her won't have trouble finding her when she's in heat.
25You don't have to run around barefoot or have your throat go dry. But you reply, “No, it's impossible! I'm in love with foreign gods—I must go to them.”
26In the same way that a thief feels guilty when caught, so the people of Israel have been shamed. All of them—their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets. 27They say to an idol made of wood, “You are my father,” and one made of stone, “You gave birth to me.” They turn their backs on me, and hide their faces from me. But when they're in trouble they come begging to me, saying, “Please come and save us!” 28So where are these “gods” of yours that you made for yourselves? Let them come and help you when you're in trouble! Let them save you if they can, because you Israelites have as many gods as you have towns.
29Why are you complaining to me? It's all of you who have rebelled against me! declares the Lord. 30It was pointless of me to punish your children because they refused to accept any discipline. You used your own swords to kill your prophets, destroying them like a ferocious lion.
31You people of today, think about what the Lord is saying: Israel, have I treated you like an empty desert, or a land of thick darkness? Why are my people saying, “We can go where we like! We don't have to come and worship you any more”?
32Does a girl forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding dress?#2:32. “Dress”: probably a “sash.” Yet my people have forgotten me for too many years to count. 33How cleverly you look for your lovers! Even prostitutes could learn something from you!
34On top of that, your clothes are stained with the blood of the poor and the innocent. It's not like you killed them breaking into your homes.
Despite all this, 35you go on saying, “I'm innocent! Surely he can't still be upset with me!”
Watch out! I'm going to punish you because you go on saying, “I haven't sinned.” 36You're just so fickle—you keep on changing your mind! You will end up just as disappointed by your alliance with Egypt as you were with Assyria. 37In fact you will go into exile with your hands on your head as prisoners, because the Lord will have nothing to do with those you trust; they will be no help to you.
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Dr. Jonathan Gallagher. Released under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 Unported License. Version 4.3. For corrections send email to jonathangallagherfbv@gmail.com