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
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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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.