Jeremiah 2

“I remember the devotion of your youth,

your love as a bride,

how you followed me in the wilderness,

in a land not sown.

₃Israel was holy to the Lord,

the firstfruits of his harvest.

All who ate of it incurred guilt;

disaster came upon them,

“What wrong did your fathers find in me

that they went far from me,

and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?

₆They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord

who brought us up from the land of Egypt,

who led us in the wilderness,

in a land of deserts and pits,

in a land of drought and deep darkness,

in a land that none passes through,

where no man dwells?’

₇And I brought you into a plentiful land

to enjoy its fruits and its good things.

But when you came in, you defiled my land

and made my heritage an abomination.

₈The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’

Those who handle the law did not know me;

the shepherds transgressed against me;

the prophets prophesied by Baal

and went after things that do not profit.

₉“Therefore I still contend with you,

and with your children’s children I will contend.

₁₀For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see,

or send to Kedar and examine with care;

see if there has been such a thing.

₁₁Has a nation changed its gods,

even though they are no gods?

But my people have changed their glory

for that which does not profit.

₁₂Be appalled, O heavens, at this;

be shocked, be utterly desolate,

₁₃for my people have committed two evils:

they have forsaken me,

the fountain of living waters,

and hewed out cisterns for themselves,

broken cisterns that can hold no water.

₁₄“Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?

Why then has he become a prey?

₁₅The lions have roared against him;

they have roared loudly.

They have made his land a waste;

his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.

₁₆Moreover, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes

have shaved the crown of your head.

₁₇Have you not brought this upon yourself

by forsaking the Lord your God,

when he led you in the way?

₁₈And now what do you gain by going to Egypt

to drink the waters of the Nile?

Or what do you gain by going to Assyria

to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

₁₉Your evil will chastise you,

and your apostasy will reprove you.

Know and see that it is evil and bitter

for you to forsake the Lord your God;

the fear of me is not in you,

₂₀“For long ago I broke your yoke

and burst your bonds;

but you said, ‘I will not serve.’

Yes, on every high hill

and under every green tree

you bowed down like a whore.

₂₁Yet I planted you a choice vine,

wholly of pure seed.

How then have you turned degenerate

and become a wild vine?

₂₂Though you wash yourself with lye

and use much soap,

the stain of your guilt is still before me,

₂₃How can you say, ‘I am not unclean,

I have not gone after the Baals’?

Look at your way in the valley;

know what you have done—

a restless young camel running here and there,

₂₄a wild donkey used to the wilderness,

in her heat sniffing the wind!

Who can restrain her lust?

None who seek her need weary themselves;

in her month they will find her.

₂₅Keep your feet from going unshod

and your throat from thirst.

But you said, ‘It is hopeless,

for I have loved foreigners,

and after them I will go.’

₂₆“As a thief is shamed when caught,

so the house of Israel shall be shamed:

they, their kings, their officials,

their priests, and their prophets,

₂₇who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’

and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’

For they have turned their back to me,

and not their face.

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 your time of trouble;

for as many as your cities

are your gods, O Judah.

₂₉“Why do you contend with me?

You have all transgressed against me,

₃₀In vain have I struck your children;

they took no correction;

your own sword devoured your prophets

like a ravening lion.

₃₁And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord.

Have I been a wilderness to Israel,

or a land of thick darkness?

Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,

we will come no more to you’?

₃₂Can a virgin forget her ornaments,

or a bride her attire?

Yet my people have forgotten me

days without number.

₃₃“How well you direct your course

to seek love!

So that even to wicked women

you have taught your ways.

₃₄Also on your skirts is found

the lifeblood of the guiltless poor;

you did not find them breaking in.

Yet in spite of all these things

₃₅you say, ‘I am innocent;

surely his anger has turned from me.’

Behold, I will bring you to judgment

for saying, ‘I have not sinned.’

₃₆How much you go about,

changing your way!

You shall be put to shame by Egypt

as you were put to shame by Assyria.

₃₇From it too you will come away

with your hands on your head,

for the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,

and you will not prosper by them.