Jeremiah 2

Israel Accused of Apostasy

1 The word of the Lord came to me:

2 "Go and announce directly to Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says:

I remember the loyalty of your youth,
your love as a bride-
how you followed Me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.

3 Israel was holy to the Lord,
the firstfruits of His harvest.
All who ate of it found themselves guilty;
disaster came on them."
[This is] the Lord's declaration.

4 Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob
and all families of the house of Israel.

5 This is what the Lord says:

What fault did your fathers find in Me
that they went so far from Me,
followed worthless idols,
and became worthless themselves?
6 They stopped asking, "Where is the Lord
who brought us from the land of Egypt,
who led us through the wilderness,
through a land of deserts and ravines,
through a land of drought and darkness,
a land no one traveled through
and where no one lived?"
7 I brought you to a fertile land
to eat its fruit and bounty,
but after you entered, you defiled My land;
you made My inheritance detestable.

8 The priests quit asking, "Where is the Lord?"
The experts in the law no longer knew Me,
and the rulers rebelled against Me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal
and followed useless idols.

9 Therefore, I will bring a case against you again.
[This is] the Lord's declaration.
I will bring a case against your children's children.
10 Cross over to Cyprus and take a look.
Send [someone] to Kedar and consider carefully;
see if there has ever been anything like this:
11 Has a nation [ever] exchanged its gods?
(But they were not gods!)
Yet My people have exchanged their Glory
for useless idols.

12 Be horrified at this, heavens;
be shocked and utterly appalled.
[This is] the Lord's declaration.

13 For My people have committed a double evil:
They have abandoned Me,
the fountain of living water,
and dug cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.

Consequences of Apostasy

14 Is Israel a slave?
Was he born into slavery?
Why else has he become a prey?
15 The young lions have roared at him;
they have roared loudly.
They have laid waste his land.
His cities are in ruins, without inhabitants.
16 The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have also broken your skull.
17 Have you not brought this on yourself
by abandoning the Lord your God
while He was leading you along the way?
18 Now what will you gain
by traveling along the way to Egypt
to drink the waters of the Nile?
What will you gain
by traveling along the way to Assyria
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

19 Your own evil will discipline you;
your own apostasies will reprimand you.
Think it over and see how evil and bitter it is
for you to abandon the Lord your God
and to have no fear of Me.
[This is] the declaration
of the Lord God of Hosts.

20 For long ago I broke your yoke;
I tore off your chains.
You insisted, "I will not serve!"
On every high hill
and under every leafy tree
you lie down [like] a prostitute.

21 I planted you, a choice vine
from the very best seed.
How then could you turn into
a degenerate, foreign vine?

22 Even if you wash with lye
and use a great amount of soap,
the stain of your sin is still in front of Me.
[This is] the Lord God's declaration.
23 How can you protest, "I am not defiled;
I have not followed the Baals"?
Look at your behavior in the valley;
acknowledge what you have done.
[You are] a swift young camel
twisting and turning on her way,
24 a wild donkey at home in the wilderness.
She sniffs the wind in the heat of her desire.
Who can control her passion?
All who look for her will not become tired;
they will find her in her mating season.

25 Keep your feet from going bare
and your throat from thirst.
But you say, "It's hopeless;
I love strangers,
and I will continue to follow them."

26 Like the shame of a thief when he is caught,
so the house of Israel has been put to shame.
They, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets
27 say to a tree, "You are my father,"
and to a stone, "You gave birth to me."
For they have turned their back to Me
and not their face,
yet in their time of disaster they beg,
"Rise up and save us!"

28 But where are your gods you made for yourself?
Let them rise up and save you
in your time of disaster if they can,
for your gods are as numerous as your cities, Judah.

Judgment Deserved

29 Why do you bring a case against Me?
All of you have rebelled against Me.
[This is] the Lord's declaration.
30 I have struck down your children in vain;
they would not accept discipline.
Your own sword has devoured your prophets
like a ravaging lion.
31 [Evil] generation,
pay attention to the word of the Lord!
Have I been a wilderness to Israel
or a land of dense darkness?
Why do My people claim,
"We will go where we want;
we will no longer come to You"?
32 Can a young woman forget her jewelry
or a bride her wedding sash?
Yet My people have forgotten Me
for countless days.
33 How skillfully you pursue love;
you also teach evil women your ways.
34 Moreover, your skirts are stained
with the blood of the innocent poor.
You did not catch them breaking and entering.
But in spite of all these things
35 you claim, "I am innocent.
His anger is sure to turn away from me."
But I will certainly judge you
because you have said, "I have not sinned."
36 How unstable you are,
constantly changing your ways!
You will be put to shame by Egypt
just as you were put to shame by Assyria.

37 Moreover, you will be led out from here
with your hands on your head
since the Lord has rejected those you trust;
you will not succeed even with their help.

Jeremiah 2

The Lord Recalls Israel’s Earlier Faithfulness

1 The Lord spoke to me. He said:2 “Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem:s ‘This is what the Lord says: “I have fond memories of you,t how devoted you were to me in your early years.ss I remember how you loved me like a new bride; you followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted.

3 Israel was set apart to the Lord; they were like the first fruits of a harvest to him.s All who tried to devour them were punished; disaster came upon them,” says the Lord.’”

The Lord Reminds Them of the Unfaithfulness of Their Ancestors

4 Now listen to what the Lord has to say, you descendantst of Jacob,
all you family groups from the nationt of Israel.

5 This is what the Lord says:
“What fault could your ancestorst have possibly found in me
that they strayed so far from me?t
They paid allegiance tot worthless idols, and so became worthless to me.t

6 They did not ask:
‘Where is the Lord who delivered us out of Egypt,
who brought us through the wilderness,
through a land of desert sands and rift valleys,
through a land of drought and deep darkness,t
through a land in which no one travels,
and where no one lives?’s

7 I brought yous into a fertile land
so you could enjoyt its fruits and its rich bounty.
But when you entered my land, you defiled it;s
you made the land I call my ownts loathsome to me.

8 Your priestst did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’s
Those responsible for teaching my lawts did not really know me.t
Your rulers rebelled against me.
Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal.t
They all worshiped idols that could not help them.t

The Lord Charges Contemporary Israel with Spiritual Adultery

9 “So, once more I will state my casets against you,” says the Lord.
“I will also state it against your children and grandchildren.ts

10 Go westt across the sea to the coasts of Cyprusts and see.
Send someone east to Kedars and have them look carefully.
See if such a thing as this has ever happened:

11 Has a nation ever changed its gods
(even though they are not really gods at all)?
But my people have exchanged me, their glorious God,t
for a god that cannot help them at all!t

12 Be amazed at this, O heavens!s
Be shocked and utterly dumbfounded,”
says the Lord.

13 “Do so because my people have committed a double wrong:
they have rejected me,
the fountain of life-giving water,t
and they have dug cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water.”

Israel’s Reliance on Foreign Alliances (not on God)

14 “Israel is not a slave, is he?
He was not born into slavery, was he?ts
If not, why then is he being carried off?

15 Like lions his enemies roar victoriously over him;
they raise their voices in triumph.ts
They have laid his land waste;
his cities have been burned down and deserted.t

16 Even the soldierst from Memphis and Tahpanhes
have cracked your skulls, people of Israel.s

17 You have brought all this on yourself, Israel,t
by deserting the Lord your God when he was leading you along the right path.t

18 What good will it do yout thent to go down to Egypt
to seek help from the Egyptians?t
What good will it do yout to go over to Assyria
to seek help from the Assyrians?t

19 Your own wickedness will bring about your punishment.
Your unfaithful acts will bring down discipline on you.t
Know, then, and realize how utterly harmfult
it was for you to reject me, the Lord your God,t
to show no respect for me,”t
says the Lord God who rules over all.t

The Lord Expresses His Exasperation at Judah’s Persistent Idolatry

20 “Indeed,t long ago you threw off my authority
and refused to be subject to me.t
You said, ‘I will not serve you.’s
Instead, you gave yourself to other gods on every high hill
and under every green tree,
like a prostitute sprawls out before her lovers.t

21 I planted you in the land
like a special vine of the very best stock.
Why in the world have you turned into something like a wild vine
that produces rotten, foul-smelling grapes?s

22 You can try to wash away your guilt with a strong detergent.
You can use as much soap as you want.
But the stain of your guilt is still there for me to see,”t
says the Lord God.t

23 “How can you say, ‘I have not made myself unclean.
I have not paid allegiance tot the gods called Baal.’
Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom!t
Think about the things you have done there!
You are like a flighty, young female camel
that rushes here and there, crisscrossing its path.s

24 You are like a wild female donkey brought up in the wilderness.
In her lust she sniffs the wind to get the scent of a male.t
No one can hold her back when she is in heat.
None of the males need wear themselves out chasing after her.
At mating time she is easy to find.s

25 Do not chase after other gods until your shoes wear out
and your throats become dry.t
But you say, ‘It is useless for you to try and stop me
because I love those foreign godst and want to pursue them!’

26 Just as a thief has to suffer dishonor when he is caught,
so the people of Israelt will suffer dishonor for what they have done.t
So will their kings and officials,
their priests and their prophets.

27 They say to a wooden idol,t ‘You are my father.’
They say to a stone image, ‘You gave birth to me.’s
Yes, they have turned away from me instead of turning to me.t
Yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’

28 But where are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them save you when you are in trouble.
The sad fact is thatt you have as many gods
as you have towns, Judah.

29 “Why do you try to refute me?s
All of you have rebelled against me,”
says the Lord.

30 “It did no good for me to punish your people.
They did not respond to such correction.
You slaughtered your prophets
like a voracious lion.”t

31 You people of this generation,
listen to what the Lord says.
“Have I been like a wilderness to you, Israel?
Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to you?t
Why then do yout say, ‘We are free to wander.t
We will not come to you any more?’

32 Does a young woman forget to put on her jewels?
Does a bride forget to put on her bridal attire?
But my people have forgotten me
for more days than can even be counted.

33 “My, how good you have become
at chasing after your lovers!t
Why, you could even teach prostitutes a thing or two!t

34 Even your clothes are stained with
the lifeblood of the poor who had not done anything wrong;
you did not catch them breaking into your homes.ts
Yet, in spite of all these things you have done,t

35 you say, ‘I have not done anything wrong,
so the Lord cannot really be angry with me any more.’
But, watch out!t I will bring down judgment on you
because you say, ‘I have not committed any sin.’

36 Why do you constantly go about
changing your political allegiances?t
You will get no help from Egypt
just as you got no help from Assyria.t

37 Moreover, you will come away from Egypt
with your hands covering your faces in sorrow and shamet
because the Lord will not allow your reliance on them to be successful
and you will not gain any help from them.t