Jeremia 2

Herren klager over folkets frafall

1 Og Herrens ord kom til meg, og det lød så: 2 Gå av sted og rop ut for Jerusalems ører og si: Så sier Herren: Jeg minnes din ungdoms hengivenhet, dine forlovelsesdagers kjærlighet, hvordan du fulgte meg i ørkenen, i et land hvor ingen sår. s3 Hellig var Israel for Herren, hans førstegrøde. Alle som ville fortære ham, måtte bøte. Ulykke kom over dem, sier Herren. s4 Hør Herrens ord, Jakobs hus og alle ætter av Israels hus!

5 Så sier Herren: Hva urett har deres fedre funnet hos meg, siden de gikk langt bort fra meg og fulgte de tomme guder og selv ble tomme? s6 De sa ikke: Hvor er Herren, som førte oss opp fra landet Egypt, som ledet oss i ørkenen, i et land med ødemarker, fullt av kløfter, et land med tørke og dødsskygge, et land der ingen mann har ferdes, og ikke noe menneske har bodd? s7 Og jeg førte dere inn i et land med fruktbare marker, så dere fikk ete av dets frukt og dets gode ting. Men da dere kom inn, gjorde dere mitt land urent, og min arv til en motbydelighet. s8 Prestene sa ikke: Hvor er Herren? De som syslet med loven, kjente meg ikke. Hyrdene falt fra meg. Profetene spådde ved Ba’al og fulgte dem som ikke kan hjelpe*. s

9 Derfor fortsetter jeg å gå i rette med dere, sier Herren. Ja, med deres barnebarn vil jeg gå i rette. s10 Dra over til kitteernes øyer og se. Send bud til Kedar og gi nøye akt. Se om noe slikt er skjedd! s11 Har vel et hedningefolk byttet bort sine guder, enda de ikke er guder? Men mitt folk har byttet bort sin ære mot det som ikke kan hjelpe. s12 Bli forferdet, dere himler, over dette! Skjelv av skrekk, sier Herren. 13 For to onde ting har mitt folk gjort: Meg har de forlatt, kilden med det levende vann, og de har hogd seg ut brønner, sprukne brønner som ikke holder vann. s

14 Er Israel en trell? Er han født som trell? Hvorfor er han blitt røvet? s15 Unge løver brølte mot ham. De lot sin røst høre, og de gjorde hans land til en ørken. Hans byer ble brent ned, så ingen bor i dem. s16 Også Memfis’ og Tahpenes’ barn gjorde ditt hode skallet. 17 Har du ikke gjort deg selv alt dette, fordi du forlot Herren din Gud den tid han ville lede deg på veien? s18 Og nå, hvorfor tar du veien til Egypt for å drikke Sikors vann? Og hvorfor tar du veien til Assyria for å drikke elvens vann? 19 Din egen ondskap tukter deg, og ditt frafall straffer deg. Kjenn da og se hvor ondt og bittert det er at du forlater Herren din Gud, og at du ikke lenger frykter meg, sier Herren Herren, hærskarenes Gud.

Herren vil straffe folket

20 Fra gammel tid brøt du ditt åk og rev i stykker dine bånd. Du sa: Jeg vil ikke tjene. Men på hver høy bakke og under hvert grønt tre la du deg ned og drev hor. s21 Jeg hadde plantet deg som et edelt vintre, helt igjennom av ekte sæd. Hvordan er du da blitt omskapt for meg til et uekte, vilt vintre? s22 Om du så ville rense deg med pottaske og bruke mye lut, så skulle likevel din misgjerning være skitten for mitt åsyn, sier Herren Herren. s23 Hvordan kan du si: Jeg er ikke blitt uren, jeg har ikke gått etter Ba’alene? Se på din vei i dalen! Forstå hva du har gjort, du lette kamelhoppe som løper hit og dit! s24 Lik et villesel som er vant til ørkenen, snapper hun etter været i sin sjels begjær. Hvem kan dempe hennes brunst? Alle de som søker henne, slipper å løpe seg trett! I hennes måned finner de henne. 25 La ikke din fot bli bar og din strupe bli tørst! Men du sier: Det nytter ikke! Nei! Jeg elsker fremmede, og etter dem vil jeg gå. s26 Likesom en tyv må skamme seg når han blir grepet, slik må Israels hus skamme seg, de selv, deres konger, deres høvdinger, deres prester og deres profeter. 27 For de sier til treet: Du er min far! - og til steinen: Du har født meg! De har vendt ryggen til meg og ikke ansiktet. Men når ulykken kommer, sier de: Reis deg og hjelp oss! s28 Hvor er da dine guder som du laget deg? La dem reise seg, om de kan hjelpe deg når ulykken kommer! For så mange som dine byer er, så mange er dine guder blitt, Juda! s

29 Hvorfor tretter dere med meg? Dere er alle sammen falt fra meg, sier Herren. 30 Forgjeves slo jeg deres barn, de tok ikke imot tukt. Deres eget sverd fortærte profetene som en herjende løve. ss

31 Du onde slekt! Gi akt på Herrens ord! Har jeg vært en ørken for Israel eller et belgmørkt land? Hvorfor sier mitt folk: Vi går hvor vi vil! Vi vil ikke lenger komme til deg. 32 Mon en jomfru glemmer sitt smykke, en brud sitt belte? Men mitt folk har glemt meg i dager uten tall. 33 Hvor dyktig du styrer din vei til elskov! Slik har du også lært dårlige kvinner dine veier. 34 Blod av fattige sjeler er funnet på kappeflikene dine. Du grep dem ikke i innbrudd. Men til tross for alt dette 35 sier du likevel: Jeg er uskyldig, hans vrede har for visst vendt seg fra meg! - Se, jeg vil gå i rette med deg fordi du sier: Jeg har ikke syndet. s36 Hvorfor farer du så meget omkring og skifter din vei? Også ved Egypt skal du bli til skamme, slik som du ble til skamme ved Assyria. 37 Også derfra skal du gå ut med hendene på hodet. For Herren har forkastet dem du setter din lit til, og du skal ikke ha noen lykke med dem. s

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