Jeremiah 2

Israel Turns from God

1 The Lord spoke his word to me, saying:

2 “Go and speak to the people of Jerusalem, saying: This is what the Lord says:
‘I remember how faithful you were to me when you were a young nation. You loved me like a young bride.
You followed me through the desert, a land that had never been planted.

3 The people of Israel were holy to the Lord, like the first fruits from his harvest.
Those who tried to hurt Israel were judged guilty. Disasters struck them,’ ” says the Lord.

4 Hear the word of the Lord, family of Jacob, all you family groups of Israel.

5 This is what the Lord says:
“I was fair to your ancestors, so why did they turn away from me?
Your ancestors worshiped useless idols and became useless themselves.

6 Your ancestors didn’t say, ‘Where is the Lord who brought us out of Egypt?
He led us through the desert, through a dry and rocky land,
through a dark and dangerous land. He led us where no one travels or lives.’

7 I brought you into a fertile land so you could eat its fruit and produce.
But you came and made my land unclean; you made it a hateful place.

8 The priests didn’t ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’
The people who know the teachings didn’t know me. The leaders turned against me.
The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal and worshiped useless idols.

9 “So now I will again tell what I have against you,” says the Lord. “And I will tell what I have against your grandchildren.

10 Go across the sea to the island of Cyprus and see. Send someone to the land of Kedar to look closely. See if there has ever been anything like this.

11 Has a nation ever exchanged its gods? (Of course, its gods are not really gods at all.)
But my people have exchanged their glorious God for idols worth nothing.

12 Skies, be shocked at the things that have happened and shake with great fear!” says the Lord.

13 “My people have done two evils:
They have turned away from me, the spring of living water.
And they have dug their own wells, which are broken wells that cannot hold water.

14 Have the people of Israel become slaves? Have they become like someone who was born a slave? Why were they taken captive?

15 Enemies have roared like lions at Israel; they have growled at Israel.
They have destroyed the land of Israel. The cities of Israel lie in ruins, and all the people have left.

16 The men from the cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes have disgraced you by shaving the top of your head.

17 Haven’t you brought this on yourselves by turning away from the Lord your God when he was leading you in the right way?

18 It did not help to go to Egypt and drink from the Shihor River.
It did not help to go to Assyria and drink from the Euphrates River.

19 Your evil will bring punishment to you, and the wrong you have done will teach you a lesson.
Think about it and understand
that it is a terrible evil to turn away from the Lord your God. It is wrong not to fear me,” says the Lord God All-Powerful.

20 “Long ago you refused to obey me as an ox breaks its yoke. You broke the ropes I used to hold you and said, ‘I will not serve you!’
In fact, on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down as a prostitute.

21 But I planted you as a special vine, as a very good seed.
How then did you turn into a wild vine that grows bad fruit?

22 Although you wash yourself with cleanser and use much soap, I can still see the stain of your guilt,” says the Lord God.

23 “How can you say to me, ‘I am not guilty. I have not worshiped the Baal idols’?
Look at the things you did in the valley. Think about what you have done.
You are like a she-camel in mating season that runs from place to place.

24 You are like a wild donkey that lives in the desert and sniffs the wind at mating time. At that time who can hold her back?
Any male who chases her will easily catch her; at mating time, it is easy to find her.

25 Don’t run until your feet are bare or until your throat is dry.
But you say, ‘It’s no use! I love those other gods, and I must chase them!’

26 “A thief is ashamed when someone catches him stealing. In the same way, the family of Israel is ashamed—
they, their kings, their officers, their priests, and their prophets.

27 They say to things of wood, ‘You are my father,’ and to idols of stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’
Those people won’t look at me; they have turned their backs to me.
But when they get into trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’

28 Where are the idols you made for yourselves? Let them come and save you when you are in trouble!
People of Judah, you have as many idols as you have towns!

29 “Why do you complain to me? All of you have turned against me,” says the Lord.

30 “I punished your people, but it did not help. They didn’t come back when they were punished.
With your swords you killed your prophets like a hungry lion.

31 “People of Judah, pay attention to the word of the Lord:
Have I been like a desert to the people of Israel or like a dark and dangerous land?
Why do my people say, ‘We are free to wander. We won’t come to you anymore’?

32 A young woman does not forget her jewelry, and a bride does not forget the decorations for her dress.
But my people have forgotten me for more days than can be counted.

33 You really know how to chase after love. Even the worst women can learn evil ways from you.

34 Even on your clothes you have the blood of poor and innocent people, but they weren’t thieves you caught breaking in.
You do all these things,

35 but you say, ‘I am innocent. God is not angry with me.’
But I will judge you guilty of lying, because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’

36 It is so easy for you to change your mind. Even Egypt will let you down, as Assyria let you down.

37 You will eventually leave that place with your hands on your head, like captives.
You trusted those countries, but you will not be helped by them,
because the Lord has rejected them.

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