Jeremías 2

Israel abandona a Dios

1 La palabra del Señor vino a mí: 2 «Ve y proclama a oídos de Jerusalén que así dice el Señor:
»“Recuerdo el amor de tu juventud, tu cariño de novia, cuando me seguías por el desierto, por tierras no cultivadas. 3 Israel estaba consagrada al Señor,
era las *primicias de su cosecha; todo el que comía de ella sufría las consecuencias, les sobrevenía la calamidad” », afirma el Señor. 4 ¡Escuchen la palabra del Señor, descendientes de Jacob,
tribus todas del pueblo de Israel! 5 Así dice el Señor:
«¿Qué injusticia vieron en mí sus antepasados, que se alejaron tanto de mí? Se fueron tras lo que nada vale, y en nada se convirtieron. 6 Nunca preguntaron:
“¿Dónde está el Señor
que nos hizo subir de Egipto, que nos guió por el desierto, por tierra árida y accidentada, por tierra reseca y tenebrosa, por tierra que nadie transita y en la que nadie vive?” 7 Yo los traje a una tierra fértil,
para que comieran de sus frutos y de su abundancia. Pero ustedes vinieron y *contaminaron mi tierra; hicieron de mi heredad algo abominable. 8 Nunca preguntaron los sacerdotes:
“¿Dónde está el Señor?”
Los expertos en la ley jamás me conocieron; los *pastores se rebelaron contra mí, los profetas hablaron en nombre de *Baal y se fueron tras dioses que para nada sirven. 9 Por eso, aún voy a entablar un litigio contra ustedes,
y también litigaré contra los hijos de sus hijos —afirma el Señor—. 10 »Crucen a las costas de Chipre, y miren;
envíen mensajeros a Cedar,s e infórmense bien;
fíjense si ha sucedido algo semejante: 11 ¿Hay alguna nación que haya cambiado de dioses,
a pesar de que no son dioses? ¡Pues mi pueblo ha cambiado al que es su gloria, por lo que no sirve para nada! 12 ¡Espántense, cielos, ante esto!
¡Tiemblen y queden horrorizados! —afirma el Señor—. 13 »Dos son los pecados
que ha cometido mi pueblo: Me han abandonado a mí, fuente de agua viva, y han cavado sus propias cisternas, cisternas rotas que no retienen agua. 14 ¿Acaso es Israel un esclavo?
¿Nació en la esclavitud? ¿Por qué entonces lo saquean? 15 Los leones rugieron contra él,
lanzaron fuertes gruñidos. Dejaron desolado su país, sus ciudades fueron incendiadas, y ya nadie las habita. 16 »Para colmo de males,
los de Menfiss y los de Tafnes
te raparon la cabeza. 17 ¿No te ha pasado todo esto
por haber abandonado al Señor tu Dios,
mientras él te guiaba por el camino? 18 Y ahora, ¿qué sacas con ir a Egipto
a beber agua del Nilo? ¿Qué sacas con ir a Asiria a beber agua del Éufrates? 19 Tu maldad te castigará,
tu infidelidad te recriminará. Ponte a pensar cuán malo y amargo es abandonar al Señor tu Dios
y no sentir temor de mí —afirma el Señor, el Señor *Todopoderoso—. 20 »Desde hace mucho quebraste el yugo;
te quitaste las ataduras y dijiste: “¡No quiero servirte!” Sobre toda colina alta, y bajo todo árbol frondoso, te entregaste a la prostitución. 21 Yo te planté, como vid selecta,
con semilla genuina. ¿Cómo es que te has convertido en una vid degenerada y extraña? 22 Aunque te laves con lejía,
y te frotes con mucho jabón, ante mí seguirá presente la mancha de tu iniquidad —afirma el Señor omnipotente—. 23 »¿Cómo puedes decir:
“No me he contaminado, ni me he ido tras los baales”? ¡Considera tu conducta en el valle! ¡Reconoce lo que has hecho! ¡Camella ligera de cascos, que no puedes quedarte quieta! 24 ¡Asna salvaje que tiras al monte!
Cuando ardes en deseos, olfateas el viento; cuando estás en celo, no hay quien te detenga. Ningún macho que te busque tiene que fatigarse: cuando estás en celo, fácilmente te encuentra. 25 »No andes con pies descalzos, que te lastimas,
ni dejes que la garganta se te reseque. Pero tú insistes: “¡No tengo remedio! Amo a dioses extraños, y tras ellos me iré.” 26 »El pueblo de Israel se avergonzará,
junto con sus reyes y autoridades, sacerdotes y profetas, como se avergüenza el ladrón cuando lo descubren. 27 A un trozo de madera le dicen:
“Tú eres mi padre”, y a una piedra le repiten: “Tú me has dado a luz.” Me han vuelto la espalda; no me quieren dar la cara. Pero les llega la desgracia y me dicen: “¡Levántate y sálvanos!” 28 ¿Dónde están, Judá, los dioses que te fabricaste?
¡Tienes tantos dioses como ciudades! ¡Diles que se levanten! ¡A ver si te salvan cuando caigas en desgracia! 29 »¿Por qué litigan conmigo?
Todos ustedes se han rebelado contra mí —afirma el Señor—. 30 »En vano castigo a mi pueblo,
pues rechaza mi *corrección. Cual si fuera un león feroz, la espada de ustedes devoró a sus profetas. 31 »Pero ustedes, los de esta generación,
presten atención a la palabra del Señor:
¿Acaso he sido para Israel un desierto o una tierra tenebrosa? ¿Por qué dice mi pueblo: “Somos libres, nunca más volveremos a ti”? 32 ¿Acaso una joven se olvida de sus joyas,
o una novia de su atavío? ¡Pues hace muchísimo tiempo que mi pueblo se olvidó de mí! 33 ¡Qué mañosa eres
para conseguir amantes! ¡Hasta las malas mujeres han aprendido de ti! 34 Tienes la ropa manchada de sangre,
de sangre de gente pobre e inocente, a los que nunca sorprendiste robando. Por todo esto 35 te voy a juzgar:
por alegar que no has pecado, por insistir en tu inocencia, por afirmar: “¡Dios ya no está enojado conmigo!” 36 ¡Con qué ligereza cambias de parecer!s
Pues también Egipto te defraudará, como te defraudó Asiria. 37 Saldrás de allí con las manos en la nuca,
porque el Señor ha rechazado
a aquellos en quienes confías, y no prosperarás con ellos.

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