Jeremías 2
1 Y FUÉ á mí palabra de Jehová, diciendo:2 Anda, y clama á los oídos de Jerusalem, diciendo: Así dice Jehová: Heme acordado de ti, de la misericordia de tu mocedad, del amor de tu desposorio, cuando andabas en pos de mí en el desierto, en tierra no sembrada.3 Santidad era Israel á Jehová, primicias de sus nuevos frutos. Todos los que le devoran pecarán; mal vendrá sobre ellos, dice Jehová.4 Oid la palabra de Jehová, casa de Jacob, y todas las familias de la casa de Israel.5 Así dijo Jehová: ¿Qué maldad hallaron en mí vuestros padres, que se alejaron de mí, y se fueron tras la vanidad, y tornáronse vanos?6 Y no dijeron: ¿Dónde está Jehová, que nos hizo subir de tierra de Egipto, que nos hizo andar por el desierto, por una tierra desierta y despoblada, por tierra seca y de sombra de muerte, por una tierra por la cual no pasó varón, ni allí habitó hombre?7 Y os metí en tierra de Carmelo, para que comieseis su fruto y su bien: mas entrasteis, y contaminasteis mi tierra, é hicisteis mi heredad abominable.8 Los sacerdotes no dijeron: ¿Dónde está Jehová? y los que tenían la ley no me conocieron; y los pastores se rebelaron contra mí, y los profetas profetizaron en Baal, y anduvieron tras lo que no aprovecha.
9 Por tanto entraré aún en juicio con vosotros, dijo Jehová, y con los hijos de vuestros hijos pleitearé.
10 Porque pasad á las islas de Chîttim y mirad; y enviad á Cedar, y considerad cuidadosamente, y ved si se ha hecho cosa semejante á ésta:
11 Si alguna gente ha mudado sus dioses, bien que ellos no son dioses. Pero mi pueblo ha trocado su gloria por lo que no aprovecha.
12 Espantaos, cielos, sobre esto, y horrorizaos; desolaos en gran manera, dijo Jehová.
13 Porque dos males ha hecho mi pueblo: dejáronme á mí, fuente de agua viva, por cavar para sí cisternas, cisternas rotas que no detienen aguas.
14 ¿Es Israel siervo? ¿es esclavo? ¿por qué ha sido dado en presa?
15 Los cachorros de los leones bramaron sobre él, dieron su voz; y pusieron su tierra en soledad; quemadas están sus ciudades, sin morador.
16 Aun los hijos de Noph y de Taphnes te quebrantaron la mollera.
17 ¿No te acarreó esto tu dejar á Jehová tu Dios, cuando te hacía andar por camino?
18 Ahora pues, ¿qué tienes tú en el camino de Egipto, para que bebas agua del Nilo? ¿y qué tienes tú en el camino de Asiria, para que bebas agua del río?
19 Tu maldad te castigará, y tu apartamiento te condenará: sabe pues y ve cuán malo y amargo es tu dejar á Jehová tu Dios, y faltar mi temor en tí, dice el Señor Jehová de los ejércitos.
20 Porque desde muy atrás he quebrado tu yugo, y roto tus ataduras; y dijiste: No serviré. Con todo eso, sobre todo collado alto y debajo de todo árbol umbroso, corrias tú, oh ramera.
21 Y yo te planté de buen vidueño, simiente verdadera toda ella: ¿cómo pues te me has tornado sarmientos de vid extraña?
22 Aunque te laves con lejía, y amontones jabón sobre tí, tu pecado está sellado delante de mí, dijo el Señor Jehová.
23 ¿Como dices: No soy inmunda, nunca anduve tras los Baales? Mira tu proceder en el valle, conoce lo que has hecho, dromedaria ligera que frecuentas sus carreras;
24 Asna montés acostumbrada al desierto, que respira como quiere; ¿de su ocasión quién la detendrá? Todos los que la buscaren no se cansarán; hallaránla en su mes.
25 Defiende tus pies de andar descalzos, y tu garganta de la sed. Mas dijiste: Hase perdido la esperanza; en ninguna manera: porque extraños he amado y tras ellos tengo de ir.
26 Como se avergüenza el ladrón cuando es tomado, así se avergonzarán la casa de Israel, ellos, sus reyes, sus príncipes, sus sacerdotes, y sus profetas;
27 Que dicen al leño: Mi padre eres tú; y á la piedra: Tú me has engendrado: pues me volvieron la cerviz, y no el rostro; y en el tiempo de su trabajo dicen: Levántate, y líbranos.
28 ¿Y dónde están tus dioses que hiciste para tí? Levántense, á ver si te podrán librar en el tiempo de tu aflicción: porque según el número de tus ciudades, oh Judá, fueron tus dioses.
29 ¿Por qué porfías conmigo? Todos vosotros prevaricasteis contra mí, dice Jehová.
30 Por demás he azotado vuestros hijos; no han recibido corrección. Cuchillo devoró vuestros profetas como león destrozador.
31 Oh generación! ved vosotros la palabra de Jehová. ¿He sido yo á Israel soledad, ó tierra de tinieblas? ¿Por qué ha dicho mi pueblo: Señores somos; nunca más vendremos á tí?
32 ¿Olvídase la virgen de su atavío, ó la desposada de sus sartales? mas mi pueblo se ha olvidado de mí por días que no tienen número.
33 ¿Por qué abonas tu camino para hallar amor, pues aun á las malvadas enseñaste tus caminos?
34 Aun en tus faldas se halló la sangre de las almas de los pobres, de los inocentes: no la hallé en excavación, sino en todas estas cosas.
35 Y dices: Porque soy inocente, de cierto su ira se apartó de mí. He aquí yo entraré en juicio contigo, porque dijiste: No he pecado.
36 ¿Para qué discurres tanto, mudando tus caminos? También serás avergonzada de Egipto, como fuiste avergonzada de Asiria.
37 También saldrás de él con tus manos sobre tu cabeza: porque Jehová deshechó tus confianzas, y en ellas no tendrás buen suceso.
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