Jeremiah2

¹The word of the Lord came to me, saying ,

²Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem , Thus says the Lord, I remember the devotion of your youth , your love as a bride , how you followed me in the wilderness , in a land not sown .

³Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest . All who ate of it incurred guilt ; disaster came upon them, declares the Lord.

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

⁵Thus says the Lord: What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness , and became worthless ?

⁶They did not say , Where is the Lord who brought us up from the land of Egypt , who led us in the wilderness , in a land of deserts and pits , in a land of drought and deep darkness , in a land that none passes through , where no man dwells ?

⁷And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things . But when you came in , you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination .

⁸The priests did not say , Where is the Lord? Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit .

⁹Therefore I still contend with you, declares the Lord, and with your children’s children I will contend .

¹⁰For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see , or send to Kedar and examine with care ; see if there has been such a thing .

¹¹Has a nation changed its gods , even though they are no gods ? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit .

¹²Be appalled , O heavens , at this ; be shocked , be utterly desolate , declares the Lord,

¹³for my people have committed two evils : they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters , and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water .

¹⁴Is Israel a slave ? Is he a homeborn servant? Why then has he become a prey ?

¹⁵The lions have roared against him; they have roared loudly . They have made his land a waste ; his cities are in ruins , without inhabitant .

¹⁶Moreover , the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head .

¹⁷Have you not brought this upon yourself by forsaking the Lord your God , when he led you in the way ?

¹⁸And now what do you gain by going to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile ? Or what do you gain by going to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates ?

¹⁹Your evil will chastise you, and your apostasy will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the Lord your God ; the fear of me is not in you, declares the Lord God of hosts .

²⁰For long ago I broke your yoke and burst your bonds ; but you said , I will not serve . Yes , on every high hill and under every green tree you bowed down like a whore .

²¹Yet I planted you a choice vine , wholly of pure seed . How then have you turned degenerate and become a wild vine ?

²²Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap , the stain of your guilt is still before me, declares the Lord God.

²³How can you say , I am not unclean , I have not gone after the Baals ? Look at your way in the valley ; know what you have done — a restless young camel running here and there ,

²⁴a wild donkey used to the wilderness , in her heat sniffing the wind ! Who can restrain her lust ? None who seek her need weary themselves ; in her month they will find her.

²⁵Keep your feet from going unshod and your throat from thirst . But you said , It is hopeless , for I have loved foreigners , and after them I will go .

²⁶As a thief is shamed when caught , so the house of Israel shall be shamed : they, their kings , their officials , their priests , and their prophets ,

²⁷who say to a tree , You are my father , and to a stone , You gave me birth . For they have turned their back to me, and not their face . But in the time of their trouble they say , Arise and save us!

²⁸But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise , if they can save you, in your time of trouble ; for as many as your cities are your gods , O Judah .

²⁹Why do you contend with me? You have all transgressed against me, declares the Lord.

³⁰In vain have I struck your children ; they took no correction ; your own sword devoured your prophets like a ravening lion .

³¹And you, O generation , behold the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness to Israel , or a land of thick darkness ? Why then do my people say , We are free , we will come no more to you?

³²Can a virgin forget her ornaments , or a bride her attire ? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number .

³³How well you direct your course to seek love ! So that even to wicked women you have taught your ways .

³⁴Also on your skirts is found the lifeblood of the guiltless poor ; you did not find them breaking in . Yet in spite of all these things

³⁵you say , I am innocent ; surely his anger has turned from me. Behold , I will bring you to judgment for saying , I have not sinned .

³⁶How much you go about , changing your way ! You shall be put to shame by Egypt as you were put to shame by Assyria .

³⁷From it too you will come away with your hands on your head , for the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust , and you will not prosper by them.