Jeremiah 2:1-22

English Standard Version

Israel Forsakes the Lord

2 The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,

“I remember the devotion of ^(A)your youth,
    your love ^(B)as a bride,
^(C)how you followed me in the wilderness,
    ^(D)in a land not sown.
³^(E)Israel was holy to the Lord,
    ^(F)the firstfruits of his harvest.
^(G)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:

^(H)“What wrong did your fathers find in me
    that they went far from me,
^(I)and went after ^(J)worthlessness, and became worthless?
⁶They did not say, ^(K)‘Where is the Lord
    who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us ^(L)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?’
⁷^(M)And I brought you into a plentiful land
    to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, ^(N)you defiled my land
    and made my heritage an abomination.
⁸The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
    ^(O)Those who handle the law did not know me;
^(P)the shepherds^[a] transgressed against me;
    ^(Q)the prophets prophesied by Baal
    and went after ^(R)things that do not profit.

⁹“Therefore ^(S)I still contend with you,
declares the Lord,
    and ^(T)with your children's children I will contend.
¹⁰For cross to the coasts of ^(U)Cyprus and see,
    or send to ^(V)Kedar and examine with care;
    see if there has been such a thing.
¹¹^(W)Has a nation changed its gods,
    ^(X)even though they are no gods?
But my people ^(Y)have changed their glory
    for ^(Z)that which does not profit.
¹²Be appalled, ^(AA)O heavens, at this;
    be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the Lord,
¹³for my people have committed two evils:
^(AB)they have forsaken ^(AC)me,
    the fountain of ^(AD)living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
    broken cisterns that can hold no water.

¹⁴^(AE)“Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
    Why then has he become a prey?
¹⁵^(AF)The lions have roared against him;
    they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
    his cities are in ruins, ^(AG)without inhabitant.
¹⁶Moreover, the men of ^(AH)Memphis and ^(AI)Tahpanhes
    ^(AJ)have shaved^[b] the crown of your head.
¹⁷^(AK)Have you not brought this upon yourself
    by forsaking the Lord your God,
    when ^(AL)he led you in the way?
¹⁸^(AM)And now what do you gain by going to Egypt
    to drink the waters of ^(AN)the Nile?
^(AO)Or what do you gain by going to Assyria
    to drink the waters of ^(AP)the Euphrates?^[c]
¹⁹^(AQ)Your evil will chastise you,
    and ^(AR)your apostasy will reprove you.
Know and see that it is evil and ^(AS)bitter
    for ^(AT)you to forsake the Lord your God;
    the fear of me is not in you,
declares the Lord God of hosts.

²⁰“For long ago I ^(AU)broke your yoke
    and burst your bonds;
    but you said, ^(AV)‘I will not serve.’
Yes, ^(AW)on every high hill
    and under every green tree
    you bowed down ^(AX)like a whore.
²¹^(AY)Yet I planted you a choice vine,
    wholly of pure seed.
^(AZ)How then have you turned degenerate
    and become a wild vine?
²²Though you wash yourself with lye
    and use much soap,
    ^(BA)the stain of your guilt is still before me,
declares the Lord God.