Jeremiah 2
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
And he said, Thus saith the Lord,
2 “Go, and cry out to the ears of Jerusalem, saying: Thus says the Lord: I have remembered you, taking pity on your youth and on the charity of your betrothal, when you followed me into the desert, into a land which is not sown.
I remember the kindness of thy youth, and the love of thine espousals,
3 Israel is holy to the Lord, the first of his fruits. All those who devour him commit an offense. Evils will overwhelm them, says the Lord.”
in following the Holy One of Israel, saith the Lord, Israel was the holy [people] to the Lord, [and] the first-fruits of his increase: all that devoured him shall offend; evils shall come upon them, saith the Lord.
4 Listen to the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all you families of the house of Israel.
Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and every family of the house of Israel.
5 Thus says the Lord: “What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they would draw far away from me, and would walk after emptiness, and would become empty?
Thus saith the Lord, What trespass have your fathers found in me, that they have revolted far from me, and gone after vanities, and become vain?
6 And they have not said: ‘Where is the Lord, who caused us to ascend from the land of Egypt; who led us through the desert, through an uninhabited and impassable land, through a land of drought and of the image of death, through a land in which no one walked and in which no man lived?’
And they said not, Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, who guided us in the wilderness, in an untried and trackless land, in a land which no man at all went through, and no man dwelt there?
7 And I led you into the land of Carmel, so that you would eat from its fruit and from its excellence. And having entered it, you defiled my land, and you turned my inheritance into an abomination.
And I brought you to Carmel, that ye should eat the fruits thereof, and the good thereof; and ye went in, and defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.
8 The priests have not said: ‘Where is the Lord?’ And those who held the law did not know me. And the pastors betrayed me. And the prophets prophesied in Baal and followed idols.
The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that held by the law knew me not: the shepherds also sinned against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after that which profited not.
9 Because of this, I will still contend in judgment against you, says the Lord, and I will dispute with your sons.
Therefore I will yet plead with you, and will plead with your children's children.
10 Cross over to the isles of Kittim, and gaze. And send to Kedar, and consider diligently. And see if anything like this has ever been done.
For go to the isles of the Chettians, and se; and send to Kedar, and observe accurately, and see if such things have been done;
11 See if a nation has ever changed their gods, though certainly those are not gods. Yet truly, my people have exchanged their glory for an idol.
if the nations will change their gods, though they are not gods: but my people have changed their glory, [for that] from which they shall not be profited.
12 Be astonished at this, O heavens, and be utterly desolate, O gates of heaven, says the Lord.
The heaven is amazed at this, and is very exceedingly horror-struck, saith the Lord.
13 For my people have done two evils. They have forsaken me, the Fountain of living water, and they have dug for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that are unable to hold water.
For my people has committed two [faults], and evil ones: they have forsaken me, the fountain of water of life, and hewn out for themselves broken cisterns, which will not be able to hold water.
14 Is Israel a servant, or one born into slavery? Then why has he become a prey?
Is Israel a servant, or a home-born slave? why has he become a spoil?
15 The lions have roared over him, and they have uttered their voice. They have set his land in solitude; his cities have been burned up, and there is no one who lives in them.
The lions roared upon him, and uttered their voice, which have made his land a wilderness: and his cities are broken down, that they should not be inhabited.
16 Likewise, the sons of Memphis and of Tahpanhes have defiled you, even to the top of the head.
Also the children of Memphis and Taphnas have known thee, and mocked thee.
17 Has this not been done to you because you abandoned the Lord your God, in that time when he was leading you by the way?
Has not thy forsaking me brought these things upon thee? saith the Lord thy God.
18 And now what do you want from the way of Egypt, but to drink their turbid water? And what do you want from the way of the Assyrians, but to drink the water of their river?
And now what hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the water of Geon? and what hast thou to do with the way of the Assyrians, to drink the water of rivers?
19 Your own malice will reprove you, and your own apostasy will rebuke you! But know and perceive this: it is an evil and bitter thing for you to forsake the Lord your God, and to be without my fear within you, says the Lord, the God of hosts.
Thine apostasy shall correct thee, and thy wickedness shall reprove thee: know then, and see, that thy forsaking me [has been] bitter to thee, saith the Lord thy God; and I have taken no pleasure in thee, saith the Lord thy God.
20 From ancient times, you have broken my yoke; you have torn apart my bonds, and you have said, ‘I will not serve.’ For on every high hill, and under every leafy tree, you have been debased, O harlot.
For of old thou hast broken thy yoke, and plucked asunder thy bands; and thou has said, I will not serve thee, but will go upon every high hill, and under every shady tree, there will I indulge in my fornication.
21 Yet I planted you as an elect vineyard, with only true seed. Then how have you been turned away from me, toward that which is depraved, O strange vineyard?
Yet I planted thee a fruitful vine, entirely of the right sort: how art thou a strange vine turned to bitterness!
22 Even if you wash yourself with soap, and increase your use of herbal soaps, you are still stained by your iniquity in my sight, says the Lord God.
Though thou shouldest wash thyself with nitre, and multiply to thyself soap, [still] thou art stained by thine iniquities before me, saith the Lord.
23 How can you say: ‘I have not been polluted. I have not walked after Baal?’ Consider your ways in the steep valley. Acknowledge what you have done, so that you may be like a swift runner, following his course.
How wilt thou say, I am not polluted, and have not gone after Baal? behold thy ways in the burial-ground, and know what thou hast done: her voice has howled in the evening:
24 A wild donkey accustomed to solitude, out of the desire in his soul, caught the scent of his lover. Now nothing will turn him away from her. All those who seek her will not cease. But they will find her in her menstruation.
she has extended her ways over the waters of the desert; she was hurried along by the lusts of her soul; she is given up [to them], who will turn her back? none that seek her shall be weary; at [the time of] her humiliation they shall find her.
25 You should keep your foot from being naked, and your throat from being thirsty. But you have said: ‘I have lost hope. I will not do it. For certainly, I have loved strangers, and I will walk after them.’
Withdraw thy foot from a rough way, and thy throat from thirst: but she said I will strengthen myself: for she loved strangers, and went after them.
26 In the same way that a thief is confounded when he has been apprehended, so the house of Israel has been confounded, they and their kings, their leaders and priests and prophets.
As is the shame of a thief when he is caught, so shall the children of Israel be ashamed; they, and their kings, and their princes, and their priests, and their prophets.
27 For they say to a piece of wood, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You have conceived me.’ They have turned their back to me, and not their face. But in the time of their affliction, they will say: ‘Rise up and deliver us.’
They said to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou has begotten me: and they have turned [their] backs to me, and not their faces: yet in the time of their afflictions they will say, Arise, and save us.
28 Where are your gods that you made for yourselves? Let them rise up and deliver you in the time of your affliction. For certainly, your gods were like the number of your cities, O Judah.
And where are thy gods, which thou madest for thyself? will they arise and save in the time of thine affliction? for according to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Juda; and according to the number of the streets of Jerusalem they sacrificed to Baal.
29 Why do you want to contend against me in judgment? You have all forsaken me, says the Lord.
Wherefore do ye speak unto me? ye all have been ungodly, and ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord.
30 I have struck your children to no effect; they have not accepted discipline. Your own sword has devoured your prophets. Your generation is like a raging lion.
In vain have I smitten your children; ye have not received correction: a sword has devoured your prophets as a destroying lion; yet ye feared not.
31 Consider the word of the Lord. Have I become like a wilderness to Israel, or like a land late to bear fruit? Then why have my people said, ‘We are withdrawing; we will no longer approach you’?
Hear ye the word of the Lord: thus saith the Lord, Have I been a wilderness or a dry land to Israel? wherefore has my people said, We will not be ruled over, and will not come to thee any more?
32 Can a virgin forget her ornament, or a bride the covering across her breast? Yet truly, my people have forgotten me, for innumerable days.
Will a bride forget her ornaments, or a virgin her girdle? but my people has forgotten me days without number.
33 Why are you striving to claim that your way is good, as if to seek my love, when all the while you are also displaying your malice by your own way,
What fair device wilt thou yet employ in thy ways, so as to seek love? [it shall] not [be] so; moreover thou has done wickedly in corrupting thy ways;
34 and in your armpits there is found the blood of poor and innocent souls? I have found them, not in ditches, but everywhere that I mentioned previously.
and in thine hands has been found the blood of innocent souls; I have not found them in holes, but on every oak.
35 And you have said: ‘I am innocent and without sin. And because of this, let your fury be turned away from me.’ Behold, I will contend with you in judgment, because you have said: ‘I have not sinned.’
Yet thou saidst, I am innocent: only let his wrath be turned away from me. Behold, I [will] plead with thee, whereas thou sayest, I have not sinned.
36 How exceedingly vile you have become, repeating your ways again and again! And so, you will be ashamed of Egypt, just as you were ashamed of Assur.
For thou has been so exceedingly contemptuous as to repeat thy ways; but thou shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assur.
37 For you will also depart from that place, and your hand will be upon your head. For the Lord has crushed your confidence, and you will have nothing prosperous by it.”
For thou shalt go forth thence also with thine hands upon thine head; for the Lord has rejected thine hope, and thou shalt not prosper in it.
