Jeremiah 2
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:
The word of Jehovah came to me, saying:
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.
Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, Thus saith Jehovah: I remember the kindness shown thee in thy youth, The love with which I espoused thee, When thou wast led by me through the wilderness, Through a land that was not sown.
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.”
Israel was a sacred thing to Jehovah, His first ripe fruit. All that devoured him were held guilty; Evil came upon them, saith Jehovah.
4 Listen to the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all you families of the house of Israel.
Hear ye the word of Jehovah, O house of Jacob, And all the families 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 Jehovah: What fault did your fathers find in me, That they went far from me, And walked after vanity, and practised folly?
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?’
They said not, Where is Jehovah, Who brought us up from the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and pits, Through a land of drought and deathlike gloom, Through a land which no man passed through, And where no man dwelt?
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.
I brought you to a land of fruitful fields, To eat the fruit thereof, and the good thereof; But when ye had come in, ye defiled my land, And made my inheritance 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 Jehovah? And the teachers of the law knew me not; The rulers also rebelled against me; The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal, And walked after things that could not profit.
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 contend with you, saith Jehovah; Yea, with your children's children will I contend.
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 pass over to the islands of the Chittaeans, and see; Send ye to Kedar, and inform yourselves well; And see if such a thing hath 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.
Hath any nation changed their gods, even those that are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which cannot profit.
12 Be astonished at this, O heavens, and be utterly desolate, O gates of heaven, says the Lord.
Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this! Shudder, and be amazed! saith Jehovah.
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 have committed two evils; Me have they forsaken, the fountain of living water, And they have hewn out for themselves cisterns, Broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
14 Is Israel a servant, or one born into slavery? Then why has he become a prey?
Is Israel a slave? Is he a home-born servant? Why then hath 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 young lions roar over him; They lift up their voice; They have made his land a desolation; His cities are burned so as to be without an inhabitant.
16 Likewise, the sons of Memphis and of Tahpanhes have defiled you, even to the top of the head.
Even the sons of Noph and Tahpanhes have consumed the crown of thy head.
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?
Hath not this come upon thee, Because thou didst forsake Jehovah thy God, When he would have led thee in the way?
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 waters of the Nile? Or what hast thou to do with the way of Assyria, To drink the waters of the Euphrates?
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.
Thy wickedness shall chasten thee, And thy transgressions reprove thee; And thou shalt know and see that it is an evil and bitter thing That thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, And that the fear of me is not with thee, Saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
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.
Of old hast thou broken thy yoke, And burst thy bands, And said, “I will not be in subjection!” For upon every high hill, And under every green tree, Hast thou reclined, playing the harlot.
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 had planted thee a noble vine, Wholly a genuine seed; How then art thou changed to the degenerate shoot of a strange vine?
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.
For though thou wash thee with nitre, And take thee much soap, Yet is thine iniquity black before me, saith Jehovah.
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 canst thou say, “I am not polluted,” “I have not gone after Baals”? Behold thy way in the valley! Know what thou hast done, A swift young camel, traversing her ways.
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.
A wild ass, used to the wilderness, That in her desire snuffeth up the wind, In her occasion, who can turn her aside? All that seek her do not weary themselves; In her month they will 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.’
Withhold thy feet from being unshod, And thy throat from thirst! But thou sayest, There is no remedy! No! For I love strangers, And after them I will go.
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 a thief is ashamed when he is taken, So is the house of Israel ashamed, They, 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.’
That say to a stock, Thou art my father, And to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth! For they turn the back to me, and not the face. Yet in the time of their trouble they 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.
But where are thy gods, which thou hast made thee? Let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble! For according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah!
29 Why do you want to contend against me in judgment? You have all forsaken me, says the Lord.
Why do ye enter into controversy with me? Ye have all rebelled against me, saith Jehovah.
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; They would receive no correction; Your own sword hath devoured your prophets, Like a destroying lion.
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’?
O generation! Behold ye the word of Jehovah! Have I been a wilderness to Israel? Or a land of darkness? Why then say my people, “We will rove at pleasure, We will come no more to thee”?
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.
Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her belt? Yet my people have 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,
Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? On this account hast thou accustomed thy ways to wickedness.
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.
Upon thy skirts is found the blood of the innocent poor, Whom thou didst not find committing violence.
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.’
But notwithstanding all this, thou sayest, I am innocent; Surely his anger is turned away from me. Behold, I will enter into judgment with thee, Because 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.
Why dost thou run so eagerly, changing thy way? By Egypt also shalt thou be put to shame, Even as thou hast been put to shame by Assyria.
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.”
From Egypt also shalt thou go forth With thy hands upon thy head. For Jehovah hath rejected the objects of thy confidence, Therefore shalt thou not prosper in them.
