Jeremiah 2
1 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
Yahweh gave me another message
2 Go and call out before the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus hath said the Lord, I remember unto thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thy espousals, thy going after me in the wilderness, through a land that is not sown.
[to proclaim to everyone in Jerusalem. He said that I should tell them this] [MET]: “I, Yahweh, remember that you very much wanted to please me [long ago]. [You tried to please me like] a bride [tries to please her husband]; You loved me, and you followed me through the desert [DOU].
3 A holy thing is Israel unto the Lord, the first of his fruits: all that devour him shall incur guilt; evil shall come over them, saith the Lord.
[At that time you] Israelis (were set apart/belonged only) to me; [you belonged to me like] the first part of the harvests belong to me [MET]. I promised to punish all those who harmed you, my people, and truly I did send disasters on them. [That happened because I], Yahweh, said [that it would happen].”
4 Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all ye families of the house of Israel.
So, you [descendants of] [MTY] Jacob, all you people of [MTY] Israel,
5 Thus hath said the Lord, What fault did your fathers find in me, that they went away far from me, and walked after vanity, and became vain?
listen to what Yahweh says: “(What sin did I commit [RHQ] that caused your ancestors to turn far away from me?/Though your ancestors found no fault in me, they turned far away from me.) They worshiped worthless idols, and they themselves became worthless.
6 That they said not, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of wildness, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land through which no one had passed, and where no man had dwelt?
They did not say, ‘Yahweh brought us [safely] out of Egypt, and he led us through a desert where there were a lot of pits; he led us where there was no water and where it was very dangerous, through a land where no one lives, and no one even travels. (So where is Yahweh now?/So he should be helping us now!) [RHQ]’
7 And I brought you into the land of fruitful fields, to eat its fruit and its goodly products; but ye came and ye made unclean my land, and my heritage ye rendered an abomination.
And when I brought you into a very fertile land, in order that you could enjoy [all] the fruit and [other] good things that you would harvest, you caused the land that I promised to give to you to be unfit for me and to become disgusting/detestable to me.
8 The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not; and the shepherds transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied in the name of Ba'al, and after things that cannot profit did they walk.
[Your] priests also did not say, ‘(Where is Yahweh now?/Yahweh should be helping us now!)’ [RHQ] Those who teach/explain my laws do not [want to] know me, and [your] leaders have rebelled against me. [Your] prophets gave you messages from [their god] Baal, and they worship worthless idols.”
9 Therefore will I contend yet farther with you, saith the Lord, and with your children's children will I contend.
“So, I will accuse you in court. [In future years], I will say what your children and your grandchildren have done that is wrong. [That will happen because I], Yahweh, have said [that it will happen].
10 For pass over to the isles of the Chittites, and see; and unto Kedar send, and consider well and see if any thing like this hath happened.
If you go [west] to the island of Cyprus, or if you go [east] to Kedar [land, ] and if you ask people in those places, they will tell you that no people [from their countries] have ever done the wicked things that you people have done!
11 Hath a nation exchanged its gods, which are yet no gods? and [still] my people hath exchanged its glory for that which can not profit.
The people of no other nation have ever [RHQ] abandoned their gods that they thought were glorious and started to worship gods that are not really gods, but you people have abandoned me, your glorious God, and are worshiping gods that are useless.
12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and let your hair stand at an end, be ye greatly terrified, saith the Lord.
[It is as though everything in] the sky is surprised and dismayed/appalled [about what you have done]; [it is as though] they tremble because they are very horrified.
13 For two evils have my people committed: me have they forsaken, the source of living waters, to hew out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that cannot hold water.
[You], my people, have done two evil things: You have rejected me, the one who is [like] [MET] a fountain [where you can obtain] fresh water, and you [are worshiping gods that are like] [MET] pits in the ground that are cracked and which are not able to hold any water.
14 Is Israel a servant? or one born [to servitude] in the house? why hath he been given up to plunder?
You Israeli people, you were certainly not [RHQ] slaves when you were born; you were captured [by your enemies].
15 [That] over him young lions roared, let their voice resound, and changed his land into a waste, that his cities are burnt, left without an inhabitant?
[Your enemies] [MET] roared [like] lions, and they destroyed your land. [Now] your towns have been burned, and no one lives in them.
16 Even the children of Noph and Thachpanches have crushed the crown of thy head.
Soldiers from Memphis and Tahpenes, [cities in Egypt], have [defeated you] [and] shaved your heads [to show that you are their slaves].
17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, through thy forsaking the Lord thy God, while he was leading thee on the [right] way?
But it is [RHQ] because you abandoned [me], Yahweh, that these disasters have happened to you.
18 And now what hast thou to do on the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Shichor? and what hast thou to do on the way of Asshur, to drink the waters of the river?
So (why are you trying to make an alliance with [MET] the rulers of Egypt?/it certainly will not help you to make an alliance with the rulers of Egypt) [RHQ]. Why are you trying to make an alliance with [MET] the rulers of Assyria who live near the [Euphrates] River?
19 Thy own wickedness shall chastise thee, and thy backslidings shall correct thee; and thou shalt know and see that evil and bitter was thy forsaking the Lord thy God, while the dread of me was not upon thee, saith the Lord Eternal of hosts.
[It is because] you have been [very] wicked that I [PRS] will punish you. It is because you have turned away from me that I [PRS] will condemn you. [When I do that], you will realize that painful and evil [DOU] things will happen to you because you have forsaken [me], Yahweh, your God, and you no [longer] revere me. [That will certainly happen because] I, Yahweh, the Commander of the armies of angels in heaven, have said it.
20 Because from yore did I break thy yoke, did I burst asunder thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress: nevertheless upon every high hill and under every green tree thou makest thy bed, as harlot.
Long ago, you stopped obeying [me] [MET], and you would not allow [me] to lead you [MET]; you refused to worship [me]. Instead, you worship idols that are under trees on the top of every hill, and your young women have sex with [EUP] [men at those places].
21 Yet I had planted thee as a branch of a noble vine, wholly of the proper seed; but how art thou changed unto me into a degenerate plant of an ignoble vine?
[It is as though] [MET] you were a grapevine that I planted when it was a cutting from a very good vine. So now it is disgusting that [RHQ] you have become [like] a rotten worthless vine.
22 For though thou wash thyself with natron, and take for thyself much soap: yet would the stain of thy iniquity remain before me, saith the Lord Eternal.
Your guilt from your sins is like [MET] very bad stains on a cloth, and you cannot get rid of those stains even by using very strong soap. [This is true because I], Yahweh, have said it.
23 How canst thou say, I am not become unclean, after the Be'alim have I not gone? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: [like] a swift dromedary bound fast to her ways;
You say that you have not sinned. You say ‘We have not become unacceptable to God; we have not worshiped Baal.’ But think about [the disgusting things that you do very eagerly] in [Hinnom] Valley [outside Jerusalem]. You are like desperate female camels, running here and there [to find male camels to have sex with].
24 [Like] a wild ass used to the wilderness, that at her pleasure snuffeth up the wind; her lust—who can turn this away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month will they find her.
You are [like] wild female donkeys in the desert. They sniff the air to find where the male donkeys are, and no one can [RHQ] restrain them. The male donkeys that want them do not become tired searching for them, because at mating time they find them [easily].
25 “Prevent thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from being thirsty;” but thou saidst, It is useless; no, for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.
You constantly run here and there [to find idols to worship], with the result that your sandals are worn out, and your throats have become dry. [I told you to stop doing that], but you said, ‘We cannot stop, because we love foreign gods, and we must worship them.’”
26 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so have the house of Israel been made ashamed, they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets,
[Yahweh says this]: “A robber is disgraced when he is caught. And all of you, including your kings and priests and prophets, are similarly disgraced.
27 Who say to the wood, Thou art my father; and to the stone, Thou hast brought us forth; for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face; but in the time of their misfortune will they say, Arise, and save us.
You say to [a piece of] wood [that is carved to become a sacred idol], ‘You are our father!’ And you say to a stone [that you have set up], ‘You are our mother!’ You have rejected [IDM] me, but when you experience troubles, you cry out to me to rescue you.
28 But where are then thy gods that thou hast made for thyself? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy misfortune; for equal to the number of thy cities were thy gods, O Judah.
Why do you not [RHQ] cry out to the gods that you made? You have as many gods as you have cities [and towns] in Judah. So why do you not plead with them to rescue you when you experience disasters?
29 Wherefore will ye contend with me? all of you have transgressed against me, saith the Lord.
You complain that it was wrong for me [not to have rescued you], but you have all rebelled against me.
30 To no purpose have I smitten your children; correction they accepted not: your sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
I punished some of you, but you did not learn anything from my doing that. You have killed many of the prophets that I [sent to you], like [SIM] fierce lions kill [other animals].
31 O [present] generation, regard ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of deep darkness? wherefore say my people, We wander about; we cannot come any more unto thee?
You people of Israel, pay attention to what I say. I have certainly [RHQ] never [abandoned you] in a desert; I have never [left you] in a land full of darkness. So, why do you, my people, say ‘We are free from God’s control; we will not return to [worship] God any more’?
32 Can a virgin forget her ornament, or a bride her decorations? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
A young woman would certainly never [RHQ] forget [to wear] her jewelry, and a bride would never [RHQ] forget to wear her wedding dress, but you my people have forgotten me for many years.
33 Why ornamentest thou thy way to seek for love? truly even the worst hast thou used thyself as thy ways.
You know how to easily find [gods from other countries] whom you can love. You can find them as easily as a prostitute [can find men to sleep with].
34 Also on thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent needy ones: not while breaking in [thy house] didst thou find them; but for all these things.
Although you have on your clothes the blood of poor people whom you have murdered, people who (were innocent/had not done things that are wrong),
35 Yet thou sayest, Yea, I am innocent, surely his anger is already turned away from me. Behold, I will hold judgment with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.
you say ‘We have not done anything that is wrong; so surely [Yahweh] is not angry with us.’ But I will punish [MTY] you [severely] for saying ‘We have not sinned.’
36 Why makest thou thyself so very low to change thy way? also because of Egypt shalt thou be made ashamed, as thou wast put to shame because of Assyria.
Previously you requested [the army of] Assyria to help you, but they were not able to help you. Now you have requested [the army of] Egypt to help you, but they will not be able to help you, either.
37 Also from this one shalt thou go forth, with thy hands [clasped] over thy head; for the Lord hath rejected those on whom thou trustest and thou shalt not prosper with them.
They will capture you, and you will be [their prisoners] [MTY], led to Egypt, [very ashamed] with your hands on your heads. That will happen because I, Yahweh, have rejected those [nations] that you are relying on, and they will not be able to help you at all.”
