Jeremiah 2

1 And there is a word of YHWH to me, saying,

And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

2 “Go, and you have called in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus said YHWH: I have remembered for you The kindness of your youth, the love of your espousals, Your going after Me in a wilderness, in a land not sown.

“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.

3 Israel [is] holy to YHWH, The first-fruit of His increase, All consuming him are guilty, Calamity comes to them,” A declaration of YHWH.

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.”

4 Hear a word of YHWH, O house of Jacob, And all you families of the house of Israel—

Listen to the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all you families of the house of Israel.

5 Thus said YHWH: “What perversity have your fathers found in Me, That they have gone far off from Me, And go after vanity, and become vain,

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?

6 And have not said, Where [is] YHWH, Who brings us up out of the land of Egypt, Who leads us in a wilderness, In a land of deserts and pits, In a dry land, and of death-shade, In a land that none has passed through, Nor has man dwelt there?

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?’

7 Indeed, I bring you into a land of fruitful fields, To eat its fruit and its goodness, And you come in and defile My land, And have made My inheritance an abomination.

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.

8 The priests have not said, Where [is] YHWH? And those handling the Law have not known Me. And the shepherds transgressed against Me, And the prophets have prophesied by Ba‘al, And have gone after those who do not profit.

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.

9 Therefore, I yet plead with you,” A declaration of YHWH, “And I plead with your sons’ sons.

Because of this, I will still contend in judgment against you, says the Lord, and I will dispute with your sons.

10 For pass to the islands of Chittim and see, And send to Kedar and consider well, And see if there has been [anything] like this:

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.

11 Has a nation changed gods? (And they [are] no gods!) And My people has changed its glory For that which does not profit.

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.

12 Be astonished, you heavens, at this, Indeed, be frightened, be greatly desolated,” A declaration of YHWH.

Be astonished at this, O heavens, and be utterly desolate, O gates of heaven, says the Lord.

13 “For My people have done two evils, They have forsaken Me, a fountain of living waters, To hew out for themselves wells—broken wells, That do not contain the waters.

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.

14 [Is] Israel a servant? Is he a child of the house? Why has he been for a prey?

Is Israel a servant, or one born into slavery? Then why has he become a prey?

15 Young lions roar against him, They have given forth their voice, And make his land become a desolation, His cities have been burned without inhabitant.

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.

16 Also sons of Noph and Tahapanes Consume you—the crown of the head!

Likewise, the sons of Memphis and of Tahpanhes have defiled you, even to the top of the head.

17 Do you not do this to yourself? [By] your forsaking your God YHWH, At the time He is leading you in the way?

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?

18 And now, why do you [go] in the way of Egypt, To drink the waters of Sihor? And why do you [go] in the way of Asshur, To drink the waters of the River?

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?

19 Your wickedness instructs you, And your backslidings reprove you, Know and see that an evil and a bitter thing [is] your forsaking your God YHWH, And My fear not being on you,” A declaration of Lord YHWH of Hosts.

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.

20 “For from of old you have broken your yoke, Drawn away your bands, and say, I do not serve, For on every high height, and under every green tree, You are wandering—a harlot.

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.

21 And I planted you [as] a choice vine, wholly of true seed, And how have you been turned Into the degenerate shoots of a strange vine to Me?

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?

22 But though you wash with natron, And multiply soap to yourself, Your iniquity is marked before Me,” A declaration of Lord YHWH.

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.

23 “How can you say, I have not been defiled, I have not gone after the Ba‘alim? See your way in a valley, know what you have done, A swift dromedary winding her ways,

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.

24 A wild donkey accustomed to a wilderness, She has swallowed up wind in the desire of her soul, Her meeting—who turns her back? None seeking her weary themselves, In her month they find her.

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.

25 Withhold your foot from being unshod, And your throat from thirst, And you say, It is incurable, No, for I have loved strangers, and I go after them.

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.’

26 As the shame of a thief when he is found, So has the house of Israel been put to shame, They, their kings, their heads, And their priests, and their prophets,

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.

27 Saying to wood, You [are] my father! And to a stone, You have brought me forth, For they turned to me the back and not the face, And in the time of their distress, They say, Arise, and save us.

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.’

28 And where [are] your gods, that you have made to yourself? Let them arise, if they may save you, In the time of your distress, For—the number of your cities have been your gods, O Judah,

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.

29 Why do you strive with Me? All of you have transgressed against Me,” A declaration of YHWH.

Why do you want to contend against me in judgment? You have all forsaken me, says the Lord.

30 “I have struck your sons in vain, They have not accepted instruction, Your sword has devoured your prophets, As a destroying lion.

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.

31 O generation, see the word of YHWH: Have I been a wilderness to Israel? A land of thick darkness? Why have My people said, We wandered freely, We do not come to You again.

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’?

32 Does a virgin forget her ornaments? A bride her bands? And My people have forgotten Me [for] days without number.

Can a virgin forget her ornament, or a bride the covering across her breast? Yet truly, my people have forgotten me, for innumerable days.

33 Why do you make your ways pleasing to seek love? Therefore you have even taught the wicked your ways.

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,

34 Also the blood of innocent needy souls Has been found on your skirts, I have not found them by digging, But on all these.

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.

35 And you say, Because I have been innocent, Surely His anger has turned back from me? Behold, I have been judged with you, Because of your saying, I have not sinned.

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.’

36 What? You are very vile to repeat your way, You are even ashamed of Egypt, As you have been ashamed of Asshur,

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.

37 Also you go out from this, And your hands on your head, For YHWH has kicked at your confidences, And you do not give prosperity to them!”

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.”