Jeremiah 2

1 Yahweh gave me another message

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

2 [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].

“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.

3 [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].”

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

4 So, you [descendants of] [MTY] Jacob, all you people of [MTY] Israel,

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

5 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.

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,

6 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]’

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?

7 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.

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.

8 [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.”

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.

9 “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].

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

10 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!

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:

11 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.

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

12 [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.

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

13 [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.

“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.

14 You Israeli people, you were certainly not [RHQ] slaves when you were born; you were captured [by your enemies].

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

15 [Your enemies] [MET] roared [like] lions, and they destroyed your land. [Now] your towns have been burned, and no one lives in them.

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.

16 Soldiers from Memphis and Tahpenes, [cities in Egypt], have [defeated you] [and] shaved your heads [to show that you are their slaves].

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

17 But it is [RHQ] because you abandoned [me], Yahweh, that these disasters have happened to you.

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

18 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?

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?

19 [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.

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.

20 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].

“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.

21 [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.

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?

22 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.

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

23 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].

“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,

24 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].

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.

25 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.’”

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.

26 [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.

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,

27 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.

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.

28 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?

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,

29 You complain that it was wrong for me [not to have rescued you], but you have all rebelled against me.

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

30 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].

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

31 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’?

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.

32 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.

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

33 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].

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

34 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),

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

35 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.’

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.

36 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.

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

37 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.”

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!”