Jeremiah 2
1 Yahweh gave me another message
And the word of Yahweh came unto 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 cry in the ears of Jerusalem saying—Thus saith Yahweh, I remember in thy behalf, the lovingkindness of thy youthful days, The love of thy bridal estate, —Thy coming out after me, Through the desert, Through 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].”
Holiness, was Israel unto Yahweh, The first-fruit of his increase, —All that devoured it, were held guilty, Calamity used to come upon them, —Declareth Yahweh.
4 So, you [descendants of] [MTY] Jacob, all you people of [MTY] Israel,
Hear ye the word of Yahweh O house of Jacob, And all the 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, saith Yahweh, —What did your fathers find in me by way of perversity, that they removed far from me, —and went after vanity, and became 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]’
Neither said they, Where is Yahweh, Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, —Who led us Through the desert, Through a land of wastes and clefts, Through a land of parched places and of death-shade, Through a land, Along which no man had passed, And in which no son of earth dwelt?
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.
Then brought I you into a country of garden land, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof, —and yet when ye entered, then defiled ye my land, and mine inheritance, ye made 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, said not Where is Yahweh? And, they who handled the law, did not acknowledge me, And the shepherds transgressed against me, —And the prophets, prophesied by Baal, And so after things that could not profit, did they walk.
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 yet further will I plead with you Declareth Yahweh, Yea with your children’s children, will I plead.
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 through the coastlands of the West and see, And unto Kedar, send ye and consider diligently, —And see—whether there hath been the like of 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.
Hath a nation, changed gods, although they were No-gods? Yet my people have changed my glory for that which could 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 amazed, O ye heavens, at this, —And shudder, be dried up utterly, Urgeth Yahweh.
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 two wicked things, have my people committed, —Me, have they forsaken a fountain of living water, To hew out for themselves cisterns broken cisterns, that cannot hold water.
14 You Israeli people, you were certainly not [RHQ] slaves when you were born; you were captured [by your enemies].
Was Israel a servant? Born in the house, was he? Wherefore hath he become 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.
Against him, have been roaring wild lions, They have uttered their voice, —and have made his land a desolation, His cities, have been burned, so as to have no inhabitant.
16 Soldiers from Memphis and Tahpenes, [cities in Egypt], have [defeated you] [and] shaved your heads [to show that you are their slaves].
Even the sons of Noph and Tahpanhes have been crushing the crown of the head.
17 But it is [RHQ] because you abandoned [me], Yahweh, that these disasters have happened to you.
Is not this what thou wast certain to do for thyself, —in that thou didst forsake Yahweh thy God, when he was leading thee by 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?
Now, therefore what hast thou to do with the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor? Or what hast thou to do with the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River ["Euphrates"]?
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.
Let thy wickedness correct thee And thine apostasies, rebuke thee, Know therefore and see That it is a wicked thing and a bitter, that thou shouldest have forsaken Yahweh thy God, And that the dread of me should not have pertained to thee, Declareth My Lord, Yahweh 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, in age-past time, I brake thy yoke, I tare off thy fetters, And thou saidst, I will not transgress, —Nevertheless, on every high hill, and under every green tree, wast thou lying down as an unchaste woman.
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.
Yet, I, planted thee a precious vine, a wholly true seed, —How then didst thou change thyself towards me, into the degenerate plantings of the alien vine?
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.
For though thou wash thee with nitre, And take thee much soap, Yet is thine iniquity inscribed before me Declareth My Lord Yahweh.
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 canst thou say, I have not defiled myself, After the Baalim, have I not gone? See thy way, in the valley, Own what thou hast done, —A nimble young she-camel, crossing her own 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 ass, taught of the desert, In the desire of her soul, she snuffeth the wind, In her occasion, who can turn her back? None who seek her, will weary themselves, In her month, they shall 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 thy foot from being unshod, And thy throat from thirst! But thou saidst Hopeless! No! for I love foreigners and after them, will I go.
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, hath been put to shame, the house of Israel, —They, their kings their princes, 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 a tree, My father, art thou! And to a stone, Thou, didst give us birth, For they have turned unto me the back and not the face, —But in the time of their calamity, they will 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?
Where then are thy gods which thou hast made for thyself? Let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy calamity, —For according to the number of thy cities, have become thy gods O Judah.
29 You complain that it was wrong for me [not to have rescued you], but you have all rebelled against me.
Wherefore, should ye plead against me, All of you, have transgressed against me Declareth Yahweh.
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].
In vain, have I smitten your children, Correction, have they not accepted, —Your sword hath devoured your prophets, as a lion that destroyeth.
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, ye, the word of Yahweh, A desert, became I unto Israel? Or a land of thick darkness? Wherefore, have my people said, We have roved about, We will not come in any more unto thee?
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.
Can, a virgin, forget, her ornaments, —A bride, her girdle? Yet, my people, have forgotten me, 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].
How thou dost make winsome thy way, to seek love! Therefore, even unto wicked women, hast thou taught thy 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),
Even in thy skirts, is there found, The blood of the lives of the helpless innocents, —Not in the act of breaking in, didst thou find them, yet [the blood is] 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.’
Although thou saidst, Because I am innocent, surely hath his anger turned back from me, —Behold me! entering into judgment with thee, because thou sayest, 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.
How vigorously, thou goest about changing thy way! Even of Egypt, shalt thou be ashamed, just as thou wast ashamed of Assyria:
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.”
Even from this one, shalt thou go forth, with thy hands upon thy head, —For Yahweh hath rejected those in whom thou confidest, and thou shalt not prosper with them.
