Jeremiah 2
1 Yahweh gave me another message
Moreover the word of the LORD came 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 cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thy espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was 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 was holiness to the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD.
4 So, you [descendants of] [MTY] Jacob, all you people of [MTY] Israel,
Hear ye the word of the LORD, 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 the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they have gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and have 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]’
Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man 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.
And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit of it and the goodness of it but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made my heritage 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 the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that 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 will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and 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 over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send to Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there is such a thing.
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 their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth 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, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
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 committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
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 homeborn slave? why is he laid waste?
15 [Your enemies] [MET] roared [like] lions, and they destroyed your land. [Now] your towns have been burned, and no one lives in them.
The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are 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 the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.
17 But it is [RHQ] because you abandoned [me], Yahweh, that these disasters have happened to you.
Hast thou not procured this to thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led 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?
And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, 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.
Thy own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD 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 of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the 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.
Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant 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.
For though thou shalt wash thee with lye, and take thee much soap, yet thy iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.
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 am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing 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 used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not 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, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, 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 thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; 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 stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back to me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble 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?
But where are thy gods that thou hast made for thyself? 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 You complain that it was wrong for me [not to have rescued you], but you have all rebelled against me.
Why will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the LORD.
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; they have received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like 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 ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness to Israel? a land of darkness? why say my people, We are lords; we will come no more to 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 maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? 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].
Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones 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),
Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon 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.’
Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead 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.
Why dost thou go about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, 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.”
Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thy hands upon thy head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.
