Jeremiah 2

1 The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,

Yahweh gave me another message

2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem. Say, 'Yahweh says this: I have called to mind on your behalf the covenant faithfulness in your youthfulness, your love at the time when we were engaged, when you went after me in the wilderness, the land that was 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 Israel was set apart to Yahweh, the firstfruits of his harvest! All who ate from the firstfruits were held guilty; disaster came upon them—this is Yahweh's declaration.'”

[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 the word of Yahweh, house of Jacob, all you clans of the house of Israel.

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

5 Yahweh says this, “What did your fathers find wrong with me, that they went far from following me? That they went after useless idols and became useless themselves?

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 They did not say, 'Where is Yahweh, who brought us up from the land of Egypt? Where is Yahweh, who led us to the wilderness, into the land of the Arabah and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, a land through which no one passes and where no one lives?'

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 But I brought you to the land of Carmel, to eat its fruit and other good things! Yet when you came, you defiled my land, you made my inheritance 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 priest did not say, 'Where is Yahweh?' and the experts in the law did not care about me! The shepherds transgressed against me. The prophets prophesied for Baal and walked after unprofitable things.

[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 So I will still accuse you—this is Yahweh's declaration—and I will accuse your sons' sons.

“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 cross over to the coasts of Kittim and look. Send messengers out to Kedar and find out and see if there has ever before been anything like this.

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 Has a nation exchanged gods, even though they were not gods? But my people have exchanged their glory for what cannot help them.

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 Shudder, heavens, because of this! Be shocked and horrified—this is Yahweh's declaration.

[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 my people have committed two evils against me: They have abandoned the springs of living waters, and they have dug out cisterns for themselves, 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 slave? Was he born in his master's home? So why has he become plunder?

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

15 Young lions roared against him. They made a lot of noise and made his land a horror. His cities are destroyed without any inhabitants.

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

16 Also, the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes will shave your skull.

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

17 Did you not do this to yourselves when you abandoned Yahweh your God, while he was leading you along the way?

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

18 So now, why take the road to Egypt and drink the waters of Shihor? Why take the road to Assyria and drink the waters of the Euphrates 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 Your wickedness rebukes you, and your faithlessness punishes you. So think about it and understand that it is wicked and bitter when you forsake Yahweh your God, and have no fear of me—this is the declaration of Lord Yahweh 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 For I broke your yoke that you had in ancient days; I tore your fetters off you. Still you said, 'I will not serve!' since you bowed down on every high hill and beneath every leafy tree, you adulterer.

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 I planted you as a choice vine, completely from pure seed. How then have you have changed yourself into a corrupt, worthless 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 even if you clean yourself in the river or wash with strong soap, your iniquity is a stain before me—this is the declaration of the Lord Yahweh.

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 can you say, 'I am not defiled! I have not walked after the Baals'? Look at what you did in the valleys! Consider what you have done—you are a swift female camel running here and there,

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 a wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness, in her heat sniffing the wind! Who can restrain her lust? None of the males need wear themselves out pursuing her; at mating time they will 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 You must restrain your feet from becoming bare and your throat from being thirsty! But you have said, 'It is hopeless! No, I love strangers and go after them!'

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 Like the shame of a thief when he is found, so the house of Israel will be ashamed— they, their kings, their princes, and their priests and 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 These are the ones who say to the tree, 'You are my father,' and to the stone, 'You gave birth to me.' For their back faces me and not their faces. Nevertheless, they say in the time of troubles, '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 Yet where are the gods that you made for yourselves? Let them arise if they wish to save you in your time of troubles, for your idols equal your cities in number, 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 So why do you accuse me of doing wrong? All of you have sinned against me—this is Yahweh's declaration.

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

30 I have punished your people in vain. They would not accept discipline. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a destructive 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 You who belong to this generation! Pay attention to my word, the word of Yahweh! Have I been a wilderness to Israel? Or a land of deep darkness? Why would my people say, 'Let us wander around, we will not go to you anymore'?

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 Will a virgin forget her jewelry, a bride her veils? Yet my people have forgotten me for 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 How well you make your way to look for love. You have even taught your ways to wicked women.

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 The blood that was the life of innocent, poor people has been found on your clothes. These people were not discovered in acts of burglary.

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 you say, 'I am innocent; surely his anger has turned away from me.' But look! I will bring down judgment on you because you say, '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 do you treat so very lightly this change in your ways? You will also be disappointed by Egypt, just as you were by 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 You will also go out from there dejected, with your hands on your head, for Yahweh has rejected the ones whom you trusted, so you will not be helped by 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.”