JeremiahChapter 2

Tap any verse to comment or suggest a better wording.

¹The word of the LORD came to me. He said, ²"Go and shout this so Jerusalem can hear it. This is what the LORD says:
'I remember your faithful love when you were young.
You loved me like a bride.
You followed me through the wilderness,
through a land where nothing was planted. ³Israel was holy to the LORD,
the firstfruits of his harvest.
All who ate her up were found guilty.
Disaster came on them,'" declares the LORD. ⁴Hear the word of the LORD, house of Jacob,
all you families of the house of Israel. ⁵This is what the LORD says:
"What wrong did your fathers find in me
that they wandered so far from me?
They followed worthless idols
and became worthless themselves. ⁶They did not ask, 'Where is the LORD,
who brought us up out of the land of Egypt?
He led us through the wilderness,
through a land of deserts and pits,
a land of drought and darkness,
a land where no one travels and no one lives.' ⁷I brought you into a rich land
to eat its fruit and its good things.
But you came and made my land unclean.
You made the land I gave you disgusting. ⁸The priests did not ask, 'Where is the LORD?'
Those who handled the law did not know me anymore.
The leaders rebelled against me.
The prophets spoke by Baal
and followed useless idols. ⁹So I will bring charges against you again," declares the LORD.
"And I will bring charges against your children's children. ¹⁰Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and look.
Send someone to Kedar and think it over carefully.
See if there has ever been anything like this. ¹¹Has a nation ever traded its gods for others?
(And those are not even gods at all!)
But my people have traded their Glory
for useless idols. ¹²Be stunned at this, you heavens!
Be shocked and filled with horror," declares the LORD. ¹³"My people have done two evil things.
They have turned away from me,
the spring of living water.
And they have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.a ¹⁴Is Israel a slave?
Was he born a slave?
Then why has he become something to be hunted? ¹⁵Young lions have roared at him.
They have growled loudly.
They have ruined his land.
His cities lie in ruins, and no one lives there. ¹⁶The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have shaved the top of your head. ¹⁷Haven't you brought this on yourself?
You turned away from the LORD your God
when he was leading you on the way. ¹⁸Now what will you gain by going to Egypt
to drink water from the Nile?
What will you gain by going to Assyria
to drink water from the Euphrates? ¹⁹Your own evil will punish you.
Your own turning away will correct you.
Think about it and see how evil and bitter it is
for you to leave the LORD your God
and not to fear me," declares the Lord GOD of Hosts. ²⁰"Long ago you broke your yoke
and tore off your chains.
You said, 'I will not serve!'
Yes, on every high hill
and under every green tree
you lay down like a prostitute. ²¹I had planted you like a fine vine
from the very best seed.
How could you turn against me
and become a rotten, wild vine? ²²Even if you wash with strong lye
and use lots of soap,
the stain of your guilt is still before me," declares the Lord GOD. ²³"How can you say, 'I am not unclean.
I have not run after the Baals'?
Look at how you acted in the valley.
Admit what you have done.
You are like a fast young female camel
running here and there. ²⁴You are like a wild donkey at home in the wilderness.
In her heat she sniffs the wind.
Who can hold back her desire?
The males that look for her don't need to tire themselves out.
At mating time they will find her. ²⁵You should have kept your feet from going bare
and your throat from getting thirsty.
But you said, 'It's no use!
I love foreign gods,
and I must go after them.' ²⁶A thief is ashamed when he is caught.
In the same way, the house of Israel is put to shame.
They, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets ²⁷say to a tree, 'You are my father,'
and to a stone, 'You gave birth to me.'
They have turned their backs to me, not their faces.
Yet when trouble comes, they say,
'Get up and save us!' ²⁸But where are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them get up and save you, if they can,
when trouble comes!
For you have as many gods
as you have cities, Judah. ²⁹Why do you bring charges against me?
All of you have rebelled against me," declares the LORD. ³⁰"I punished your children, but it did no good.
They would not accept correction.
Your own sword has eaten up your prophets
like a hungry lion." ³¹You people of this generation,
think about the word of the LORD:
"Have I been a wilderness to Israel?
Have I been a land of deep darkness?
Why do my people say, 'We are free to wander.
We will not come to you anymore'? ³²Does a young woman forget her jewelry?
Does a bride forget her wedding sash?
Yet my people have forgotten me
for more days than anyone can count. ³³How skillfully you chase after love!
Even the worst of women
could learn from the way you act. ³⁴And on your skirts is the blood
of poor people who did nothing wrong.
You did not catch them breaking into your house.
But in spite of all this ³⁵you say, 'I am innocent.
Surely his anger will turn away from me.'
But look, I will judge you
because you say, 'I have not sinned.' ³⁶You rush around so much,
always changing your ways!
Egypt will let you down,
just as Assyria did. ³⁷You will also leave that place
with your hands on your head.
For the LORD has rejected those you trust.
They will not help you succeed."