Previous     Next       Play // Stop Sound    

          DASV: Jeremiah 2    

1 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 "Go and proclaim in the ears of the people of Jerusalem,
saying, 'This is what the LORD says,
     I remember the devotion of your youth,
           you loved me as a young bride does;
     you followed me in the wilderness,
           in a land that was not sown.
3 Israel was holy to the LORD,
          the firstfruits of his harvest.
      All who devoured them were held guilty;
          disaster will come on them,"'
                says the LORD.

4 Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob,
      and all the families of the house of Israel:
5 This is what the LORD says,
     "What did your fathers find wrong with me,
           that they strayed so far from me?
     They have walked after worthless idols,
           and they themselves became worthless.
6 They never asked, 'Where is the LORD
     who brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
      who led us through the wilderness,
     a land of deserts and pits,
     a land of drought and deep darkness,
     a land that no one travels through,
           and where no one lives?'
7 I brought you into a plentiful land,
          to eat its fruit and goodness.
      But when you entered it,
          you defiled my land,
           and made my heritage an abomination.
8 The priests never asked, 'Where is the LORD?'
     Those who handled the law did not know me.
     The rulers also rebelled against me;
     the prophets prophesied by Baal,
           and followed idols that do not profit.

9 So once again I will make my accusation against you,"
                says the LORD,
     "and I will even bring charges against your grandchildren.
10 Cross over to the shores of Cyprus, and see.
     Send someone to Kedar and carefully search;
           see if such a thing has ever happened.
11 Has a nation ever changed its gods,
           even though they are not gods at all?
      But my people have changed their Glory
           for idols that are worthless.
12 Be appalled at this, O heavens,
     and shocked with horror,"
                says the LORD.

13 "For my people have committed two evils:
     they have forsaken me,
           the fountain of living water,
     and dug out cisterns,
           broken cisterns that can hold no water.
14 Is Israel a slave?
      Was he born a slave?
      Why then has he been carried off as plunder?
15 The young lions have roared against him;
           they have roared loudly.
      They have made his land a wasteland;
           his cities are burned up, without inhabitant.
16 Even the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes
      have shaved the crown of your head.
17 Did you not bring this on yourself
      by forsaking the LORD your God,
           when he led you on the way?
18 Now what have you really gained by going to Egypt,
           to drink the waters of the Nile?
      Or what have you gained by going to Assyria,
           to drink the waters of the Euphrates?
19 Your own wickedness will bring on you punishment,
           and your apostasy will result in your being disciplined.
      Know, therefore and realize that it is an evil thing
           and bitter for you to forsake the LORD your God,
           and the fear of me is not in you,"
                says the sovereign LORD of hosts.

20 "For long ago I broke your yoke,
      and burst your chains;
           you said, 'I will not serve you.'
      For on every high hill and under every green tree
          you lay yourself down like a whore.

21 Yet I planted you like a choice vine,
           from the best stock.
      How then did you turn into degenerate branches
           of a foreign vine to me?
22 For though you wash yourself with detergent,
      and use a lot of soap,
      yet the stain of your guilt is before me,"
           says the sovereign LORD.

23 "How can you claim, 'I am not defiled,
           I have not gone after the Baals?'
      Just look at how you acted in the valley;
          realize what you have done.
      You are a restless camel running here and there.
24 A wild female donkey at home in the wilderness,
           that in her heat sniffs at the wind.
      Who can restrain her when she is in heat?
      No one who seeks her need weary themselves;
           for at her mating time they will easily find her.
25 Do not chase other gods until your shoes are worn out,
           and your throat becomes parched.
      But you said, 'It is useless,
           for I love foreign gods,
           and I want to pursue them.'

26 As the thief is ashamed when he is caught,
     so the house of Israel will be shamed--
           they, their kings, their officials,
           their priests, and their prophets.
27 They say to a piece of wood, 'You are my father;'
          and to a block of stone, 'You have given me birth.'
      For they have turned their backs to me,
           and not their faces.
      But when they get in trouble they will plead,
           'Come and save us.'
28 But where are your gods that you have made?
      Let them rise up and save you
           in your time of trouble, if they can.
      For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah.
29 Why will you argue with me?
      You all have rebelled against me,"
           says the LORD.
30 "It was useless to have smitten your children;
           they do not respond to correction.
      Your own sword has devoured your prophets
           like a ferocious lion.

31 You of this generation, look at the word of the LORD.
     Have I been a wilderness to Israel?
           Have I been like a land of deep darkness?
      Why do my people say,
           'We are free, we will no longer come to you?'
32 Does a young woman forget about her jewelry,
           or a bride her wedding attire?
      Yet my people have forgotten me,
           days without number.
33 How good you have become at chasing lovers!
      Even a prostitute could learn a lesson from you.
34 Also in your skirts is found the blood of the innocent poor,
           though you did not catch them breaking into your house.
      Yet in spite of all these things,
35 you still claim, 'I am innocent;
          surely he's not angry with me anymore.'
      Look, I am rendering judgment on you,
           because you claim, 'I have not sinned.'
36 Why do you flit about changing your ways?
      You will be put to shame by Egypt,
           just as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37 You will be led away there with your hands on your head,
      for the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust,
      and you will not be helped by them.

 Previous     Next       Play // Stop Sound