“Therefore (A)I still contend with you,
declares the Lord,
    and (B)with your children's children I will contend.
10 For cross to the coasts of (C)Cyprus and see,
    or send to (D)Kedar and examine with care;
    see if there has been such a thing.
11 (E)Has a nation changed its gods,
    (F)even though they are no gods?
But my people (G)have changed their glory
    for (H)that which does not profit.
12 Be appalled, (I)O heavens, at this;
    be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the Lord,
13 for my people have committed two evils:
(J)they have forsaken (K)me,
    the fountain of (L)living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
    broken cisterns that can hold no water.

14 (M)“Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
    Why then has he become a prey?
15 (N)The lions have roared against him;
    they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
    his cities are in ruins, (O)without inhabitant.
16 Moreover, the men of (P)Memphis and (Q)Tahpanhes
    (R)have shaved[a] the crown of your head.
17 (S)Have you not brought this upon yourself
    by forsaking the Lord your God,
    when (T)he led you in the way?
18 (U)And now what do you gain by going to Egypt
    to drink the waters of (V)the Nile?
(W)Or what do you gain by going to Assyria
    to drink the waters of (X)the Euphrates?[b]
19 (Y)Your evil will chastise you,
    and (Z)your apostasy will reprove you.
Know and see that it is evil and (AA)bitter
    for (AB)you to forsake the Lord your God;
    the fear of me is not in you,
declares the Lord God of hosts.

20 “For long ago I (AC)broke your yoke
    and burst your bonds;
    but you said, (AD)‘I will not serve.’
Yes, (AE)on every high hill
    and under every green tree
    you bowed down (AF)like a whore.
21 (AG)Yet I planted you a choice vine,
    wholly of pure seed.
(AH)How then have you turned degenerate
    and become a wild vine?
22 Though you wash yourself with lye
    and use much soap,
    (AI)the stain of your guilt is still before me,
declares the Lord God.
23 (AJ)How can you say, ‘I am not unclean,
    I have not gone after the Baals’?
Look at your way (AK)in the valley;
    know what you have done—
a restless young camel running here and there,
24     (AL)a wild donkey used to the wilderness,
in her heat sniffing the wind!
    Who can restrain her lust?
None who seek her need weary themselves;
    in her month they will find her.
25 Keep (AM)your feet from going unshod
    and (AN)your throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless,
    (AO)for I have loved foreigners,
    and after them I will go.’

26 “As a thief is shamed when caught,
    so the house of Israel shall be shamed:
(AP)they, their kings, their officials,
    their priests, and their prophets,
27 who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
    and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’
For they have turned their back to me,
    and not their face.
But (AQ)in the time of their trouble they say,
    ‘Arise and save us!’
28 But (AR)where are your gods
    that you made for yourself?
Let them arise, (AS)if they can save you,
    in your time of trouble;
for (AT)as many as your cities
    are your gods, O Judah.

29 “Why do you contend with me?
    You have all transgressed against me,
declares the Lord.
30 In vain have I (AU)struck your children;
    they took no correction;
(AV)your own sword devoured your prophets
    like a ravening lion.
31 And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
    or a land of thick darkness?
Why then do my people say, ‘We are free,
    we will come no more to you’?
32 (AW)Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
    or a bride her attire?
Yet (AX)my people have forgotten me
    days without number.

33 “How well you direct your course
    to seek love!
So that even to wicked women
    you have taught your ways.
34 Also on your skirts is found
    (AY)the lifeblood of the guiltless poor;
you did not find them (AZ)breaking in.
    Yet in spite of all these things
35 you say, ‘I am innocent;
    surely his anger has turned from me.’
(BA)Behold, I will bring you to judgment
    for (BB)saying, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 (BC)How much you go about,
    changing your way!
You shall be (BD)put to shame by Egypt
    as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37 From it too you will come away
    with (BE)your hands on your head,
for the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust,
    and you will not prosper by them.

(BF)“If[c] a man divorces his wife
    and she goes from him
and becomes another man's wife,
    will he return to her?
(BG)Would not that land be greatly polluted?
(BH)You have played the whore with many lovers;
    and would you return to me?
declares the Lord.
Lift up your eyes to (BI)the bare heights, and see!
    Where have you not been ravished?
(BJ)By the waysides you have sat awaiting lovers
    like an Arab in the wilderness.
(BK)You have polluted the land
    with your vile whoredom.
(BL)Therefore the showers have been withheld,
    and the spring rain has not come;
yet you have (BM)the forehead of a whore;
    you refuse to be ashamed.
Have you not just now (BN)called to me,
    ‘My father, you are the friend of my youth—
(BO)will he be angry forever,
    will he be indignant to the end?’
Behold, you have spoken,
    but you have done all the evil that you could.”

Faithless Israel Called to Repentance

The Lord said to me in the days of (BP)King Josiah: “Have you seen what she did, that faithless one, Israel, (BQ)how she went up on every high hill and under every green tree, and there (BR)played the whore? And I thought, ‘After she has done all this she will return to me,’ but she did not return, and her treacherous (BS)sister Judah saw it. She saw that for all the adulteries of that faithless one, Israel, (BT)I had sent her away with (BU)a decree of divorce. (BV)Yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but she too went (BW)and played the whore. Because she took her whoredom lightly, she polluted the land, committing adultery with (BX)stone and tree. 10 Yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah did not return to me (BY)with her whole heart, but in pretense, declares the Lord.”

11 And the Lord said to me, (BZ)“Faithless Israel has shown herself more righteous than treacherous Judah. 12 Go, and proclaim these words toward (CA)the north, and say,

(CB)“‘Return, faithless Israel,
declares the Lord.
I will not look on you in anger,
    for (CC)I am merciful,
declares the Lord;
(CD)I will not be angry forever.
13 (CE)Only acknowledge your guilt,
    that you rebelled against the Lord your God
and scattered your favors among foreigners under (CF)every green tree,
    and that you have not obeyed my voice,
declares the Lord.
14 (CG)Return, O faithless children,
declares the Lord;
    (CH)for I am your master;
I will take you, one from a city and two from a family,
    and I will bring you to Zion.

15 “‘And (CI)I will give you shepherds after my own heart, (CJ)who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. 16 And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, “The ark of the covenant of the Lord.” It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again. 17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the Lord, (CK)and all nations shall gather to it, (CL)to the presence of the Lord in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart. 18 (CM)In those days the house of Judah shall join the house of Israel, and together they shall come from the land (CN)of the north to (CO)the land that I gave your fathers for a heritage.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 2:16 Hebrew grazed
  2. Jeremiah 2:18 Hebrew the River
  3. Jeremiah 3:1 Septuagint, Syriac; Hebrew Saying, “If

Bible Gateway Recommends

ESV Economy Bible, Giant Print Softcover
ESV Economy Bible, Giant Print Softcover
Retail: $11.99
Our Price: $8.99
Save: $3.00 (25%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
ESV Student Study Bible, Trutone, Green with Mosaic Cross Design
ESV Student Study Bible, Trutone, Green with Mosaic Cross Design
Retail: $44.99
Our Price: $20.99
Save: $24.00 (53%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars
ESV Seek and Find Bible, hardcover
ESV Seek and Find Bible, hardcover
Retail: $34.99
Our Price: $9.49
Save: $25.50 (73%)
5.0 of 5.0 stars
ESV Study Bible, Large Print , Hardcover
ESV Study Bible, Large Print , Hardcover
Retail: $74.99
Our Price: $47.49
Save: $27.50 (37%)
4.5 of 5.0 stars