⁹ “Therefore I will still ^(K)contend with you,” declares the Lord,
“And I will contend with your sons’ sons.
¹⁰ For ^(L)cross to the coastlands of ^[c]Kittim and see,
And send to ^(M)Kedar and observe closely,
And see if there has been anything like this!
¹¹ Has a nation changed gods,
When ^(N)they were not gods?
But My people have ^(O)exchanged their glory
For that which is of no benefit.
¹² Be appalled at this, ^(P)you heavens,
And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.
¹³ “For My people have committed two evils:
They have abandoned Me,
The ^(Q)fountain of living waters,
To carve out for themselves ^(R)cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That do not hold water.

¹⁴ “Is Israel ^(S)a slave? Or is he a servant born in the home?
Why has he become plunder?
¹⁵ The young ^(T)lions have roared at him,
They have ^[d]roared loudly.
And they have ^(U)made his land a waste;
His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.
¹⁶ Also the ^[e]men of ^(V)Memphis and Tahpanhes
Have ^[f]shaved ^(W)your head.
¹⁷ Have you not ^(X)done this to yourself
By your abandoning the Lord your God
When He ^(Y)led you in the way?
¹⁸ But now what are you doing ^(Z)on the road to Egypt,
Except to drink the waters of the ^[g](AA)Nile?
Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,
Except to drink the waters of the Euphrates River?
^19 (AB)Your own wickedness will correct you,
And your ^(AC)apostasies will punish you;
Know therefore and see that it is evil and ^(AD)bitter
For you to abandon the Lord your God,
And ^(AE)the fear of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord ^[h]God of armies.

²⁰ “For long ago ^[i](AF)I broke your yoke
And tore off your restraints;
But you said, ‘I will not serve!’
For on every ^(AG)high hill
And under every leafy tree
You have lain down as a prostitute.
²¹ Yet I ^(AH)planted you as a choice vine,
A completely faithful seed.
How then have you turned yourself before Me
Into the ^(AI)degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?
²² Although you ^(AJ)wash yourself with lye
And ^[j]use much soap,
The ^(AK)stain of your guilt is before Me,” declares the Lord ^[k]God.
²³ “^(AL)How can you say, ‘I am not defiled,
I have not gone after the ^(AM)Baals’?
Look at your way in the ^(AN)valley!
Know what you have done!
You are a swift young camel ^(AO)running about senselessly on her ways,
²⁴ A ^(AP)wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,
That sniffs the wind in her passion.
Who can turn her away in her mating season?
None who seek her will grow weary;
In her month they will find her.
²⁵ Keep your feet from being bare,
And your throat from thirst;
But you said, ‘^(AQ)It is ^[l]hopeless!
No! For I have ^(AR)loved strangers,
And I will walk after them.’

²⁶ “Like the shame of a ^(AS)thief when he is discovered,
So the house of Israel is shamed;
They, their kings, their leaders,
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 ^(AT)backs to Me,
And not their faces;
But in the ^(AU)time of their ^[m]trouble they will say,
‘Arise and save us!’
²⁸ But where are your ^(AV)gods
Which you made for yourself?
Let them arise, if they can ^(AW)save you
In the time of your ^[n]trouble!
For ^(AX)as many as the number of your cities
Are your gods, Judah.