Jeremiah 2:11-21

New American Standard Bible

¹¹ Has a nation changed gods,
When ^(A)they were not gods?
But My people have ^(B)exchanged their glory
For that which is of no benefit.
¹² Be appalled at this, ^(C)you heavens,
And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.
¹³ “For My people have committed two evils:
They have abandoned Me,
The ^(D)fountain of living waters,
To carve out for themselves ^(E)cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That do not hold water.

¹⁴ “Is Israel ^(F)a slave? Or is he a servant born in the home?
Why has he become plunder?
¹⁵ The young ^(G)lions have roared at him,
They have ^[a]roared loudly.
And they have ^(H)made his land a waste;
His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.
¹⁶ Also the ^[b]men of ^(I)Memphis and Tahpanhes
Have ^[c]shaved ^(J)your head.
¹⁷ Have you not ^(K)done this to yourself
By your abandoning the Lord your God
When He ^(L)led you in the way?
¹⁸ But now what are you doing ^(M)on the road to Egypt,
Except to drink the waters of the ^[d](N)Nile?
Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,
Except to drink the waters of the Euphrates River?
^19 (O)Your own wickedness will correct you,
And your ^(P)apostasies will punish you;
Know therefore and see that it is evil and ^(Q)bitter
For you to abandon the Lord your God,
And ^(R)the fear of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord ^[e]God of armies.

²⁰ “For long ago ^[f](S)I broke your yoke
And tore off your restraints;
But you said, ‘I will not serve!’
For on every ^(T)high hill
And under every leafy tree
You have lain down as a prostitute.
²¹ Yet I ^(U)planted you as a choice vine,
A completely faithful seed.
How then have you turned yourself before Me
Into the ^(V)degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?