Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:

(A)“What injustice have your fathers found in Me,
That they have gone far from Me,
(B)Have followed [a]idols,
And have become idolaters?
Neither did they say, ‘Where is the Lord,
Who (C)brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who led us through (D)the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and pits,
Through a land of drought and the shadow of death,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no one dwelt?’
I brought you into (E)a bountiful country,
To eat its fruit and its goodness.
But when you entered, you (F)defiled My land
And made My heritage an abomination.
The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the (G)law did not know Me;
The rulers also transgressed against Me;
(H)The prophets prophesied by Baal,
And walked after things that do not profit.

“Therefore (I)I will yet [b]bring charges against you,” says the Lord,
“And against your children’s children I will bring charges.
10 For pass beyond the coasts of [c]Cyprus and see,
Send to [d]Kedar and consider diligently,
And see if there has been such a (J)thing.
11 (K)Has a nation changed its gods,
Which are (L)not gods?
(M)But My people have changed their Glory
For what does not profit.
12 Be astonished, O heavens, at this,
And be horribly afraid;
Be very desolate,” says the Lord.
13 “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the (N)fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.

14 Is Israel (O)a servant?
Is he a homeborn slave?
Why is he plundered?
15 (P)The young lions roared at him, and growled;
They made his land waste;
His cities are burned, without inhabitant.
16 Also the people of [e]Noph and (Q)Tahpanhes
Have [f]broken the crown of your head.
17 (R)Have you not brought this on yourself,
In that you have forsaken the Lord your God
When (S)He led you in the way?
18 And now why take (T)the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of (U)Sihor?
Or why take the road to (V)Assyria,
To drink the waters of [g]the River?
19 Your own wickedness will (W)correct you,
And your backslidings will rebuke you.
Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing
That you have forsaken the Lord your God,
And the [h]fear of Me is not in you,”
Says the Lord God of hosts.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 2:5 vanities or futilities
  2. Jeremiah 2:9 contend with
  3. Jeremiah 2:10 Heb. Kittim, representative of western cultures
  4. Jeremiah 2:10 In northern Arabian desert, representative of eastern cultures
  5. Jeremiah 2:16 Memphis in ancient Egypt
  6. Jeremiah 2:16 Or grazed
  7. Jeremiah 2:18 The Euphrates
  8. Jeremiah 2:19 dread

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