Restore us, God Almighty;
    make your face shine on us,
    that we may be saved.(A)

You transplanted a vine(B) from Egypt;
    you drove out(C) the nations and planted(D) it.
You cleared the ground for it,
    and it took root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shade,
    the mighty cedars with its branches.
11 Its branches reached as far as the Sea,[a]
    its shoots as far as the River.[b](E)

12 Why have you broken down its walls(F)
    so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
13 Boars from the forest ravage(G) it,
    and insects from the fields feed on it.
14 Return to us, God Almighty!
    Look down from heaven and see!(H)
Watch over this vine,
15     the root your right hand has planted,
    the son[c] you have raised up for yourself.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 80:11 Probably the Mediterranean
  2. Psalm 80:11 That is, the Euphrates
  3. Psalm 80:15 Or branch

14 Is Israel a servant, a slave(A) by birth?
    Why then has he become plunder?
15 Lions(B) have roared;
    they have growled at him.
They have laid waste(C) his land;
    his towns are burned(D) and deserted.(E)
16 Also, the men of Memphis(F) and Tahpanhes(G)
    have cracked your skull.
17 Have you not brought this on yourselves(H)
    by forsaking(I) the Lord your God
    when he led you in the way?
18 Now why go to Egypt(J)
    to drink water from the Nile[a]?(K)
And why go to Assyria(L)
    to drink water from the Euphrates?(M)
19 Your wickedness will punish you;
    your backsliding(N) will rebuke(O) you.
Consider then and realize
    how evil and bitter(P) it is for you
when you forsake(Q) the Lord your God
    and have no awe(R) of me,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

20 “Long ago you broke off your yoke(S)
    and tore off your bonds;(T)
    you said, ‘I will not serve you!’(U)
Indeed, on every high hill(V)
    and under every spreading tree(W)
    you lay down as a prostitute.(X)
21 I had planted(Y) you like a choice vine(Z)
    of sound and reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me
    into a corrupt,(AA) wild vine?
22 Although you wash(AB) yourself with soap(AC)
    and use an abundance of cleansing powder,
    the stain of your guilt is still before me,”
declares the Sovereign Lord.(AD)

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 2:18 Hebrew Shihor; that is, a branch of the Nile

Freedom From Human Rules

16 Therefore do not let anyone judge you(A) by what you eat or drink,(B) or with regard to a religious festival,(C) a New Moon celebration(D) or a Sabbath day.(E) 17 These are a shadow of the things that were to come;(F) the reality, however, is found in Christ. 18 Do not let anyone who delights in false humility(G) and the worship of angels disqualify you.(H) Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. 19 They have lost connection with the head,(I) from whom the whole body,(J) supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.(K)

20 Since you died with Christ(L) to the elemental spiritual forces of this world,(M) why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules:(N) 21 “Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!”? 22 These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish(O) with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings.(P) 23 Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility(Q) and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

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