Jeremiah 2:14-25
New International Version
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)
23 “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled;(AE)
I have not run after the Baals’?(AF)
See how you behaved in the valley;(AG)
consider what you have done.
You are a swift she-camel
running(AH) here and there,
24 a wild donkey(AI) accustomed to the desert,(AJ)
sniffing the wind in her craving—
in her heat who can restrain her?
Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;
at mating time they will find her.
25 Do not run until your feet are bare
and your throat is dry.
But you said, ‘It’s no use!(AK)
I love foreign gods,(AL)
and I must go after them.’(AM)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 2:18 Hebrew Shihor; that is, a branch of the Nile
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