以色列人背棄上帝

耶和華對我說:
「你去告訴耶路撒冷人,
『耶和華說,
我記得你們年輕時對我充滿熱情,
愛我如新娘愛新郎,
跟隨我穿越曠野,
穿越不毛之地。
以色列是耶和華的聖民,
是屬於祂的初熟果子。
吞吃它的必擔當罪責,
大禍臨頭。
這是耶和華說的。』」

雅各家啊,以色列各宗族啊!你們要聽耶和華的話。 耶和華說:

「你們的祖先在我身上找到什麼過錯,
以致他們遠離我,
去追隨虛妄的神明,
使自己變得虛妄呢?
他們從不自問,
『耶和華曾把我們帶出埃及,
引導我們走過沙漠縱橫、
深坑滿布、乾旱幽暗、
杳無人跡的曠野,
祂如今在哪裡呢?』
我帶領你們進入肥沃之地,
享受那裡富饒的物產。
但你們一進來,就玷污我的地,
使我的產業成為可憎之地。
眾祭司從來不問『耶和華在哪裡?』
執掌律法的不認識我,
首領背叛我,
先知靠巴力說預言,
隨從無用的假神。
因此,我要指控你們和你們的後代。
這是耶和華說的。
10 你們去對岸的基提看看,
派人去基達仔細觀察一下,
看看有沒有這樣的事?
11 雖然列國的神明根本不是真神,
卻沒有一國更換自己的神明。
但我的子民卻把自己榮耀的上帝換作了無用的假神。
12 諸天啊,要因此而震驚戰慄、
大感淒涼。
這是耶和華說的。
13 因為我的子民犯了兩項罪,
他們離棄了我這活水源泉,
為自己挖了不能蓄水的破池子。

14 「以色列是奴隸嗎?
是生來為奴的嗎?
為什麼她竟成了別人的獵物呢?
15 敵人像獅子般向她咆哮吼叫,
使她的土地一片荒涼,
她的城邑一片廢墟,杳無人煙。
16 以色列啊,
挪弗人和答比匿人打破了你的頭顱。
17 你這不是自食其果嗎?
因為你的上帝耶和華一路引導你的時候,
你卻背棄祂。
18 現在,你去埃及喝尼羅河的水有什麼用呢?
你去亞述喝幼發拉底河的水有什麼用呢?
19 你必因自己的罪惡而受懲罰,
因自己的背叛而受責備。
因此,你要省察且明白,
背棄你的上帝耶和華、
不敬畏我是多麼邪惡、痛苦。
這是萬軍之耶和華說的。

20 「很久以前,我折斷你的軛,
解開你的捆索,
你卻拒絕事奉我,
在各高崗上、綠樹下躺臥淫亂。
21 你原本是我栽種的上等葡萄樹,
是最好的品種。
你怎麼自甘墮落,
變成了野葡萄?
22 縱然你用鹼和許多肥皂清洗,
你在我面前仍然罪跡斑斑。」
這是主耶和華說的。

23 「你怎能說,
『我沒有玷污自己,
也沒有隨從巴力』?
看看你在山谷中幹的勾當,
想想你的所作所為。
你是一隻發情的母駱駝,
煩躁不安,跑來跑去。
24 你是一隻習慣在曠野生活的母驢,
求偶心切時便呼呼喘氣,
發情時誰也控制不了。
公驢找你不費工夫,
在你發情的時候很容易找到你。
25 我說,『不要因追隨假神而跑破鞋子,喉嚨乾渴。』
你卻說,『不行!
我愛外族的神明,一定要跟隨他們。』

26 「以色列人啊,
你們和你們的君王、官長、
祭司和先知必蒙羞,
如同被擒的盜賊。
27 你們認木頭為父,
認石頭為母。
你們不是面向我而是背對我,
危難時卻向我求救。
28 你們為自己造的神明在哪裡呢?
危難時讓他們救你們吧!

「猶大人啊,你們神明的數目與你們的城邑一樣多!

29 「你們為什麼指控我呢?
你們都背叛了我。
這是耶和華說的。
30 我責打你們的兒女,卻是徒勞,
因為他們不受管教。
你們殺害你們的先知,
殘暴如獅子。
31 這世代的人啊,
要留心聽耶和華的話。
對以色列人來說,
難道我是曠野,
是幽暗之地嗎?
為什麼我的子民竟說,
『我們可以四處遊蕩,
不再追隨你』?
32 少女會忘記她的首飾嗎?
新娘會忘記她的禮服嗎?
我的子民卻早已把我拋諸腦後。

33 「你們真善於求愛啊!
甚至把技巧教給妓女。
34 你們的衣服沾滿無辜窮人的血,
他們並沒有進你們的家偷竊。
35 你們還說,『我們是無辜的,
耶和華不再向我們發怒。』
看啊,我必審判你們,
因為你們拒不認罪。
36 你們為什麼這樣忽東忽西地變來變去呢?
你們投奔埃及必蒙羞辱,
就像從前投奔亞述一樣。
37 你們必灰頭土臉地離開埃及,
因為耶和華棄絕了你們的靠山,
你們從他們那裡必得不到幫助。」

Israel Has Forsaken the Lord

The word of the Lord came to me.

Go and proclaim this in the hearing of Jerusalem.
This is what the Lord says.
This is what I remember concerning you:
    your faithfulness when you were young,
    and your love when you were pledged in marriage.
I remember how you followed me in the wilderness,
in a land that has never been planted.
Israel was set apart as holy to the Lord,
    the firstfruits of his harvest.
All those who devoured Israel became guilty,
and disaster came upon them, declares the Lord.
Hear the word of the Lord, you house of Jacob.
All you families of the house of Israel,
this is what the Lord says.
What fault did your fathers find in me,
that they departed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols,
and so they became worthless themselves.
They did not say,
“Where is the Lord, who brought us up from the land of Egypt?
Where is the one who led us through the wilderness,
    through a desert wasteland filled with ravines,
    through a land of drought and the shadow of death,
    a land which no one passes through,
    a land where no human being lives?”
I brought you into a fertile land,
to eat its fruit and its good things.
But you defiled my land
and made my inheritance repulsive.
The priests did not ask, “Where is the Lord?”
The experts in the law did not acknowledge me.
Their shepherds rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal
and went after useless idols.

So I am bringing charges against you again, declares the Lord,
and I am bringing charges against your children’s children.
10 Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus[a] and look.
Send someone to Kedar[b] and observe carefully.
See if there has ever been anything like this.
11 Has a nation ever exchanged its gods
(even though they are not gods at all)?
Yet my people have exchanged their Glory[c]
    for useless idols.
12 Be appalled at this, you heavens.
Be horrified and wither away completely, declares the Lord.
13 For my people have committed two evils:
They have abandoned me, the spring of living water,
and they have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that hold no water!

14 Is Israel a servant, born into slavery?
Why then has Israel been plundered?
15 Young lions have roared at him.
They have growled loudly.
They have made his land desolate.
His towns are burned and deserted.
16 The men of Memphis[d] and Tahpanhes
    have shaved the top of your head.[e]
17 Have you not brought this on yourself
    by deserting the Lord your God
    while he led you on the way?
18 So why are you on the road to Egypt
    to drink the water of the Shihor?[f]
And why are you on the road to Assyria
    to drink the water of the River?[g]
19 It is your own evil that will bring discipline on you.
Your backsliding will judge you.
Know and see how evil and bitter it is for you
    to forsake the Lord your God,
    to have no fear of me,
declares the Lord God of Armies.

20 Long ago I broke your yoke.
I[h] tore off your chains,
but you said, “I will not serve you!”
Instead, on every high hill
and under every green tree
you sprawl out like a prostitute.
21 But I planted you as a very good vine,
healthy and from reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me?
How then did you turn into a wild vine?
22 Even if you scrub yourself with cleanser
and use a lot of strong soap,
the stain of your guilt is before me, declares the Lord.
23 How can you say, “I have not defiled myself.
I have not gone after the Baals”?
Look what you did in the valley!
Think about what you did!
You were a fast female camel
    running wildly all over the place,
24 or a wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,
    sniffing the wind in her passion.
Who can control her when she is in heat?
None of the males who pursue her will become tired.
They will find her in her mating time.
25 Stop before your shoes wear out
and your throat becomes dry!
But you say, “It’s hopeless!
I love strange gods, and I must pursue them.”

26 As a thief is shamed when he is caught,
so the house of Israel will be shamed—
the people, their kings, their officials,
their priests, and their prophets.
27 They say to wood, “You are my father.”
They say to stone, “You gave birth to me.”
They have turned their backs to me
and not their faces.
But when a time of trouble comes, they say,
“Get up and save us!”
28 Where are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them rise up,
if they are able to save you in a time of trouble.
After all, Judah, you have as many gods as you have towns.

29 Why do you bring charges against me?
You have all rebelled against me, declares the Lord.
30 I punished your people in vain.
They did not respond to correction.
Your own sword has devoured your prophets,
    like a raging lion.

31 You people of this generation,
consider the word of the Lord.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
or a land of deep darkness?
Why do my people say, “We are free to wander.
We will not come to you anymore”?
32 Does a virgin about to be married forget her jewelry?
Does a bride forget her veil?[i]
But my people have forgotten me for countless days.
33 How practiced you are in the ways that you pursue love!
Even the most evil women could learn from your ways.
34 The lifeblood of poor, innocent people is found on your skirt,
even though you did not catch them breaking in.
In spite of all this, 35 you say, “I am innocent.
He will not be angry with me.”
But I have indeed judged you
because you say, “I have not sinned.”

36 How fickle you are in changing your direction!
You will be disappointed by Egypt,
just as you were by Assyria.
37 So you will leave there with your hands on your head,
because the Lord has rejected the ones you trust.
You will receive no help from them.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 2:10 Hebrew Kittim. The term may include other areas in the Mediterranean basin besides Cyprus.
  2. Jeremiah 2:10 An area in Arabia
  3. Jeremiah 2:11 Or their glory. This reading follows the main Hebrew text. An alternate Hebrew reading is my glory.
  4. Jeremiah 2:16 Hebrew Noph. The English names of Egyptian cities are usually based on the Greek forms of their names rather than the Hebrew forms.
  5. Jeremiah 2:16 Or have cracked your skull
  6. Jeremiah 2:18 A branch of the Nile
  7. Jeremiah 2:18 That is, the Euphrates
  8. Jeremiah 2:20 The translation follows the Hebrew reading. The Greek Old Testament reads you.
  9. Jeremiah 2:32 Literally sash

Yahweh Remembers Israel’s Faithfulness

And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,[a] “Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying,[b] ‘Thus says Yahweh,

“I remember concerning you the loyal love of your childhood,[c]
    the love of your betrothal-time,
your going[d] after me in the desert,[e]
    in the land not sown.
Israel was holy to Yahweh,
    the first fruit of his produce.
All those who ate it were held guilty;
    disaster came to them,” declares[f] Yahweh.’”

The Unfaithfulness of Israel’s Ancestors

Hear the word of Yahweh, O house of Jacob, and all the clans[g] of the house of Israel. Thus says Yahweh:

“What injustice did your ancestors[h] find in me
    that they were far from me,
and they went after the vanity,
    and they became vain?
And they did not say,
    ‘Where is Yahweh,
the one who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
    the one who led us in the desert,[i]
in a land of desert plains and gorges,[j]
    in a land of dryness and deep darkness,
in a land that no one passes through,[k]
    and no human lives there?’
And I brought you to the land of the orchard,
    to eat its fruit, and its good things.[l]
But you entered and defiled my land,
    and my inheritance you made a detestable thing.[m]
The priests did not say, ‘Where is Yahweh?’
    and those who handle the law did not know me,
and the shepherds have rebelled against me,[n]
    and the prophets prophesied by Baal,
and they went after things which do not profit.

The Unfaithfulness of Contemporary Israel

Therefore[o] I again bring a lawsuit against you,” declares[p] Yahweh,
    “and with your children[q] I bring a lawsuit.
10 For go over to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
    and send to Kedar and consider very closely,
    and see if there has been a thing like this:
11 Has a nation exchanged gods? And they are not gods!
    But my people have exchanged their glory for that which does not profit.
12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this, and shudder;
    be utterly desolate,” declares[r] Yahweh.
13 “For my people have committed two evils:
    they have forsaken me, the source[s] of living water,
    to hew out for themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
14 Is Israel a slave? Or a slave born in a house?[t]
    Why has he become plunder?
15 The young lions have roared against him,
    they have raised[u] their voices.[v]
And they have made his land as horror;
    his cities are destroyed, without[w] an inhabitant.
16 Moreover, people of Memphis and Tahpanhes
    will shave[x] your skull.[y]
17 Did you not do this to yourself,
    by forsaking Yahweh, your God,
    at the time of your leading in the way?
18 And now why do you go[z] the way of Egypt
    to drink the waters of the Shihor?
And why do you go[aa] the way of Assyria
    to drink the waters of the Euphrates?[ab]
19 Your wickedness will chastise you,
    and your apostasies will reprove you.
Therefore know and see that it is evil and bitter,
    your forsaking of Yahweh, your God,
and fear of me is not in you,”
    declares[ac] the Lord, Yahweh of hosts.
20 “For from long ago you have broken your yoke,
    you tore to pieces your bonds.
And you said, ‘I will not serve!’
    But on every high hill and under every leafy tree
    you were lying down as a prostitute.
21 Yet I planted you as a choice vine,
    all of it a seed of trustworthiness.
How then have you altered before me
    into something that is degenerate, the foreign vine?
22 For if you wash with natron,
    and you use much soap,[ad]
your guilt is sticking as a stain before[ae] me,”
    declares[af] the Lord Yahweh.
23 “How can you say, ‘I have not defiled myself,
    I have not gone after the Baals?’
Look at your way in the valley,
    know what you have done.
You are a young she-camel,
    interweaving her ways.
24 A wild ass accustomed to the desert,[ag]
    in the desire of her soul.
She gasps for wind in her rutting time.
    Who can quell[ah] her lust?
All those who seek her will not grow weary,
    in her month they will find her.
25 Restrain your foot from being barefoot,
    and your throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless.
    No! For I have loved strangers,
    and after them I will go.’[ai]
26 As the shame of a thief when he is caught in the act,
    so the house of Israel will be ashamed.
They, their kings, their officials,
    and their priests, and their prophets.
27 Those who say to the tree, ‘You are my father,’
    and to the stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’
For they have turned their backs[aj] to me, and not their faces.
    But in the time of their trouble they say, ‘Arise and save us.’
28 But where are your gods that you made for yourself?
    Let them arise if they can save you in the time of your trouble.
For according to the number of your towns
    are your gods, O Judah.
29 Why do you complain to me?
    All of you have rebelled against me,”[ak] declares[al] Yahweh.
30 “For in vain[am] I have struck your children.
    They accepted no discipline.
Your sword devoured your prophets,
    like a ravening[an] lion.
31 O generation, you see the word of Yahweh.
    Have I been a desert[ao] to Israel? Or a land of great darkness?
Why do my people say, ‘We roam about freely,
    we will not come again to you’?
32 Can a young woman forget her ornaments?[ap] Or a bride her sashes?
    Yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
33 How well you do on your way to seek love!
    Therefore[aq] even to the wicked woman you can teach your ways.
34 Also on your skirts is found
    the blood of the life of the innocent, the poor.
You did not find them in the act of breaking into a house.
    But in spite of all these things,
35 yet you say, ‘But I am innocent,
    surely his anger has turned away from me.’
Look, I am entering into judgment with you
    because of your saying, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 How you go about so much changing your way!
    Also by Egypt you will be put to shame,
    just as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37 Also from there you will come out
    with your hands on your head,
for Yahweh has rejected those in whom you trust,[ar]
    and you will not prosper through them.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 2:1 Literally “to say”
  2. Jeremiah 2:2 Literally “to say”
  3. Jeremiah 2:2 Or “youth”
  4. Jeremiah 2:2 Or “walking”
  5. Jeremiah 2:2 Or “wilderness”
  6. Jeremiah 2:3 Literally “a declaration of”
  7. Jeremiah 2:4 Or “families”
  8. Jeremiah 2:5 Or “fathers”
  9. Jeremiah 2:6 Or “wilderness”
  10. Jeremiah 2:6 Hebrew “gorge”
  11. Jeremiah 2:6 Literally “no man passes through in it”
  12. Jeremiah 2:7 Hebrew “good thing”
  13. Jeremiah 2:7 Or “abomination”
  14. Jeremiah 2:8 Literally “broken with me”
  15. Jeremiah 2:9 Literally “To thus”
  16. Jeremiah 2:9 Literally “a declaration of”
  17. Jeremiah 2:9 Literally “sons of your sons”
  18. Jeremiah 2:12 Literally “a declaration of”
  19. Jeremiah 2:13 Or “fountain”
  20. Jeremiah 2:14 Literally “born of a house”
  21. Jeremiah 2:15 Literally “given”
  22. Jeremiah 2:15 Hebrew “voice”
  23. Jeremiah 2:15 Literally “from not”
  24. Jeremiah 2:16 Literally “pasture”
  25. Jeremiah 2:16 Or “crown of your head”
  26. Jeremiah 2:18 Literally “what for you”
  27. Jeremiah 2:18 Literally “what for you”
  28. Jeremiah 2:18 Literally “river”
  29. Jeremiah 2:19 Literally “a declaration of”
  30. Jeremiah 2:22 Literally “make numerous for yourself alkaline salt”
  31. Jeremiah 2:22 Literally “to the face of”
  32. Jeremiah 2:22 Literally “a declaration of”
  33. Jeremiah 2:24 Or “wilderness”
  34. Jeremiah 2:24 Or “restrain”
  35. Jeremiah 2:25 Or “walk”
  36. Jeremiah 2:27 Literally “neck”
  37. Jeremiah 2:29 Literally “broken with me”
  38. Jeremiah 2:29 Literally “a declaration of”
  39. Jeremiah 2:30 Literally “the vanity”
  40. Jeremiah 2:30 Or “destroying”
  41. Jeremiah 2:31 Or “wilderness”
  42. Jeremiah 2:32 Or “jewelry”
  43. Jeremiah 2:33 Literally “To thus”
  44. Jeremiah 2:37 Literally “in your objects of trust”

Israel Forsakes God

The word(A) of the Lord came to me: “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:

“This is what the Lord says:

“‘I remember the devotion of your youth,(B)
    how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,(C)
    through a land not sown.
Israel was holy(D) to the Lord,(E)
    the firstfruits(F) of his harvest;
all who devoured(G) her were held guilty,(H)
    and disaster overtook them,’”
declares the Lord.

Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob,
    all you clans of Israel.

This is what the Lord says:

“What fault did your ancestors find in me,
    that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols(I)
    and became worthless(J) themselves.
They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord,
    who brought us up out of Egypt(K)
and led us through the barren wilderness,
    through a land of deserts(L) and ravines,(M)
a land of drought and utter darkness,
    a land where no one travels(N) and no one lives?’
I brought you into a fertile land
    to eat its fruit and rich produce.(O)
But you came and defiled my land
    and made my inheritance detestable.(P)
The priests did not ask,
    ‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who deal with the law did not know me;(Q)
    the leaders(R) rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,(S)
    following worthless idols.(T)

“Therefore I bring charges(U) against you again,”
declares the Lord.
    “And I will bring charges against your children’s children.
10 Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus(V) and look,
    send to Kedar[a](W) and observe closely;
    see if there has ever been anything like this:
11 Has a nation ever changed its gods?
    (Yet they are not gods(X) at all.)
But my people have exchanged their glorious(Y) God
    for worthless idols.
12 Be appalled at this, you heavens,
    and shudder with great horror,”
declares the Lord.
13 “My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken(Z) me,
    the spring of living water,(AA)
and have dug their own cisterns,
    broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
14 Is Israel a servant, a slave(AB) by birth?
    Why then has he become plunder?
15 Lions(AC) have roared;
    they have growled at him.
They have laid waste(AD) his land;
    his towns are burned(AE) and deserted.(AF)
16 Also, the men of Memphis(AG) and Tahpanhes(AH)
    have cracked your skull.
17 Have you not brought this on yourselves(AI)
    by forsaking(AJ) the Lord your God
    when he led you in the way?
18 Now why go to Egypt(AK)
    to drink water from the Nile[b]?(AL)
And why go to Assyria(AM)
    to drink water from the Euphrates?(AN)
19 Your wickedness will punish you;
    your backsliding(AO) will rebuke(AP) you.
Consider then and realize
    how evil and bitter(AQ) it is for you
when you forsake(AR) the Lord your God
    and have no awe(AS) of me,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

20 “Long ago you broke off your yoke(AT)
    and tore off your bonds;(AU)
    you said, ‘I will not serve you!’(AV)
Indeed, on every high hill(AW)
    and under every spreading tree(AX)
    you lay down as a prostitute.(AY)
21 I had planted(AZ) you like a choice vine(BA)
    of sound and reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me
    into a corrupt,(BB) wild vine?
22 Although you wash(BC) yourself with soap(BD)
    and use an abundance of cleansing powder,
    the stain of your guilt is still before me,”
declares the Sovereign Lord.(BE)
23 “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled;(BF)
    I have not run after the Baals’?(BG)
See how you behaved in the valley;(BH)
    consider what you have done.
You are a swift she-camel
    running(BI) here and there,
24 a wild donkey(BJ) accustomed to the desert,(BK)
    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!(BL)
    I love foreign gods,(BM)
    and I must go after them.’(BN)

26 “As a thief is disgraced(BO) when he is caught,
    so the people of Israel are disgraced—
they, their kings and their officials,
    their priests(BP) and their prophets.(BQ)
27 They say to wood,(BR) ‘You are my father,’
    and to stone,(BS) ‘You gave me birth.’
They have turned their backs(BT) to me
    and not their faces;(BU)
yet when they are in trouble,(BV) they say,
    ‘Come and save(BW) us!’
28 Where then are the gods(BX) you made for yourselves?
    Let them come if they can save you
    when you are in trouble!(BY)
For you, Judah, have as many gods
    as you have towns.(BZ)

29 “Why do you bring charges against me?
    You have all(CA) rebelled against me,”
declares the Lord.
30 “In vain I punished your people;
    they did not respond to correction.(CB)
Your sword has devoured your prophets(CC)
    like a ravenous lion.

31 “You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord:

“Have I been a desert to Israel
    or a land of great darkness?(CD)
Why do my people say, ‘We are free to roam;
    we will come to you no more’?(CE)
32 Does a young woman forget her jewelry,
    a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten(CF) me,
    days without number.
33 How skilled you are at pursuing(CG) love!
    Even the worst of women can learn from your ways.
34 On your clothes is found
    the lifeblood(CH) of the innocent poor,
    though you did not catch them breaking in.(CI)
Yet in spite of all this
35     you say, ‘I am innocent;(CJ)
    he is not angry with me.’
But I will pass judgment(CK) on you
    because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’(CL)
36 Why do you go about so much,
    changing(CM) your ways?
You will be disappointed by Egypt(CN)
    as you were by Assyria.
37 You will also leave that place
    with your hands on your head,(CO)
for the Lord has rejected those you trust;
    you will not be helped(CP) by them.

Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 2:10 In the Syro-Arabian desert
  2. Jeremiah 2:18 Hebrew Shihor; that is, a branch of the Nile