Jeremiah 2:1-6

New International Version

“‘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.
³ 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.

⁴ Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob,
    all you clans of Israel.

“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.
⁶ 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?’