Israel Forsakes the Lord

The word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the Lord,

“I remember the devotion of (A)your youth,
    your love (B)as a bride,
(C)how you followed me in the wilderness,
    (D)in a land not sown.
(E)Israel was holy to the Lord,
    (F)the firstfruits of his harvest.
(G)All who ate of it incurred guilt;
    disaster came upon them,
declares the Lord.”

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

(H)“What wrong did your fathers find in me
    that they went far from me,
(I)and went after (J)worthlessness, and became worthless?
They did not say, (K)‘Where is the Lord
    who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
who led us (L)in the wilderness,
    in a land of deserts and pits,
in a land of drought and deep darkness,
    in a land that none passes through,
    where no man dwells?’
(M)And I brought you into a plentiful land
    to enjoy its fruits and its good things.
But when you came in, (N)you defiled my land
    and made my heritage an abomination.
The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
    (O)Those who handle the law did not know me;
(P)the shepherds[a] transgressed against me;
    (Q)the prophets prophesied by Baal
    and went after (R)things that do not profit.

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Footnotes

  1. Jeremiah 2:8 Or rulers

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)

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