Jeremiah 2:1-13

English Standard Version

“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.
^3 (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.”

^(H)“What wrong did your fathers find in me
    that they went far from me,
^(I)and went after ^(J)worthlessness, and became worthless?
⁶ 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?’
^7 (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.
⁸ 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.

⁹ “Therefore ^(S)I still contend with you,
declares the Lord,
    and ^(T)with your children's children I will contend.
¹⁰ For cross to the coasts of ^(U)Cyprus and see,
    or send to ^(V)Kedar and examine with care;
    see if there has been such a thing.
^11 (W)Has a nation changed its gods,
    ^(X)even though they are no gods?
But my people ^(Y)have changed their glory
    for ^(Z)that which does not profit.
¹² Be appalled, ^(AA)O heavens, at this;
    be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the Lord,
¹³ for my people have committed two evils:
^(AB)they have forsaken ^(AC)me,
    the fountain of ^(AD)living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
    broken cisterns that can hold no water.