Jeremiah 2:14-19

Amplified Bible

¹⁴ 
“Is Israel a servant? Is he a slave by birth?
Why has he become a captive and a prey?
¹⁵ 
“The young lions have roared at him,
They have made their voices heard and roared loudly.
And they have made his land a waste;
His cities have been destroyed and are burned ruins, without inhabitant.
¹⁶ 
“Moreover, the men of ^[a]Memphis and ^[b]Tahpanhes [as powerful enemies]
Have shaved the crown of your head [to degrade you].
¹⁷ 
“Have you not brought this on yourself
By abandoning (rejecting) the Lord your God
When He led you in the way?
¹⁸ 
“Now what are you doing by going to Egypt [in search of an ally],
To drink the [muddy] waters of the Nile?
Or what are you doing by going to Assyria [in search of an ally],
To drink the [muddy] waters of the Euphrates?
¹⁹ 
“Your own wickedness will discipline you,
And your desertion of the faith will punish you.
Know therefore that it is an evil and bitter thing
For you to abandon (reject) the Lord your God,
And for you to be indifferent to Me and dismiss the [reverent] fear of Me,” says the Lord God of hosts.