Jeremiah 2
Lexham English Bible
Yahweh Remembers Israel’s Faithfulness
2 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,[a] 2 “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.
3 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
4 Hear the word of Yahweh, O house of Jacob, and all the clans[g] of the house of Israel. 5 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?
6 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?’
7 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]
8 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
9 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
- Jeremiah 2:1 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 2:2 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 2:2 Or “youth”
- Jeremiah 2:2 Or “walking”
- Jeremiah 2:2 Or “wilderness”
- Jeremiah 2:3 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 2:4 Or “families”
- Jeremiah 2:5 Or “fathers”
- Jeremiah 2:6 Or “wilderness”
- Jeremiah 2:6 Hebrew “gorge”
- Jeremiah 2:6 Literally “no man passes through in it”
- Jeremiah 2:7 Hebrew “good thing”
- Jeremiah 2:7 Or “abomination”
- Jeremiah 2:8 Literally “broken with me”
- Jeremiah 2:9 Literally “To thus”
- Jeremiah 2:9 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 2:9 Literally “sons of your sons”
- Jeremiah 2:12 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 2:13 Or “fountain”
- Jeremiah 2:14 Literally “born of a house”
- Jeremiah 2:15 Literally “given”
- Jeremiah 2:15 Hebrew “voice”
- Jeremiah 2:15 Literally “from not”
- Jeremiah 2:16 Literally “pasture”
- Jeremiah 2:16 Or “crown of your head”
- Jeremiah 2:18 Literally “what for you”
- Jeremiah 2:18 Literally “what for you”
- Jeremiah 2:18 Literally “river”
- Jeremiah 2:19 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 2:22 Literally “make numerous for yourself alkaline salt”
- Jeremiah 2:22 Literally “to the face of”
- Jeremiah 2:22 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 2:24 Or “wilderness”
- Jeremiah 2:24 Or “restrain”
- Jeremiah 2:25 Or “walk”
- Jeremiah 2:27 Literally “neck”
- Jeremiah 2:29 Literally “broken with me”
- Jeremiah 2:29 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 2:30 Literally “the vanity”
- Jeremiah 2:30 Or “destroying”
- Jeremiah 2:31 Or “wilderness”
- Jeremiah 2:32 Or “jewelry”
- Jeremiah 2:33 Literally “To thus”
- Jeremiah 2:37 Literally “in your objects of trust”
Jeremiah 2
New King James Version
God’s Case Against Israel
2 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord:
“I remember you,
The kindness of your (A)youth,
The love of your betrothal,
(B)When you [a]went after Me in the wilderness,
In a land not sown.
3 (C)Israel was holiness to the Lord,
(D)The firstfruits of His increase.
(E)All that devour him will offend;
Disaster will (F)come upon them,” says the Lord.’ ”
4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord:
(G)“What injustice have your fathers found in Me,
That they have gone far from Me,
(H)Have followed [b]idols,
And have become idolaters?
6 Neither did they say, ‘Where is the Lord,
Who (I)brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who led us through (J)the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and pits,
Through a land of drought and the shadow of death,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no one dwelt?’
7 I brought you into (K)a bountiful country,
To eat its fruit and its goodness.
But when you entered, you (L)defiled My land
And made My heritage an abomination.
8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the (M)law did not know Me;
The rulers also transgressed against Me;
(N)The prophets prophesied by Baal,
And walked after things that do not profit.
9 “Therefore (O)I will yet [c]bring charges against you,” says the Lord,
“And against your children’s children I will bring charges.
10 For pass beyond the coasts of [d]Cyprus and see,
Send to [e]Kedar and consider diligently,
And see if there has been such a (P)thing.
11 (Q)Has a nation changed its gods,
Which are (R)not gods?
(S)But My people have changed their Glory
For what does not profit.
12 Be astonished, O heavens, at this,
And be horribly afraid;
Be very desolate,” says the Lord.
13 “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the (T)fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.
14 “Is Israel (U)a servant?
Is he a homeborn slave?
Why is he plundered?
15 (V)The young lions roared at him, and growled;
They made his land waste;
His cities are burned, without inhabitant.
16 Also the people of [f]Noph and (W)Tahpanhes
Have [g]broken the crown of your head.
17 (X)Have you not brought this on yourself,
In that you have forsaken the Lord your God
When (Y)He led you in the way?
18 And now why take (Z)the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of (AA)Sihor?
Or why take the road to (AB)Assyria,
To drink the waters of [h]the River?
19 Your own wickedness will (AC)correct you,
And your backslidings will rebuke you.
Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing
That you have forsaken the Lord your God,
And the [i]fear of Me is not in you,”
Says the Lord God of hosts.
20 “For of old I have (AD)broken your yoke and burst your bonds;
And (AE)you said, ‘I will not [j]transgress,’
When (AF)on every high hill and under every green tree
You lay down, (AG)playing the harlot.
21 Yet I had (AH)planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality.
How then have you turned before Me
Into (AI)the degenerate plant of an alien vine?
22 For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap,
Yet your iniquity is (AJ)marked[k] before Me,” says the Lord God.
23 “How(AK) can you say, ‘I am not [l]polluted,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
See your way in the valley;
Know what you have done:
You are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways,
24 A wild donkey used to the wilderness,
That sniffs at the wind in her desire;
In her time of mating, who can turn her away?
All those who seek her will not weary themselves;
In her month they will find her.
25 Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst.
But you said, (AL)‘There is no hope.
No! For I have loved (AM)aliens, and after them I will go.’
26 “As the thief is ashamed when he is found out,
So is the house of Israel ashamed;
They and their kings and their princes, and their priests and their (AN)prophets,
27 Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
And to a (AO)stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’
For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face.
But in the time of their (AP)trouble
They will say, ‘Arise and save us.’
28 But (AQ)where are your gods that you have made for yourselves?
Let them arise,
If they (AR)can save you in the time of your [m]trouble;
For (AS)according to the number of your cities
Are your gods, O Judah.
29 “Why will you plead with Me?
You all have transgressed against Me,” says the Lord.
30 “In vain I have (AT)chastened your children;
They (AU)received no correction.
Your sword has (AV)devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.
31 “O generation, see the word of the Lord!
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a land of darkness?
Why do My people say, ‘We [n]are lords;
(AW)We will come no more to You’?
32 Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people (AX)have forgotten Me days without number.
33 “Why do you beautify your way to seek love?
Therefore you have also taught
The wicked women your ways.
34 Also on your skirts is found
(AY)The blood of the lives of the poor innocents.
I have not found it by [o]secret search,
But plainly on all these things.
35 (AZ)Yet you say, ‘Because I am innocent,
Surely His anger shall turn from me.’
Behold, (BA)I will plead My case against you,
(BB)Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 (BC)Why do you gad about so much to change your way?
Also (BD)you shall be ashamed of Egypt (BE)as you were ashamed of Assyria.
37 Indeed you will go forth from him
With your hands on (BF)your head;
For the Lord has rejected your trusted allies,
And you will (BG)not prosper by them.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 2:2 followed
- Jeremiah 2:5 vanities or futilities
- Jeremiah 2:9 contend with
- Jeremiah 2:10 Heb. Kittim, representative of western cultures
- Jeremiah 2:10 In northern Arabian desert, representative of eastern cultures
- Jeremiah 2:16 Memphis in ancient Egypt
- Jeremiah 2:16 Or grazed
- Jeremiah 2:18 The Euphrates
- Jeremiah 2:19 dread
- Jeremiah 2:20 Kt. serve
- Jeremiah 2:22 stained
- Jeremiah 2:23 defiled
- Jeremiah 2:28 Or evil
- Jeremiah 2:31 have dominion
- Jeremiah 2:34 digging
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Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
