⁵ “Before I formed you in the womb^(G) I knew^[a](H) you,
    before you were born^(I) I set you apart;^(J)
    I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.^(K)”

“Their kings will come and set up their thrones
    in the entrance of the gates of Jerusalem;
they will come against all her surrounding walls
    and against all the towns of Judah.^(AA)
16 I will pronounce my judgments^(AB) on my people
    because of their wickedness^(AC) in forsaking me,^(AD)
in burning incense to other gods^(AE)
    and in worshiping^(AF) what their hands have made.^(AG)

“‘I remember the devotion of your youth,^(AO)
    how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,^(AP)
    through a land not sown.
³ Israel was holy^(AQ) to the Lord,^(AR)
    the firstfruits^(AS) of his harvest;
all who devoured^(AT) her were held guilty,^(AU)
    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^(AV)
    and became worthless^(AW) themselves.
⁶ They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord,
    who brought us up out of Egypt^(AX)
and led us through the barren wilderness,
    through a land of deserts^(AY) and ravines,^(AZ)
a land of drought and utter darkness,
    a land where no one travels^(BA) and no one lives?’
⁷ I brought you into a fertile land
    to eat its fruit and rich produce.^(BB)
But you came and defiled my land
    and made my inheritance detestable.^(BC)
8 The priests did not ask,
    ‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who deal with the law did not know me;^(BD)
    the leaders^(BE) rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,^(BF)
    following worthless idols.^(BG)

⁹ “Therefore I bring charges^(BH) against you again,”
declares the Lord.
    “And I will bring charges against your children’s children.
¹⁰ Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus^(BI) and look,
    send to Kedar^[c](BJ) and observe closely;
    see if there has ever been anything like this:
¹¹ Has a nation ever changed its gods?
    (Yet they are not gods^(BK) at all.)
But my people have exchanged their glorious^(BL) God
    for worthless idols.
¹² Be appalled at this, you heavens,
    and shudder with great horror,”
declares the Lord.
¹³ “My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken^(BM) me,
    the spring of living water,^(BN)
and have dug their own cisterns,
    broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
¹⁴ Is Israel a servant, a slave^(BO) by birth?
    Why then has he become plunder?
¹⁵ Lions^(BP) have roared;
    they have growled at him.
They have laid waste^(BQ) his land;
    his towns are burned^(BR) and deserted.^(BS)
16 Also, the men of Memphis^(BT) and Tahpanhes^(BU)
    have cracked your skull.
¹⁷ Have you not brought this on yourselves^(BV)
    by forsaking^(BW) the Lord your God
    when he led you in the way?
¹⁸ Now why go to Egypt^(BX)
    to drink water from the Nile^[d]?^(BY)
And why go to Assyria^(BZ)
    to drink water from the Euphrates?^(CA)
19 Your wickedness will punish you;
    your backsliding^(CB) will rebuke^(CC) you.
Consider then and realize
    how evil and bitter^(CD) it is for you
when you forsake^(CE) the Lord your God
    and have no awe^(CF) of me,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.

²⁰ “Long ago you broke off your yoke^(CG)
    and tore off your bonds;^(CH)
    you said, ‘I will not serve you!’^(CI)
Indeed, on every high hill^(CJ)
    and under every spreading tree^(CK)
    you lay down as a prostitute.^(CL)
21 I had planted^(CM) you like a choice vine^(CN)
    of sound and reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me
    into a corrupt,^(CO) wild vine?
²² Although you wash^(CP) yourself with soap^(CQ)
    and use an abundance of cleansing powder,
    the stain of your guilt is still before me,”
declares the Sovereign Lord.^(CR)
23 “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled;^(CS)
    I have not run after the Baals’?^(CT)
See how you behaved in the valley;^(CU)
    consider what you have done.
You are a swift she-camel
    running^(CV) here and there,
²⁴ a wild donkey^(CW) accustomed to the desert,^(CX)
    sniffing the wind in her craving—
    in her heat who can restrain her?
Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;
    at mating time they will find her.
²⁵ Do not run until your feet are bare
    and your throat is dry.
But you said, ‘It’s no use!^(CY)
    I love foreign gods,^(CZ)
    and I must go after them.’^(DA)

²⁶ “As a thief is disgraced^(DB) when he is caught,
    so the people of Israel are disgraced—
they, their kings and their officials,
    their priests^(DC) and their prophets.^(DD)
27 They say to wood,^(DE) ‘You are my father,’
    and to stone,^(DF) ‘You gave me birth.’
They have turned their backs^(DG) to me
    and not their faces;^(DH)
yet when they are in trouble,^(DI) they say,
    ‘Come and save^(DJ) us!’
²⁸ Where then are the gods^(DK) you made for yourselves?
    Let them come if they can save you
    when you are in trouble!^(DL)
For you, Judah, have as many gods
    as you have towns.^(DM)

²⁹ “Why do you bring charges against me?
    You have all^(DN) rebelled against me,”
declares the Lord.
³⁰ “In vain I punished your people;
    they did not respond to correction.^(DO)
Your sword has devoured your prophets^(DP)
    like a ravenous lion.

“Have I been a desert to Israel
    or a land of great darkness?^(DQ)
Why do my people say, ‘We are free to roam;
    we will come to you no more’?^(DR)
32 Does a young woman forget her jewelry,
    a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten^(DS) me,
    days without number.
³³ How skilled you are at pursuing^(DT) love!
    Even the worst of women can learn from your ways.
³⁴ On your clothes is found
    the lifeblood^(DU) of the innocent poor,
    though you did not catch them breaking in.^(DV)
Yet in spite of all this
³⁵     you say, ‘I am innocent;^(DW)
    he is not angry with me.’
But I will pass judgment^(DX) on you
    because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’^(DY)
36 Why do you go about so much,
    changing^(DZ) your ways?
You will be disappointed by Egypt^(EA)
    as you were by Assyria.
³⁷ You will also leave that place
    with your hands on your head,^(EB)
for the Lord has rejected those you trust;
    you will not be helped^(EC) by them.

A wise son brings joy to his father,^(C)
    but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.

² Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value,^(D)
    but righteousness delivers from death.^(E)

³ The Lord does not let the righteous go hungry,^(F)
    but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.^(G)

⁴ Lazy hands make for poverty,^(H)
    but diligent hands bring wealth.^(I)

⁵ He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son,
    but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son.^(J)

⁶ Blessings crown the head of the righteous,
    but violence overwhelms the mouth of the wicked.^[a](K)

⁷ The name of the righteous^(L) is used in blessings,^[b]
    but the name of the wicked^(M) will rot.^(N)

⁸ The wise in heart accept commands,
    but a chattering fool comes to ruin.^(O)

⁹ Whoever walks in integrity^(P) walks securely,^(Q)
    but whoever takes crooked paths will be found out.^(R)

¹⁰ Whoever winks maliciously^(S) causes grief,
    and a chattering fool comes to ruin.

¹¹ The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life,^(T)
    but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.^(U)

¹² Hatred stirs up conflict,
    but love covers over all wrongs.^(V)

¹³ Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning,^(W)
    but a rod is for the back of one who has no sense.^(X)

¹⁴ The wise store up knowledge,^(Y)
    but the mouth of a fool invites ruin.^(Z)

¹⁵ The wealth of the rich is their fortified city,^(AA)
    but poverty is the ruin of the poor.^(AB)

¹⁶ The wages of the righteous is life,^(AC)
    but the earnings of the wicked are sin and death.^(AD)

¹⁷ Whoever heeds discipline shows the way to life,^(AE)
    but whoever ignores correction leads others astray.

¹⁸ Whoever conceals hatred with lying lips^(AF)
    and spreads slander is a fool.

¹⁹ Sin is not ended by multiplying words,
    but the prudent hold their tongues.^(AG)

²⁰ The tongue of the righteous is choice silver,
    but the heart of the wicked is of little value.

²¹ The lips of the righteous nourish many,
    but fools die for lack of sense.^(AH)

²² The blessing of the Lord^(AI) brings wealth,^(AJ)
    without painful toil for it.^(AK)

²³ A fool finds pleasure in wicked schemes,^(AL)
    but a person of understanding delights in wisdom.

²⁴ What the wicked dread^(AM) will overtake them;^(AN)
    what the righteous desire will be granted.^(AO)

²⁵ When the storm has swept by, the wicked are gone,
    but the righteous stand firm^(AP) forever.^(AQ)

²⁶ As vinegar to the teeth and smoke^(AR) to the eyes,
    so are sluggards to those who send them.^(AS)

²⁷ The fear of the Lord adds length to life,^(AT)
    but the years of the wicked are cut short.^(AU)

²⁸ The prospect of the righteous is joy,
    but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.^(AV)

²⁹ The way of the Lord is a refuge for the blameless,
    but it is the ruin of those who do evil.^(AW)

³⁰ The righteous will never be uprooted,
    but the wicked will not remain in the land.^(AX)

³¹ From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom,^(AY)
    but a perverse tongue^(AZ) will be silenced.

³² The lips of the righteous know what finds favor,^(BA)
    but the mouth of the wicked only what is perverse.^(BB)