Jeremiah 2:1-3

Common English Bible

God’s people abandon their God

2 The Lord’s word came to me:
²Go and proclaim to the people of Jerusalem,
The Lord proclaims:
I remember your first love,^[a]
    your devotion as a young bride,
    how you followed me in the wilderness,
    in an unplanted land.
³Israel was devoted to the Lord,
    the early produce of the harvest.
Whoever ate from it became guilty;
    disaster overtook them,
        declares the Lord.

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Footnotes

Jeremiah 2:2 Or the love of your youth

Jeremiah 2:7-13

Common English Bible

⁷I brought you into a land of plenty,
    to enjoy its gifts and goodness,
        but you ruined my land;
        you disgraced my heritage.
⁸The priests didn’t ask,
    “Where’s the Lord?”
Those responsible for the Instruction didn’t know me;
    the leaders rebelled against me;
    the prophets spoke in the name of Baal,
        going after what has no value.
⁹That is why I will take you to court
    and charge even your descendants,
        declares the Lord.
¹⁰Look to the west as far as the shores of Cyprus
    and to the east as far as the land of Kedar.
Ask anyone there:
    Has anything this odd ever taken place?
¹¹    Has a nation switched gods,
        though they aren’t really gods at all?
Yet my people have exchanged their glory
    for what has no value.
¹²Be stunned at such a thing, you heavens;
    shudder and quake,
        declares the Lord.
¹³My people have committed two crimes:
    They have forsaken me, the spring of living water.
    And they have dug wells, broken wells that can’t hold water.

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Psalm 36:5-10

Common English Bible

⁵But your loyal love, Lord, extends to the skies;
    your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
⁶Your righteousness is like the strongest mountains;
    your justice is like the deepest sea.
        Lord, you save both humans and animals.
⁷Your faithful love is priceless, God!
    Humanity finds refuge in the shadow of your wings.
⁸They feast on the bounty of your house;
    you let them drink from your river of pure joy.
⁹Within you is the spring of life.
    In your light, we see light.

¹⁰Extend your faithful love to those who know you;
extend your righteousness to those whose heart is right.

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Matthew 13:10-17

Common English Bible

Why Jesus speaks in parables

¹⁰Jesus’ disciples came and said to him, “Why do you use parables when you speak to the crowds?”

¹¹Jesus replied, “Because they haven’t received the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but you have. ¹²For those who have will receive more and they will have more than enough. But as for those who don’t have, even the little they have will be taken away from them. ¹³This is why I speak to the crowds in parables: although they see, they don’t really see; and although they hear, they don’t really hear or understand. ¹⁴What Isaiah prophesied has become completely true for them:

You will hear, to be sure, but never understand;
        and you will certainly see but never recognize what you are seeing.
¹⁵    For this people’s senses have become calloused,
        and they’ve become hard of hearing,
        and they’ve shut their eyes
            so that they won’t see with their eyes
            or hear with their ears
            or understand with their minds,
                and change their hearts and lives that I may heal them.^[a]

¹⁶“Happy are your eyes because they see. Happy are your ears because they hear. ¹⁷I assure you that many prophets and righteous people wanted to see what you see and hear what you hear, but they didn’t.

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