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Jeremiah 2:18-30
New Living Translation
Jeremiah 2:18-30
New Living Translation
18 “What have you gained by your alliances with Egypt
and your covenants with Assyria?
What good to you are the streams of the Nile[a]
or the waters of the Euphrates River?[b]
19 Your wickedness will bring its own punishment.
Your turning from me will shame you.
You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is
to abandon the Lord your God and not to fear him.
I, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!
20 “Long ago I broke the yoke that oppressed you
and tore away the chains of your slavery,
but still you said,
‘I will not serve you.’
On every hill and under every green tree,
you have prostituted yourselves by bowing down to idols.
21 But I was the one who planted you,
choosing a vine of the purest stock—the very best.
How did you grow into this corrupt wild vine?
22 No amount of soap or lye can make you clean.
I still see the stain of your guilt.
I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!
Israel, an Unfaithful Wife
23 “You say, ‘That’s not true!
I haven’t worshiped the images of Baal!’
But how can you say that?
Go and look in any valley in the land!
Face the awful sins you have done.
You are like a restless female camel
desperately searching for a mate.
24 You are like a wild donkey,
sniffing the wind at mating time.
Who can restrain her lust?
Those who desire her don’t need to search,
for she goes running to them!
25 When will you stop running?
When will you stop panting after other gods?
But you say, ‘Save your breath.
I’m in love with these foreign gods,
and I can’t stop loving them now!’
26 “Israel is like a thief
who feels shame only when he gets caught.
They, their kings, officials, priests, and prophets—
all are alike in this.
27 To an image carved from a piece of wood they say,
‘You are my father.’
To an idol chiseled from a block of stone they say,
‘You are my mother.’
They turn their backs on me,
but in times of trouble they cry out to me,
‘Come and save us!’
28 But why not call on these gods you have made?
When trouble comes, let them save you if they can!
For you have as many gods
as there are towns in Judah.
29 Why do you accuse me of doing wrong?
You are the ones who have rebelled,”
says the Lord.
30 “I have punished your children,
but they did not respond to my discipline.
You yourselves have killed your prophets
as a lion kills its prey.
Jeremiah 2:18-30
New International Version
Jeremiah 2:18-30
New International Version
18 Now why go to Egypt(A)
to drink water from the Nile[a]?(B)
And why go to Assyria(C)
to drink water from the Euphrates?(D)
19 Your wickedness will punish you;
your backsliding(E) will rebuke(F) you.
Consider then and realize
how evil and bitter(G) it is for you
when you forsake(H) the Lord your God
and have no awe(I) of me,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
20 “Long ago you broke off your yoke(J)
and tore off your bonds;(K)
you said, ‘I will not serve you!’(L)
Indeed, on every high hill(M)
and under every spreading tree(N)
you lay down as a prostitute.(O)
21 I had planted(P) you like a choice vine(Q)
of sound and reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me
into a corrupt,(R) wild vine?
22 Although you wash(S) yourself with soap(T)
and use an abundance of cleansing powder,
the stain of your guilt is still before me,”
declares the Sovereign Lord.(U)
23 “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled;(V)
I have not run after the Baals’?(W)
See how you behaved in the valley;(X)
consider what you have done.
You are a swift she-camel
running(Y) here and there,
24 a wild donkey(Z) accustomed to the desert,(AA)
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!(AB)
I love foreign gods,(AC)
and I must go after them.’(AD)
26 “As a thief is disgraced(AE) when he is caught,
so the people of Israel are disgraced—
they, their kings and their officials,
their priests(AF) and their prophets.(AG)
27 They say to wood,(AH) ‘You are my father,’
and to stone,(AI) ‘You gave me birth.’
They have turned their backs(AJ) to me
and not their faces;(AK)
yet when they are in trouble,(AL) they say,
‘Come and save(AM) us!’
28 Where then are the gods(AN) you made for yourselves?
Let them come if they can save you
when you are in trouble!(AO)
For you, Judah, have as many gods
as you have towns.(AP)
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 2:18 Hebrew Shihor; that is, a branch of the Nile
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.