⁴ Listen to the word of Yahweh, descendants of Jacob,
    all the families in the nation of Israel.
⁵ This is what Yahweh says:
    What did your ancestors find wrong with me
    that they went so far away from me?
    They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.
⁶ They didn’t ask, “Where is Yahweh,
    who brought us from Egypt?
        He led us through the desert,
            through a wasteland and its pits,
                a land of drought and the shadow of death.
                    No one lives there or travels there.”
⁷         I brought them into a fertile land
            to eat its fruit and its produce.
                They came and made my land unclean.^[a]
                    They made my property disgusting.
⁸ The priests didn’t ask, “Where is Yahweh?”
    Those who deal with my teachings didn’t know me.
    The rulers rebelled against me.
    The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal
        and followed statues that couldn’t help them.

⁹ “That is why I am bringing charges against you,” declares Yahweh,
    “and I am bringing charges against your grandchildren.
¹⁰ Go over to the coasts of Cyprus, and see.
    Send someone to Kedar, and observe closely.
    See if there has ever been anything like this.
¹¹ Has any nation ever exchanged gods?
    (Their gods aren’t really gods.)
    Yet, my people have exchanged their Glory
    for something that doesn’t help them.
¹² Be horrified over this, heaven.
    Be terribly afraid,” declares Yahweh.
¹³ “My people have done two things wrong.
    They have abandoned me,
        the fountain of life-giving water.
    They have also dug their own cisterns,
        broken cisterns that can’t hold water.

¹⁴ “Are the people of Israel slaves?
    Were they born into slavery?
        Why, then, have they become someone’s property?
¹⁵ Young lions have roared very loudly at them.
    Young lions have turned the land into a wasteland.
    The cities have been burned down, and everyone has left.
¹⁶ People from Noph and Tahpanhes have cracked your skulls, Israel.
¹⁷ You have brought this on yourself
    by abandoning Yahweh your Elohim
        when he led you on his way.
¹⁸ You won’t gain anything by going to Egypt
    to drink water from the Nile River.
    You won’t gain anything by going to Assyria
        to drink water from the Euphrates River.
¹⁹ Your own wickedness will correct you,
    and your unfaithful ways will punish you.
    You should know and see how evil and bitter it is for you
        if you abandon Yahweh your Elohim and do not fear me,”
            declares Adonay Yahweh Tsebaoth.

²⁰ “Long ago you broke off your yoke,^[b] tore off your chains,
    and said that you wouldn’t be a slave.
    You lay down and acted like a prostitute
    on every high hill and under every large tree.
²¹ I planted you like a choice grapevine from the very best seed.
    Now you have turned against me and have become a wild vine.
²² Even if you wash with detergent and use a lot of soap,
    I would still see the stains from your wickedness,”
        declares Adonay Yahweh.
²³ “How can you say that you haven’t dishonored yourselves
    and haven’t followed other gods—the Baals?
        Look how you’ve behaved in the valley.
            Acknowledge what you’ve done.
    You are like a young camel that swiftly runs here and there.
²⁴ You are like a wild donkey that is used to the desert,
    sniffing the wind while in heat.
    All who look for you won’t get tired.
    They will find you during your monthly period.
²⁵ Don’t run until your feet are bare and your throats are dry.
    But you say that it’s useless.
    You love foreign gods and follow them.

²⁶ “As a thief feels ashamed when he’s caught,
    so the nation of Israel will feel ashamed.
        Their kings, princes, priests,
            and prophets will also feel ashamed.
²⁷ You call wood your father.
    You call stone your mother.
    You’ve turned your backs, not your faces, to me.
    But when you’re in trouble, you ask me to come and rescue you.
²⁸ Where are the gods that you made for yourselves?
    Let them come and rescue you when you’re in trouble.
        You have as many gods as you have cities, Judah!