Jeremiah 2:4-28
Tree of Life Version
4 Hear the word of Adonai, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says Adonai:
“What fault did your fathers find in Me
that they strayed so far from Me?
They walked after worthless things,
becoming worthless themselves?[a]
6 They did not ask ‘Where is Adonai,
who brought us up from the land of Egypt
and led us through the wilderness,
through a land of deserts and rifts,
through a land of drought and distress,
through a land where no one travels,
where no one lives?’
7 Yet I brought you into a fertile land,
to eat of its fruit and goodness.
When you came, you defiled My land.
You made My heritage an abomination.
8 The kohanim did not ask,
‘Where is Adonai?’
The Torah experts did not know Me.
The shepherds rebelled against Me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal
and went after unprofitable things.
9 Therefore I will plead with you again!”
It is a declaration of Adonai.
“I will contend with your children’s children.
10 Cross to the coasts of Kittim[b] and see!
Send to Kedar, and observe carefully.
See if there has been anything like this.
11 Has a nation changed its gods—
even though they are not gods?
Yet My people have exchanged their glory
for worthless things.
12 Be appalled at this, O heavens!
Be utterly horrified and dumbfounded.”
It is a declaration of Adonai.
13 “My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me
—the spring of living water—
and they dug their own cisterns—
cracked cisterns that hold no water.
14 Is Israel a servant—a slave by birth?
Then why has he become plunder?
15 Young lions have roared at him
they have roared loudly.
They made his land a waste—
his cities are in ruins and uninhabited.
16 Even the sons of Noph and Tahpanhes
have grazed on the crown of your head.
17 Have you not brought this on yourself,
when He led you in the way?
18 But now, what is on the road to Egypt?
Drinking the waters of the Nile?
Or what is on the road to Assyria?
Drinking the waters of the Euphrates?
19 Your own wickedness will rebuke you
and your backslidings will chide you.
Know then and see
how bad and bitter it is for you
to forsake Adonai your God.
Nor is fear of Me in you.”
It is a declaration of the Lord Adonai-Tzva’ot.
20 “Indeed, long ago I broke your yoke
and tore off your bonds.
You said, ‘I will not serve!’
Instead, on every high hill
and under every green tree
you sprawled out as a prostitute.
21 Yet I had planted you as a choice vine
from completely faithful seed.
How then did you become to Me
a wandering wild vine?
22 Even though you wash with lye
and use an abundance of soap,
the stain of your iniquity is before Me.”
It is a declaration of the Lord Adonai.
23 “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled—
I have not gone after the Baalim[c]?
Look at your behavior in the Valley!
Recognize what you have done.
You are a swift young camel
galloping aimlessly,
24 a wild donkey used to the wilderness—
sniffing the wind in her passion—
in her heat, who can restrain her?
All males that pursue her will not tire themselves.
At mating time they will find her.
25 Do not run while your feet are bare
and your throat is thirsty.
But you said ‘There is no hope!
No! For I have loved foreign gods
and I will go after them.’
26 As a thief is shamed when caught,
so the house of Israel is shamed—
they, their kings, their princes,
their kohanim and their prophets.
27 They say to wood, ‘You are my father’
and to a stone, ‘You birthed me.’
They have turned their back to Me
and not their face.
Yet when they are in trouble
they say, ‘Rise up and save us!’
28 Where are your gods that you made for yourself?
Let them come—if they can save you
when you are in trouble!
For you have as many gods
as you have cities, O Judah.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 2:5 cf. Rom. 1:21.
- Jeremiah 2:10 Cyprus and nearby coasts.
- Jeremiah 2:23 Plural for Baal; gods.
Tree of Life (TLV) Translation of the Bible. Copyright © 2015 by The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society.