Jeremiah 2 - Amplified Bible(AMP)

Judah’s Apostasy

1Now the word of the Lord came to me saying,

2“Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord,

“I remember the lovingkindness and devotion of your youth,

Your time of betrothal,

When you followed Me in the wilderness,

Through a land not sown.

3“Israel was holy to the Lord,

The first fruits of His harvest.

All who ate of it became guilty;

Evil came on them,” says the Lord.’ ”

4Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.

5Thus says the Lord,

“What injustice or unrighteousness did your fathers find in Me,

That they have wandered far from Me

And walked after emptiness and futility and became empty?

6“They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord

Who brought us up from the land of Egypt,

Who led us through the wilderness,

Through a land of deserts and of pits,

Through a land of drought and of the deep darkness,

Through a land that no man passed through

And where no man lived?’

7“I brought you into a plentiful land

To eat its fruit and its good things.

But you came and defiled My land

And you made My inheritance repulsive.

8“[Even] the priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’

And those who deal with the law did not know Me.

The rulers and shepherds also transgressed against Me,

And the prophets prophesied by Baal

And walked after things that did not benefit.

9¶“Therefore I will still contend (struggle) with you,” says the Lord,

“And I will contend with your children’s children.”

10“For cross over to the coasts of Kittim (Cyprus) and see,

Send also to Kedar (Arabia) and carefully observe and consider

And see whether there has been such as this!

11“Has a nation changed gods

Even though they were not gods?

But My people have exchanged their Glory (the true God)

For that which does not benefit.

12“Be appalled, O heavens, at this;

Be shocked and shudder with horror,” says the Lord.

13“For My people have committed two evils:

They have abandoned (rejected) Me,

The fountain of living water,

And they have carved out their own cisterns,

Broken cisterns

That cannot hold water.

14¶“Is Israel a servant? Is he a slave by birth?

Why has he become a captive and a prey?

15“The young lions have roared at him,

They have made their voices heard and roared loudly.

And they have made his land a waste;

His cities have been destroyed and are burned ruins, without inhabitant.

16“Moreover, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes

Have shaved the crown of your head.

17“Have you not brought this on yourself

By abandoning (rejecting) the Lord your God

When He led you in the way?

18“Now what are you doing by going to Egypt,

To drink the waters of the Nile?

Or what are you doing by going to Assyria,

To drink the waters of the Euphrates?

19“Your own wickedness will discipline you,

And your desertion of the faith will punish you.

Know therefore that it is an evil and bitter thing

For you to abandon (reject) the Lord your God,

And for you to be indifferent to Me and dismiss the fear of Me,” says the Lord God of hosts.

20¶“For long ago you broke your yoke

And tore off your bonds;

You said, ‘I will not serve and obey You!’

For on every high hill

And under every green tree

You have lain down like a prostitute.

21“Yet I had planted you a choice vine,

A completely faithful seed.

How then have you turned against Me

Into degenerate shoots of a foreign and wild vine?

22“For though you wash yourself with lye

And use much soap,

The stain of your guilt is before Me,” says the Lord God.

23“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled,

I have not gone after the Baals’?

Look at your way in the valley;

Know what you have done!

You are a swift and restless young camel running here and there,

24Or a wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,

That sniffs the wind in her passion.

In her mating season who can restrain her?

No males seeking her need to weary themselves;

In her month they will find her.

25“[Cease your mad running after idols to]

Keep your feet from becoming bare

And your throat from becoming dry;

But you said, ‘It is hopeless!

For I have loved strangers and foreign gods,

And I will walk after them.’

26¶“As the thief is shamed when he is caught,

So the house of Israel is shamed—

They, their kings, their leaders,

Their priests, and their prophets—

27Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’

And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’

For they have turned their backs to Me,

And not their faces;

But in the time of their trouble they will say,

‘Arise and save us.’

28“But where are your gods

Which you made for yourself?

Let them get up, if they can save you

In the time of your trouble!

For the number of your cities

Are your gods, O Judah.

29¶“Why do you complain and contend with Me?

You have all rebelled (transgressed) against Me,” says the Lord.

30“In vain I have punished your people;

They received no insight from correction.

Your sword has devoured your prophets

Like a destroying lion.

31“O generation, consider and regard carefully the word of the Lord.

Have I been a wilderness to Israel,

A land of thick and deep darkness?

Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam;

We will no longer come to You’?

32“Can a virgin forget her ornaments,

Or a bride her attire?

Yet My people have forgotten Me

Days without number.

33“How well you prepare your path

To seek and obtain love!

Even the most wicked of women

Have learned ways from you.

34“Also on your skirts is found

The lifeblood of the innocent poor;

You did not find them breaking in.

But in spite of all these things—

35Yet you keep saying, ‘I am innocent;

Surely His anger has turned away from me.’

Behold (listen very carefully), I will bring you to judgment and will plead my case against you

Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’

36“Why do you go around and wander so much

Changing your way?

Also, you will be shamed by Egypt

As you were shamed by Assyria.

37“From Egypt also you will come away

With your hands on your head;

For the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust (confide),

And you will not be successful with them.”