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Jeremiah 2 New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Judah’s Apostasy

2 Now the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ²“Go and ^(A)proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘This is what the Lord says:

“I remember regarding you the ^[a]^(B)devotion of your youth,
Your love when you were a bride,
^(C)Your following after Me in the wilderness,
Through a land not sown.
³Israel was ^(D)holy to the Lord,
The ^(E)first of His harvest.
^(F)All who ate of it became guilty;
Evil came upon them,” declares the Lord.’”

⁴Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. ⁵This is what the Lord says:

“^(G)What injustice did your fathers find in Me,
That they went far from Me,
And walked after ^(H)emptiness and became empty?
⁶They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord
Who ^(I)brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who ^(J)led us through the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and of pits,
Through a land of drought and of ^[b]deep darkness,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no person lived?’
⁷I brought you into the ^(K)fruitful land
To eat its fruit and its good things.
But you came and ^(L)defiled My land,
And you made My inheritance an abomination.
⁸The ^(M)priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the Law ^(N)did not know Me;
The ^[c]rulers also revolted against Me,
And the ^(O)prophets prophesied by Baal
And walked after ^(P)things that were of no benefit.

⁹“Therefore I will still ^(Q)contend with you,” declares the Lord,
“And I will contend with your sons’ sons.
¹⁰For ^(R)cross to the coastlands of ^[d]Kittim and see,
And send to ^(S)Kedar and observe closely,
And see if there has been anything like this!
¹¹Has a nation changed gods,
When ^(T)they were not gods?
But My people have ^(U)exchanged their glory
For that which is of no benefit.
¹²Be appalled at this, ^(V)you heavens,
And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.
¹³“For My people have committed two evils:
They have abandoned Me,
The ^(W)fountain of living waters,
To carve out for themselves ^(X)cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That do not hold water.

¹⁴“Is Israel ^(Y)a slave? Or is he a servant born in the home?
Why has he become plunder?
¹⁵The young ^(Z)lions have roared at him,
They have ^[e]roared loudly.
And they have ^(AA)made his land a waste;
His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.
¹⁶Also the ^[f]men of ^(AB)Memphis and Tahpanhes
Have ^[g]shaved ^(AC)your head.
¹⁷Have you not ^(AD)done this to yourself
By your abandoning the Lord your God
When He ^(AE)led you in the way?
¹⁸But now what are you doing ^(AF)on the road to Egypt,
Except to drink the waters of the ^[h]^(AG)Nile?
Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,
Except to drink the waters of the Euphrates River?
¹⁹^(AH)Your own wickedness will correct you,
And your ^(AI)apostasies will punish you;
Know therefore and see that it is evil and ^(AJ)bitter
For you to abandon the Lord your God,
And ^(AK)the fear of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord ^[i]God of armies.

²⁰“For long ago ^[j]^(AL)I broke your yoke
And tore off your restraints;
But you said, ‘I will not serve!’
For on every ^(AM)high hill
And under every leafy tree
You have lain down as a prostitute.
²¹Yet I ^(AN)planted you as a choice vine,
A completely faithful seed.
How then have you turned yourself before Me
Into the ^(AO)degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?
²²Although you ^(AP)wash yourself with lye
And ^[k]use much soap,
The ^(AQ)stain of your guilt is before Me,” declares the Lord ^[l]God.
²³“^(AR)How can you say, ‘I am not defiled,
I have not gone after the ^(AS)Baals’?
Look at your way in the ^(AT)valley!
Know what you have done!
You are a swift young camel ^(AU)running about senselessly on her ways,
²⁴A ^(AV)wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,
That sniffs the wind in her passion.
Who can turn her away in her mating season?
None who seek her will grow weary;
In her month they will find her.
²⁵Keep your feet from being bare,
And your throat from thirst;
But you said, ‘^(AW)It is ^[m]hopeless!
No! For I have ^(AX)loved strangers,
And I will walk after them.’

²⁶“Like the shame of a ^(AY)thief when he is discovered,
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 ^(AZ)backs to Me,
And not their faces;
But in the ^(BA)time of their ^[n]trouble they will say,
‘Arise and save us!’
²⁸But where are your ^(BB)gods
Which you made for yourself?
Let them arise, if they can ^(BC)save you
In the time of your ^[o]trouble!
For ^(BD)as many as the number of your cities
Are your gods, Judah.

²⁹“Why do you contend with Me?
You have ^(BE)all revolted against Me,” declares the Lord.
³⁰“^(BF)In vain I have struck your sons;
They did not accept discipline.
Your ^(BG)sword has devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.
³¹You generation, look to the word of the Lord.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a ^(BH)land of thick darkness?
Why do My people say, ‘^(BI)We are free to roam;
We will no longer come to You’?
³²Can a virgin forget her jewelry,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people have ^(BJ)forgotten Me
For days without number.
³³How well you prepare your way
To seek love!
Therefore even to the wicked women
You have taught your ways.
³⁴Also on your skirts is found
The ^(BK)lifeblood of the innocent poor;
You did not find them ^(BL)breaking in.
But in spite of all these things,
³⁵You said, ‘I am innocent;
Surely His anger is turned away from me.’
Behold, I will ^(BM)enter into judgment with you
Because you ^(BN)say, ‘I have not sinned.’
³⁶Why do you ^(BO)go around so much
Changing your way?
Also, ^(BP)you will be put to shame by Egypt,
Just as you were put to shame by ^(BQ)Assyria.
³⁷From this place as well you will go out
With ^(BR)your hands on your head;
For the Lord has rejected ^(BS)those in whom you trust,
And you will not prosper with them.”

New American Standard Bible (NASB)