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OEB by section JER 2:1

⌂ ← JER 2:1–6:30 → ║ ©

Judah the Faithless

Judah’s Infidelity more Awful than Israel’s

6 In the days of the King Josiah Jehovah said to me: "Hast thou seem what backsliding Israel did? She went up on every high mountain and under every green tree and there she played the harlot. 7 I had hoped that, after all this, she would return to Me. But no! she did not return. Her faithless sister Judah 8 saw that I had put backsliding Israel away because of her adultery, and that I had given her a bill of divorce; nevertheless faithless Judah was not at all afraid, but she too went and played the harlot, 9 defiling the land by her wanton whoredom, and committing adultery with stones and stocks. 10 Nevertheless, when faithless Judah turned to Me, it was not with her whole heart, but only in pretence."

Offer of Pardon and Promise of Glory

11 Then Jehovah said to me, "Backsliding Israel has justified herself more than faithless Judah. 12 Go and proclaim these words towards the north and say:

O backsliding Israel, turn,

I will not look in anger upon thee;

For I am kind, saith Jehovah,

I keep not Mine anger for ever.

13 But only acknowledge thy guilt–

That, disloyal to Jehovah thy God,

Thou hast lavished thy love upon strangers

Beneath every spreading tree,

And unto My voice, saith Jehovah,

Thou hast not inclined thine ear.

14 Return, ye backsliding children, saith Jehovah, for I am your husband and lord; and I will take one of you from each city and two from each clan, and I will bring you to Zion, 15 and give you rulers after My own mind, who shall tend you with wisdom and skill. 16 And when in those days you have grown numerous and fruitful in the land, saith Jehovah, men shall speak no more of the ark of the covenant of Jehovah; it shall never enter their minds, they will neither think of it nor miss it, nor will they ever again make another.

17 At that time Jerusalem shall be called the Throne of Jehovah, and all the nations shall gather thereto; they shall follow no more the stubbornness of their evil hearts. 18 In those days the household of Judah shall join the household of Israel, and together they shall come from the north land to the land that I gave your forefathers for an inheritance.

A Penitent Return will be met by the Divine Acceptance

19 How glad, methought, shall I be

To give thee a place among sons,

To give thee a pleasant land,

An inheritance passing fair!

Me thought ye would call Me Father,

And follow Me evermore;

20 But ye have been false unto Me,

As a woman is false to her lover.

21 Hark! weeping is heard on the heights–

It is suppliant Israel crying,

Because they have walked perversely,

Forgetting Jehovah their God.

22 "Return, ye backsliding I will heal."

"Behold, we are come unto Thee,

For Thou art Jehovah our God.

23 The hills are but a delusion,

And the orgies upon the mountains;

In Jehovah our God alone

Is Israel’s salvation.

24 The Baal hath devoured the toil

Of our fathers from our youth–

Their sheep and their oxen together,

Their sons and their daughters together

25 We would lay us down in our shame,

All covered with confusion;

For before our God we have sinned,

We and our fathers from youth

Even unto this very day;

And we have not hearkened at all

To the voice of Jehovah our God."

4 "O Israel, if thou wilt return," saith Jehovah,

If thou but return unto Me,

And put out of My sight those things that I loathe;

If thou roam not hither and thither;

2 If sincerely and justly and truly

Thou swear, ’As Jehovah liveth,’

Then nations shall pray for a blessing like thine,

And in thee shall they make their boast.

3 For thus saith Jehovah to the citizens of Judah,

And to them that dwell in Jerusalem:

Break up the ground that lies fallow,

And sow ye not among thorns;

4 Circumcise ye your own selves to Jehovah,

Remove from your hearts the foreskin,

Ye citizens of Judah

And ye that dwell in Jerusalem;

Lest My fury go forth like fire

And blaze beyond all quenching,

Because of your evil doings."

The Impending Judgment to be Executed by a Foreign Invader

5 Declare ye this message in Judah,

And publish it in Jerusalem;

Blow the trumpet throughout the land,

Cry aloud and say,

"Gather and let us betake ourselves

Into the fortified cities."

6 Lift towards Zion a signal,

Flee ye for safety and stay out;

For disaster and fell destruction

I soon will bring out the north.

7 A lion hath gone from his thicket;

The Devastator of nations

Hath left and gone forth from his place

To desolate the earth.

8 Gird yourselves therefore with sackcloth,

Make ye lament and wail;

For the fierce glowing wrath of Jehovah

Doth turn not away nor leave us.

9 The heart of the king and the princes

Shall fail int that day, saith Jehovah;

The priests shall be seized with horror,

And the prophets with amazement.

10 They shall say "Ah, Lord Jehovah!

Ah! Surely Thou hast deluded

This people and Jerusalem,

Assuring us all would be well,

While the doth pierce to the soul."

11 This message shall then be declared

To Jerusalem and this people:

A glowing wind from the desert

Cometh straight upon My people,

But not to winnow or cleanse–

12 Too keen is the blast for that.

So now I will utter My judgment upon them.

13 Behold! he mounteth as clouds,

His chariots are like to the whirlwind,

His horses are swifter than eagles:

"Woe unto us! we are spoiled."

14 Wash thy heart of wickedness,

Jerusalem, that thou mayest be saved:

How long wilt thou harbour within thee

Thine evil imaginations?

15 Hark! a message from Dan,

From Mount Ephraim, evil tidings;

16 Proclaim it among the nations,

And publish it over Jerusalem.

Behold! leopards are coming

From a land that is far away,

They are raising loud their roar

Against the cities of Judah.

17 Lying in wait in the fields,

They beset her round and round–

"Because," declareth Jehovah,

"She hath rebelled against Me."

18 Thy doings and thy behaviour

Have brought these things upon thee;

This is the fruit of thy wickedness–

Bitter indeed it is,

It pierceth thy very heart.

The Prophet’s Anguish

19 O the pain, the pain in my bosom,

The walls of my heart are athrob:

My heart is a tumult within me,

I cannot hold my peace;

For the sound of the trumpet I hear,

The din and alarum of battle.

20 Ruin doth break upon ruin,

For all the land is laid waste;

My tents of a sudden are spoiled,

Yea, all in a moment my curtains.

21 How long must I look on the standard

And hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 For foolish is my people,

And me they do not know;

Sottish children they are,

Devoid of understanding:

Wise are they to do evil,

But they know not how to do good.

23 I looked at the earth, and behold! it was empty.

I looked at the heavens, and their light was gone,

24 I looked at the mountains, and lo! they were trembling,

And all the hills moved to and fro.

25 I looked and looked, but behold, there was no man,

And all the birds of the heaven had fled.

26 I looked at the fruit-land: behold! it was desert,

And all the cities were fallen in ruins,

Laid waste by the fierce hot wrath of Jehovah.

The Irrevocable Doom

27 For thus Jehovah hath said,

The land shall be all desolation.

28 For this the earth shall mourn,

And the heavens above be black;

For I have not repented My words,

And I will not turn back from My purpose.

29 At the noise of the horsemen and bowmen

The whole land taketh to flight;

They enter the thickets and caves,

They climb up on to the rocks.

Abandoned is very city,

And not a man dwelleth therein.

30 Why, then, dost thou robe thee in scarlet,

And deck thee with jewels of gold,

And paintest thine eyes to enlarge them?

In vain dost thou make thyself fair.

They that doted on thee despite thee;

It is thy life that they seek.

31 For a cry have I heard as of woman in travail,

A scream as of one bringing forth her first child.

Hark! ’tis the daughter of Zion

That gaspeth and spreadeth her hands,

Saying, "Ah! woe is me! I am faint,

I am sinking – the victim of murderers."

The Universal Corruption of the Nation

5 Run to and fro through the streets of Jerusalem,

Look ye around and examine;

Search in her open spaces

If ye can find a man–

Any that acteth justly,

And seeketh after truth;

Then I – Jehovah declareth–

Will grant her My forgiveness.

2 But even when they say, "By Jehovah,"

They are ready to swear to a lie.

3 Dost Thou look then, Jehovah, on falsehood,

And not upon the truth?

To all Thy blows they were callous,

They refused to accept correction;

Their faces were harder than stone,

They refused to turn (and repent).

4 "But these," thought I, "are the poor,

The people without understanding,

Who know not the way of Jehovah,

The ordinance of their God.

5 I will get me unto the great men,

And unto them will I speak;

For they know the way of Jehovah,

The ordinance of their God."

But these very men have all broken the yoke,

And snapped the bonds asunder.

6 Soon therefore shall they be slain

By a lion out of the forest;

A wolf from the steppes shall despoil them.

A leopard shall lurk by their cities,

And rend all that issue therefrom.

For many are their their transgressions,

And far they have turned away.

7 How then for this can I pardon thee?

Thy children have forsaken Me,

Swearing by gods that are no gods;

And, when to the full I had fed them,

Adultery they committed,

They lodge in the houses of harlots.

8 Well fed stallions were they,

Neighing each for his neighbour’s wife.

9 And crimes like these, saith Jehovah,

Am I to leave unpunished?

Shall not My soul be avenged

On a nation such as this?

The Implacable Doom

10 Get ye up to her vines and destroy them,

Make an utter end of them;

Take away her branches,

For they are not Jehovah’s.

11 For utterly faithless to Me

Are the households of Israel and Judah;

12 They have denied Jehovah,

And said, "He will never do it;

No evil shall come upon us,

We shall see neither sword nor famine.

13 The prophets are only wind,

The word is not in them:

So be it done unto them."

14 Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of Hosts:

Behold, MY word in thy mouth

I will make like a flaming fire,

And this people shall be as the fuel,

And it shall clean devour them.

15 Behold, I am bringing against you,

O household of Israel, saith Jehovah,

A nation from afar,

An imperishable nation,

A very ancient nation,

A nation whose language thou knowest not,

Whose speech is strange unto thee.

16 Like an open grave is their quiver,

And giants are they all:

17 They shall eat up thy bread and thy harvest,

They shall eat up thy sons thy daughters,

They shall eat up thy flocks and thy herds,

They shall eat up thy vines and thy fig trees,

They shall beat down the fortified cities,

Wherein thou didst trust, with the sword.

18 But in those days, saith Jehovah,

I will not make a clean end of you.

19 And in time to come, when ye say to Me,

"Why hath Jehovah our God

Done all these things unto us?"

Then shalt thou say unto them,

"As ye have forsaken Me,

And served foreign gods in your land,

So ye shall be servants to strangers

In a land that is not your own."

The Utter Depravity of the People and their Religious Leaders

20 Declare ye this in the household of Jacob,

And publish this message in Judah;

21 Hear this, ye foolish and senseless people,

With eyes that see not, and ears that hear not.

22 Fear ye not Me? saith Jehovah,

Tremble ye not at My presence,

Who hath set the sand as a bound for the sea,

As a barrier eternal which cannot be passed?

Its waters may toss, but they cannot prevail;

Its waves may roar, yet they cannot pass over it.

23 But these people are stubborn, defiant in heart,

They are turned aside and gone.

24 For they do not say in their hearts,

"Let us fear Jehovah, our God,

Who giveth the rain in its season,

The early and latter rain,

And into us reserveth

the weeks appointed for harvest."

25 This order your sins have disturbed,

Your crimes have withheld from you blessing.

26 For among My people are knaves,

Who set snares and with traps catch men.

27 Like a cage full of birds, so their houses

Are full of (the gains of) deceit;

And so they grow great and rich,

28 They are waxen fat, they are sleek:

They run riot in deeds of wickedness.

They defend not the rights of the orphan,

Nor champion the cause of the needy.

29 And things like these, saith Jehovah,

Am I to leave unpunished?

Shall not My soul be avenged

On a nation such as this?

30 An appailing, a horrible thing

Is come to pass in the land.

31 The prophets prophesy falsely,

And from them do the priests take their teaching,

And My people love it so;

But what will ye do in the end?

The Approach of the Invader

6 Flee ye for safety, ye Benjamites,

Forth from the midst of Jerusalem;

Blow ye the trump in Tekoa,

Raise a beacon on Beth-haccherem:

For out of the north there peereth

Disaster and fell destruction.

2 As a fair and luxurious mead

Is the height of the daughter of Zion;

3 But shepherds shall come to assail her,

They and their flocks together;

They shall pitch their tents around about her,

And graze on her, each where he camps.

4 "Prepare ye war against her;

Up! let us storm her at noon-day."

"Alas! for the day declineth,

The shadows of evening are lengthening."

5 "Then up! let us storm her by night,

And her palaces let us destroy."

6 For thus saith Jehovah of Hosts:

Hew ye down her trees,

And cast up a mound against her.

Woe to thee, City of Falsehood,

Within thee is nothing but tyranny.

7 As a well keepeth fresh her waters,

She keepeth her wickedness fresh;

Within her are rapine and violence heard,

Sickness and wounds are for ever before Me.

8 O Jerusalem, be admonished,

Lest My soul from thee be severed,

Lest I make thee a desolation,

An uninhabited land.

9 Thus saith Jehovah of Hosts;

"Glean like a vine full thoroughly

Those that are left of Israel;

Set thy hand once more

As a vintager unto the branches."

10 "But to whom shall I speak and bear witness

In such wise that they listen?

For see! their ear is uncircumcised,

Helpless are they to hearken.

To them is the word of Jehovah

Become an utter scorn;

They have no pleasure in it.

11 I am filled with the wrath of Jehovah,

I am weary of holding it back:

On the child in the street I will pour it,

On youths, too, where’er they assemble;

It shall smite men and women alike,

And the aged, whose days are many.

12 Their homes shall be turned unto others,

Their fields and their wives together;

For against those that dwell in the land

I will stretch out My hand, saith Jehovah."

The National Materialism and its Doom

13 For great and small alike,

They are all of them greedy of gain;

Prophet and priest alike–

Every man of them practiseth falsehood.

14 They would heal the hurt of My people,

As though it were but slight;

"It is well, it is well," they say,

"When it is anything but well."

15 Are they at all abashed

At their deeds abominable?

Nay, they are unabashed,

They know not how to blush.

They shall therefore fall with the fallen;

In the hour of their visitation

They shall stumble, saith Jehovah.

16 Thus did Jehovah say:

Stand in the ways and see,

And ask for the ancient paths;

Mark that which leadeth to happiness,

See that ye walk therein–

And ye shall find rest to your souls.

But they said, " We refuse to walk in it."

17 And over you I set watchmen.

Saying "Hark for the sound of the trumpet."

But they said, "We refuse to hearken."

18 Wherefore hearken, ye nations, and hear, O earth,

Take knowledge of that which is coming.

19 Behold, I will bring on this people

Disaster, the fruits of their backsliding;

For they heeded not My words,

My instruction they rejected.

20 Of what avail to Me

Is the incense that cometh from Sheba,

And sweet cane from a distant land?

I accept not your burnt-offerings,

Your sacrifice pleaseth Me not.

21 Therefore, thus saith Jehovah: Behold,

I will set on the way of this people

Stones over which they may stumble,

And over them stumble they shall,

Fathers and sons together–

And neighbour and friend shall perish.

22 Thus saith Jehovah, Behold!

A people doth come from the north land,

A mighty nation is stirring

At the uttermost ends of the earth

23 Bow they wield and javelin–

Cruel and pitiless they,

With a voice like the roar of the sea,

And they ride upon horses and chariots,

Arrayed, like one man, for the battle,

Against thee, O daughter of Zion.

24 The rumour thereof we have heard,

And all unnerved are we:

Anguish hath seized upon us,

And pangs as of women in travail.

25 Venture not forth to the open,

Go not abroad on the highway;

For there is the sword of the enemy–

Terror on every side.

26 O daughter of My people,

Gird thee about with sackcloth

And sprinkle thee with ashes;

Make mourning and bitter lament,

As for an only son;

For suddenly shall come

The Devastator upon us.

Jeremiah as Assayer of the National Character

27 I have set thee to test My people,

To discover and test their way.

28 Refractory are the all,

They slander as they go;

They are all of them brass and iron,

They are all of them corrupt.

29 Fiercely the bellows blow,

The lead is consumed by the fire;

But in vain doth the smelter keep smelting,

The dross is not smelted away.

30 Their name shall be refuse silver,

For them hath Jehovah as refuse rejected.

⌂ ← JER 2:1–6:30 → ║ ©

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