OEB JER chapter 2

Her Ingratitude and Unparalleled Apostasy

4 Hear the word of Jehovah, O household of Jacob,

And all ye families of the household of Israel:

5 Thus saith Jehovah:

What wrong did your fathers discover in Me,

That they went from Me afar,

To follow after vanities,

Till they, too, became a vanity,

6 And never sought after Jehovah,

Who brought them up out of Egypt,

And led them through the desert,

A land of steppes and pits,

A land of drought and gloom,

A land that no man traversed,

A land where no man dwelt?

7 And I brought you into a garden-land,

To enjoy its fruits and its good things:

But ye came and defiled My land

And made Mine inheritance loathsome,

8 No priest was heard any more

Enquiring after Jehovah;

They that handle the law did not know Me,

The rulers rebelled against Me.

The prophets spoke by Baal,

And followed useless idols.

9 I must therefore contend with you still,

And with your children’s children.

10 Pass across to the isles of Cyprus,

Or send afar unto Kedar;

Note carefully, and see,

Hath there ever been aught like this?

11 Hath ever a nation exchanged its gods,

Though they be no gods at all?

But My people hath exchanged

Their Glory for useless idols.

12 Be appaled at this, ye heavens,

And shudder exceedingly.

13 For My people, saith Jehovah,

Have done two evil things:

Me they have forsaken,

The Fountain of Living Water,

To hew for themselves leaking cisterns,

That can hold no water at all.

The Consequences of Israel’s Apostasy

14 Is Israel a servant?

Or is he a home-born slave?

Why then hath he fallen a prey?

15 And why are his cities wasted?

Young lions have roared against him,

And lifted up their voice;

They have made his land all desolate,

And no man dwelleth therein.

16 Yea, the people of Memphis and Daphnae

Have shorn the crown of thy head;

17 And is this not come upon thee

Through forsaking Jehovah thy God?

18 Now why dost thou wander to Egypt

And drink the waters of Nile?

And why dost thou go to Assyria,

To drink of the streams of Euphrates?

19 Thy defection shall bring thee pain,

And thy wickedness sore reproof;

Thou shalt know and see for thyself

What a bitte thing it is

To forsake Jehovah thy God,

And to cherish no awe of Me,

Saith the Lord Jehovah of Hosts.

Israel’s Devotion to Idolatry

20 For of old thou didst break thy yoke,

And burst thy bonds in sunder;

Thou saidst, "I refuse to serve:"

But high upon every hill

And under every green tree

Thou didst stretch thee, playing the harlot.

21 Yet I as a choice vine had planted thee–

Sound was thy stock altogether;

But now art thou turned to be bitter,

Thou wild degenerate vine!

22 For though thou shouldst wash thee with soda,

And take thee abundance of soap,

Yet the Lord, as He seeth thy guilt,

Shall declare it of deepest dye.

23 How canst thou say, "All stainless am I,

I have not gone after the Baals"?

Look at thy way in the Valley,

And know what thou hast done.

A swift young camel art thou,

That courseth hither and thither,

24 A heifer run wild in the desert,

Aglow with the heat of ther passion;

That sniffeth the wind in her longing,

And who can turn her back?

No one need wearily seek her–

In her month she is sure to be found.

25 Run not the shoes off thy feet,

And spare thy throat, lest it parch.

But thou saidst,"There is no hope – none:

For I am in love with strangers,

And after them will I go."

The Impotence of the Gods solicited by Israel

26 But Israel’s house shall be shamed

As a thief that is caught is ashamed–

They and their kings and their princes,

Their priests and their prophets together;

27 That say to a stock, "My father,"

To a stone, "It is thou that hast borne me."

For unto Me they turned

Their backs and not their faces;

Yet in time of trouble they say,

"O rise Thou up and save us."

28 But where are the gods thou didst make thee?

Let them arise, if they

Can save thee in time of trouble;

For as many as are thy cities,

So many thy gods, O Judah.

29 Why do ye wrangle with Me?

For wicked ye are, every man of you;

Rebels are ye, saith Jehovah–

Rebels against Me, each man of you.

30 In vain have I smitten your children,

They would not receive correction;

The sword hath devoured your prophets,

Like a lion that dealeth destruction,

31 And yet ye are unafraid.

So hear ye the word of Jehovah:

Have I been a desert to Israel,

A dark and gloomy land?

Why then do ye say, "We are free,

We will come unto Thee nevermore?"

32 Can a maid forget her ornaments,

Or a bride forget her sash?

Yet Me hath My people forgotten

Days and days without number.

33 In quest of love how bravely

Thou trippest along thy way!

Small wonder thy deeds are so vile,

And thy way hath been all polluted.

34 Yea, blood was found in thy skirts–

Of the lives of the innocent poor–

As though thou hadst caught them at theft!

For all this (I would therefore contend with thee);

35 Yet thou hast said: "I am innocent,

Surely His anger is over."

But see, I will enter with thee into judgment,

Because thou dost claim to be sinless.

36 Why runnest thou hither and thither

With so frivolous a heart?

Thou shalt yet reap shame from Egypt,

As thou has reaped shame from Assyria.

37 Yea, thence shalt thou also go forth,

With thy hands upon thy head;

For those whom thou trustest Jehovah hath spurned,

And thou shalt not make good thine escape.

OEB JER Chapter 2