Now the word of the LORD came to me saying, “Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD,
“I remember [earnestly] the lovingkindness and devotion of your youth,
Your time of betrothal [like that of a bride during the early years in Egypt and again at Sinai],
When you followed Me in the wilderness,
Through a land not sown.
“Israel was holy [something set apart from ordinary purposes, consecrated] to the LORD,
The first fruits of His harvest [in which no outsider was allowed to share].
All who ate of it [injuring Israel] became guilty;
Evil came on them,” says the LORD.’ ”
Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the LORD,
“What injustice or unrighteousness did your fathers find in Me,
That they have wandered far from Me
And [habitually] walked after emptiness and futility and became empty?
“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 [of the shadow of death],
Through a land that no man passed through
And where no man lived?’
“I brought you into a plentiful land
To eat its fruit and [enjoy] its good things.
But you came and defiled My land
And you made My inheritance repulsive.
“[Even] the priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’
And those who deal with the law [given to Moses] did not know Me.
The rulers and shepherds also transgressed against Me,
And the prophets prophesied by [the authority and in the name of] Baal
And walked after [idolatrous] things that did not benefit [them].
¶“Therefore I will still contend (struggle) with you [by bringing judgment on you],” says the LORD,
“And I will contend with your children’s children.”
“For cross over to the coasts of Kittim (Cyprus) [to the west] and see,
Send also to Kedar (Arabia) [to the east] and carefully observe and consider
And see whether there has been such [a thing] as this!
“Has a nation [ever] changed gods
Even though they were not gods [but merely man-made objects]?
But My people have exchanged their Glory (the true God)
For that [man-made idol] which does not benefit [them].
“Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
Be shocked and shudder with horror [at the behavior of the people],” says the LORD.
“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.
¶“Is Israel a servant? Is he a slave by birth?
Why has he become a captive and a prey?
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