Jeremiah 2:1-25

YAHWEH spoke these words to me: “Go, preach this message publicly for all Jerusalem to hear: ‘YAHWEH says to you: “ ‘I fondly remember the single-hearted devotion you had for me in your youth. You loved me deeply as a bride loves a bridegroom. You followed me closely in the desert, in a land where no crops grow. Israel, like the firstfruits of my harvest, I set you apart, and you belonged to me alone. Anyone who devoured you I made to suffer, and I rained disaster down upon them. I, YAHWEH, have spoken.’ ” Jacob’s tribes, listen! Every clan of Israel, listen to the words of YAHWEH. He declares to you: “What did your ancestors find wrong with me that they would run so far away from me? They left me to follow worthless idols and themselves became worthless! They never stopped to ask themselves, ‘Where is YAHWEH, who rescued us from Egypt? Where is the YAHWEH who led us through the wilderness, through a barren wasteland with its pits and problems? Where is the one who led us through a land of deserts and droughts, dangers and deep darkness — where no one lives nor even passes through?’ “I brought you to this land of abundance to enjoy its lush fruit and goodness, but you entered the land and defiled my land. You made hideous the very land I call my own. The priests did not stop and ask, ‘Where is YAHWEH?’ The scribal scholars did not intimately know me. The shepherds of the people rebelled against me. The false prophets prophesied by the spirit of Baal, and they worshiped idols that could not help them. Therefore I, YAHWEH, will bring charges against you once more, and not only against you but against your descendants as well. I, YAHWEH, have spoken.” “Go off to the Greek islands and investigate for yourselves. Take a close look at Kedar also and observe very carefully. Has there ever been anything as disgusting as this? Has a nation ever traded in its gods (even though they are not really gods)? But my people have bartered away their glory in exchange for gods who do nothing. Be appalled, O heavens, and cringe with fear! Be shocked and utterly devastated at this betrayal! I, YAHWEH, have spoken. “My people are guilty of a double sin: they have abandoned me, the Spring of Living Water, and they have dug for themselves cisterns — cracked cisterns that hold no water.” “Is Israel a slave? Was he born a slave? Why, then, has he been seized like prey? His enemies have raged against him, roaring like fierce lions. They leveled his cities, left them without inhabitants, and devastated his land. Moreover, Egyptian armies will march from Memphis and Tahpanhes. They will come and shave your head bald. Israel, you have no one to blame but yourselves! You stubbornly turned away even though YAHWEH, your God, was leading you the right way. Why, then, would you now go down to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? Why would you go to Assyria to drink from the river Euphrates? Your own wickedness punishes you. Your own unfaithfulness rebukes you. Look deep into your heart and you will learn how evil and bitter it is to forsake me, YAHWEH your God, and have no awe of me. I, YAHWEH, Commander of Angel Armies, have spoken.” “Long ago, you broke your bond with me and severed ties. You boldly said, ‘I will not serve you!’ Yet, on every high hill and under every green tree, you offered yourself to other gods. You were like a prostitute sprawled out awaiting sex. I planted you like a special vine from the absolute best seed, but look at what you’ve become now! You’re like a twisted, rotten vine. Even if you scrubbed yourself with the strongest soap, your guilty stains would remain before my face. I, Lord YAHWEH, have spoken. “How dare you say, ‘I have not defiled myself. I’ve not chased after false gods.’ Look how you behaved badly in the valley. Don’t you realize what you’ve done? You’re like a restless wild camel running loose or like a wild female donkey accustomed to the wilderness. While in heat, she sniffs the wind, and in her lust, no one can restrain her. Any male that wants her will find her ready. Israel, don’t chase after other gods until you wear out your sandals and your throats are parched with thirst. Yet, you still say, ‘It’s hopeless; I can’t stop chasing them. I desperately love these foreign gods.’ ”