Jeremiah 2:1-3

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.’ ”