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.’ ”
“Just as a thief is ashamed when caught in the act,
so all Israel will be shamed—
your kings and princes, your prophets and priests.
You have called an idol of wood your ‘father’
and an idol of stone your ‘mother.’
You have turned your back toward me instead of your face.
But how different it is when you get into trouble!
You cry out to me and ask me to come and save you.
Now where are all your homemade gods?
They are nowhere to be found.
Let them arise and save you in your time of trouble!
Judah, you have as many gods as you have villages!
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