Jeremiah 2:2-8
Jeremiah 2:1-8 The Message (MSG)
GOD’s Message came to me. It went like this: “Get out in the streets and call to Jerusalem, ‘GOD’s Message! I remember your youthful loyalty, our love as newlyweds. You stayed with me through the wilderness years, stuck with me through all the hard places. Israel was GOD’s holy choice, the pick of the crop. Anyone who laid a hand on her would soon wish he hadn’t!’” GOD’s Decree. * * * Hear GOD’s Message, House of Jacob! Yes, you—House of Israel! GOD’s Message: “What did your ancestors find fault with in me that they drifted so far from me, Took up with Sir Windbag and turned into windbags themselves? It never occurred to them to say, ‘Where’s GOD, the God who got us out of Egypt, Who took care of us through thick and thin, those rough-and-tumble wilderness years of parched deserts and death valleys, A land that no one who enters comes out of, a cruel, inhospitable land?’ “I brought you to a garden land where you could eat lush fruit. But you barged in and polluted my land, trashed and defiled my dear land. The priests never thought to ask, ‘Where’s GOD?’ The religion experts knew nothing of me. The rulers defied me. The prophets preached god Baal And chased empty god-dreams and silly god-schemes.
Jeremiah 2:2-8 King James Version (KJV)
Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD. Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
Jeremiah 2:2-8 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
“Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD, “I remember concerning you the devotion of your youth, The love of your betrothals, Your following after Me in the wilderness, Through a land not sown. Israel was holy to the LORD, The first of His harvest. All who ate of it became guilty; Evil came upon them,” declares 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 did your fathers find in Me, That they went far from Me And walked after emptiness and became empty? They did not say, ‘Where is the LORD Who brought us up out of 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 deep darkness, Through a land that no one crossed And where no man dwelt?’ I brought you into the fruitful land To eat its fruit and its good things. But you came and defiled My land, And My inheritance you made an abomination. The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me, And the prophets prophesied by Baal And walked after things that did not profit.
Jeremiah 2:2-8 New Century Version (NCV)
“Go and speak to the people of Jerusalem, saying: This is what the LORD says: ‘I remember how faithful you were to me when you were a young nation. You loved me like a young bride. You followed me through the desert, a land that had never been planted. The people of Israel were holy to the LORD, like the first fruits from his harvest. Those who tried to hurt Israel were judged guilty. Disasters struck them,’ ” says the LORD. Hear the word of the LORD, family of Jacob, all you family groups of Israel. This is what the LORD says: “I was fair to your ancestors, so why did they turn away from me? Your ancestors worshiped useless idols and became useless themselves. Your ancestors didn’t say, ‘Where is the LORD who brought us out of Egypt? He led us through the desert, through a dry and rocky land, through a dark and dangerous land. He led us where no one travels or lives.’ I brought you into a fertile land so you could eat its fruit and produce. But you came and made my land unclean; you made it a hateful place. The priests didn’t ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ The people who know the teachings didn’t know me. The leaders turned against me. The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal and worshiped useless idols.
Jeremiah 2:2-8 American Standard Version (ASV)
Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. Israel was holiness unto Jehovah, the first-fruits of his increase: all that devour him shall be held guilty; evil shall come upon them, saith Jehovah. Hear ye the word of Jehovah, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: Thus saith Jehovah, What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? Neither said they, Where is Jehovah that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought and of the shadow of death, through a land that none passed through, and where no man dwelt? And I brought you into a plentiful land, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. The priests said not, Where is Jehovah? and they that handle the law knew me not: the rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
Jeremiah 2:2-8 New International Version (NIV)
“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: “This is what the LORD says: “ ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown. Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them,’ ” declares the LORD. Hear the word of the LORD, you descendants of Jacob, all you clans of Israel. This is what the LORD says: “What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines, a land of drought and utter darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’ I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable. The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols.
Jeremiah 2:2-8 New King James Version (NKJV)
“Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: “I remember you, The kindness of your youth, The love of your betrothal, When you went after Me in the wilderness, In a land not sown. Israel was holiness to the LORD, The firstfruits of His increase. All that devour him will offend; Disaster will come upon 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 have your fathers found in Me, That they have gone far from Me, Have followed idols, And have become idolaters? Neither did they say, ‘Where is the LORD, Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, Through a land of deserts and pits, Through a land of drought and the shadow of death, Through a land that no one crossed And where no one dwelt?’ I brought you into a bountiful country, To eat its fruit and its goodness. But when you entered, you defiled My land And made My heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me; The prophets prophesied by Baal, And walked after things that do not profit.
Jeremiah 2:2-8 Amplified Bible (AMP)
“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].
Jeremiah 2:2-8 New Living Translation (NLT)
“Go and shout this message to Jerusalem. This is what the LORD says: “I remember how eager you were to please me as a young bride long ago, how you loved me and followed me even through the barren wilderness. In those days Israel was holy to the LORD, the first of his children. All who harmed his people were declared guilty, and disaster fell on them. I, the LORD, have spoken!” Listen to the word of the LORD, people of Jacob—all you families of Israel! This is what the LORD says: “What did your ancestors find wrong with me that led them to stray so far from me? They worshiped worthless idols, only to become worthless themselves. They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD who brought us safely out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness— a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought and death, where no one lives or even travels?’ “And when I brought you into a fruitful land to enjoy its bounty and goodness, you defiled my land and corrupted the possession I had promised you. The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ Those who taught my word ignored me, the rulers turned against me, and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal, wasting their time on worthless idols.
Jeremiah 2:2-8 The Passion Translation (TPT)
“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.
Jeremiah 2:2-8 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the LORD, “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest. All who ate of it incurred guilt; disaster came upon them, declares the LORD.” Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. Thus says the LORD: “What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless? They did not say, ‘Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that none passes through, where no man dwells?’ And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit.