Jeremiah 2:17-37 ▼

17 You have done this to yourselves, have you not, by forsaking the LORD your God, when he is the one who led you on the way?

18 Now, what are you doing on the road to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Nile? And what are you doing on the road to Assyria, to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

19 Your wickedness will be punished, and you will be corrected due to your acts of apostasy. Know and see that it's evil and bitter for you to forsake the LORD your God, but the fear of me is not in you,| declares the Lord GOD of the Heavenly Armies.

20 |For long ago I broke your yoke and tore off your bonds, But you said, 'I won't serve you!' Instead, on every high hill and under every green tree, you bend down to commit fornication.

21 I planted you myself as a choice vine, from the very best seed. How did you turn against me into a degenerate and foreign vine?

22 Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is still before me,| declares the Lord GOD.

23 |How can you say, 'I'm not defiled. I haven't gone after the Baals.'? Look at what you've done in the valley. Know what you have done. You are a swift young camel galloping aimlessly;

24 a wild donkey accustomed to the desert, sniffing the wind in her passion. When she's in heat, who can turn her away? None of the males who pursue her need to tire themselves out, for in her month they'll find her.|

25 |Don't run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry. But you say, 'It's hopeless! Because I love foreign gods, I'll go after them!'|

26 |As a thief is disgraced when he's caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced— they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets,

27 who say to a tree, 'You are my father,' and to a stone, 'You gave birth to me.' They have turned their back to me, but not their faces. In the time of their trouble, they'll say, 'Rise up! Deliver us!'|

28 |But where are your gods that you made for yourselves? Let them rise up, if they can deliver you in the time of your trouble. You have as many gods as you have towns, Judah.

29 Why do you contend with me? You have rebelled against me,| declares the LORD.

30 |I've punished your children with no results, they have accepted no discipline. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a destroying lion.|

31 |You, generation, pay attention to this message from the LORD! Am I the desert to Israel, or a land of gloom? Why do my people say, 'We're free to roam? We won't come to you anymore.'

32 Will a young woman forget her wedding ornaments, or a bride her attire? But my people have forgotten me days without number.

33 How well you perfect your techniques for seeking love. Therefore you can teach even the most immoral women your techniques.

34 On your skirts is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor, even though you didn't catch them breaking in. Yet despite all these things,

35 you say, 'I'm innocent. Surely his anger has turned away from me.'| |I'm about to bring charges against you because you say, 'I haven't sinned.'

36 Why do you go about changing your mind so much? You will also be disappointed by Egypt, just as you were disappointed by Assyria.

37 You will also go out from this place with your hands over your heads. For the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust, and you won't prosper through them.|