Jeremiah 2:23-37 ▼

23 “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baals’? Look at your way in the valley! Know what you have done! You are a swift young camel running about senselessly on her ways,

24 A wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness, That sniffs the wind in her passion. Who can turn her away in her mating season? None who seek her will grow weary; In her month they will find her.

25 “Keep your feet from being bare, And your throat from thirst; But you said, ‘It is hopeless! No! For I have loved strangers, And I will walk after them.’

26 “Like the shame of a thief when he is discovered, So the house of Israel is shamed; They, their kings, their leaders, Their priests, and their prophets,

27 Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their backs to Me, And not their faces; But in the time of their trouble they will say, ‘Arise and save us!’

28 “But where are your gods Which you made for yourself? Let them arise, if they can save you In the time of your trouble! For as many as the number of your cities Are your gods, Judah.

29 “Why do you contend with Me? You have all revolted against Me,” declares the LORD.

30 “In vain I have struck your sons; They did not accept discipline. Your sword has devoured your prophets Like a destroying lion.

31 “You generation, look to the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness to Israel, Or a land of thick darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam; We will no longer come to You’?

32 “Can a virgin forget her jewelry, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me For days without number.

33 “How well you prepare your way To seek love! Therefore even to the wicked women You have taught your ways.

34 “Also on your skirts is found The lifeblood of the innocent poor; You did not find them breaking in. But in spite of all these things,

35 You said, ‘I am innocent; Surely His anger is turned away from me.’ Behold, I will enter into judgment with you Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’

36 “Why do you go around so much Changing your way? Also, you will be put to shame by Egypt, Just as you were put to shame by Assyria.

37 “From this place as well you will go out With your hands on your head; For the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust, And you will not prosper with them.”