God’s people abandon their God

¹The LORD ’s word came to me:

²Go and proclaim to the people of Jerusalem,

The LORD proclaims:

I remember your first love,

your devotion as a young bride,

how you followed me in the wilderness,

in an unplanted land.

³Israel was devoted to the LORD ,

the early produce of the harvest.

Whoever ate from it became guilty;

disaster overtook them,

⁴Listen to the LORD ’s word,

people of Judah,

all you families of the Israelite household.

⁵This is what the LORD says:

What wrong did your ancestors find in me

that made them wander so far?

They pursued what was worthless

and became worthless.

⁶They didn’t ask,

“Where’s the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt,

⁷I brought you into a land of plenty,

to enjoy its gifts and goodness,

⁸The priests didn’t ask,

“Where’s the LORD ?”

Those responsible for the Instruction didn’t know me;

the leaders rebelled against me;

the prophets spoke in the name of Baal,

⁹That is why I will take you to court

and charge even your descendants,

¹⁰Look to the west as far as the shores of Cyprus

and to the east as far as the land of Kedar.

Ask anyone there:

Has anything this odd ever taken place?

¹¹Has a nation switched gods,

Yet my people have exchanged their glory

for what has no value.

¹²Be stunned at such a thing, you heavens;

shudder and quake,

¹³My people have committed two crimes:

They have forsaken me, the spring of living water.

And they have dug wells, broken wells that can’t hold water.

¹⁴Is Israel a slave,

a servant by birth?

If not, why then has he become prey?

¹⁵Lions roar at him; they growl.

They destroy his land

¹⁶As well, the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes

lay open your scalp.

¹⁷Haven’t you brought this on yourself

by abandoning the LORD your God,

¹⁸So why take the path to Egypt

to drink water from the Nile?

Why travel the path to Assyria

to drink water from the Euphrates?

¹⁹Your wrongdoing will punish you.

Your acts of unfaithfulness will find you out.

Don’t you understand how terribly bitter

it is to abandon the LORD your God

and not fear me?

²⁰Long ago I broke your yoke;

I shattered your chains.

But even then you said, “I won’t serve you.”

On every high hill and under every lush tree,

you have acted like a prostitute.

²¹Yet it was I who planted you, a precious vine of fine quality;

how could you turn into a wild vine

²²Even though you scrub yourself with soap or strong powder,

the stain of your sin is still before me,

²³How can you say,

“I’m not dirty;

I haven’t gone after Baals.”

Look what you have done in the valley;

consider what you have done there.

You are like a frenzied young camel,

racing around,

²⁴a wild donkey in the wilderness,

lustfully sniffing the wind.

Who can restrain such passion?

Those who desire her need not give up;

with little effort they will find her in heat.

²⁵Don’t run about until your feet are blistered

and your throat is parched.

But you say, “What’s the use?

I have fallen in love with foreign gods,

²⁶As a thief is ashamed when caught in his tracks,

so the people of Israel are ashamed—

²⁷when they say to a piece of wood, “You are my father,”

They have turned their backs to me

and not their faces.

Yet in their time of trouble they say,

“Arise and save us!”

²⁸Where are the gods

Let’s see if they will come through for you in your time of trouble.

You have as many gods, Judah,

²⁹Why would you bring charges against me?

You have all rebelled against me,

³⁰I have disciplined your children in vain;

they have rejected my correction.

You have devoured your prophets

like a hungry lion.

³¹People of this generation, listen closely to the LORD ’s word:

Have I been a wasteland to Israel

or a land of dense darkness?

Why then do my people say,

“We have wandered far away;

we’ll come to you no longer”?

³²Does a young woman forget her jewelry

or a bride her wedding dress?

Yet you have forgotten me days without end!

³³So skilled are you at pursuing lovers[#2.33 Or love]

³⁴Your garments are stained

with the blood of the innocent poor,

Yet, despite all this,

³⁵you still insist,

“I’m innocent;

Because you claim not to have sinned,

I will pass judgment against you.

³⁶You change sides so casually!

But Egypt will shame you

no less than Assyria.

³⁷From there you will go out

with your hands on your heads,