Jeremiah 2

1Again the Lord said, 'Thus says the Lord:

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2'I remember your compassion and youth and your love and maturity, so as to follow the Holy One of Israel,' says the Lord.

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3'Israel, the beginning of His harvest, was holy to the Lord. All who devour him shall transgress, and evils will come upon them,' ' says the Lord.

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4Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all families of the house of Israel.

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5Thus says the Lord: 'What transgression have your fathers found in Me, so as to go far from Me, to follow after vain and worthless things?

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6They did not say, 'Where is the Lord, who led us out of the land of Egypt, who guided us in the wilderness, in an unknown and untrodden land, a land that was waterless and barren, in which no one traversed and where no son of man dwelt?'

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7I brought you into Carmel to eat its fruit and its good things, but you entered and defiled My land, and made My heritage an abomination.

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8The priests did not say, 'Where is the Lord?' But those who handle the law did not trust Me, and the shepherds acted profanely toward Me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and walked after unprofitable things.

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9'Therefore I will yet bring charges against you,' says the Lord, 'and I will bring charges against the sons of your sons.

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10For pass by the islands of Chettim and see. Send to Kedar and consider diligently. See if such things happened,

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11whether nations will change their gods; though they are not gods. But My people changed their glory to a glory from which they will not profit.

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12Heaven was amazed at this and was exceedingly horror-struck,' says the Lord.

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13'For My people have committed two evils: They forsook Me, the fountain of living water, and hewed for themselves broken cisterns, unable to hold water.

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14'Is not Israel a slave or household servant?

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15The young lions roared at him with their growl and made his land desolate, and her cities were demolished, no longer livable.

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16Also the sons of Memphis and Tahpanhes know you and mock you.

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17By forsaking Me, did you not bring these things upon yourself?' says the Lord your God.

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18'Now, what concern of yours is the road to Egypt, or drinking the waters of the Nile? Why concern yourself about the road to Assyria, or drinking the water of his rivers?

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19Your own rebellion will chastise you, and your vices will convict you. You will know and experience the bitterness of your forsaking Me,' says the Lord your God.

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20'But I have taken no joy in you,' says the Lord your God, 'for from of old you have splintered your yoke and have broken your chain to pieces. You have said, 'I will not serve You, but I will go to every high hill and under every shade tree to indulge in my fornication.'

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21I planted a fruitful vine for you, one most healthy and sweet, yet you turned it into a vine unknown to Me, with a taste of bitterness.

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22Though you wash in soap and evermore use lye on yourself, still you remain defiled in your wrongdoings before Me,' says the Lord.

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23'In what way will you say, 'I was not a disciple of Baal, nor am I defiled'? Consider your ways, which lead you to the common burial place. Know what you have done, for Baal's voice cries out late in the day.

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24He extends his ways over the waters of the desert, for he is borne along as by the wind in the desires of his soul. He is given over to them. Who will turn him back? All who seek him will not grow weary, but they will find him in his humiliation.

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25Therefore, turn your feet away from this uneven path and from the thirst in your mouth, for he says, 'I will act like a man,' because he loves strangers and goes after them.

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26'The sons of Israel, their kings and rulers, their priests and even their prophets shall be ashamed, like the shame of a thief when he is caught.

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27For they said to a tree, 'You are my father,' and to the stone, 'You have begotten me.' They have turned their backs to Me, and not their faces; yet in the time of their evils, they will say, 'Arise and save us.'

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28But where are the gods you made for yourself? Will they arise and save you when you are in oppression? For in the same number as you have cities, O Judah, you have gods, and according to the number of thoroughfares in Jerusalem, they sacrifice to Baal.

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29'Why do you speak to Me? All of you have been ungodly, and all of you have acted lawlessly against Me,' says the Lord.

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30'In vain I struck your children, for you accepted no chastisement. Like a destroying lion, a sword devoured your prophets, but you did not fear.'

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31Hear the word of the Lord. Thus says the Lord: 'Was I really a desert to Israel, or a barren land? Then why did My people say, 'We will not be dominated, and no more will we come to You'?

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32Can a bride forget her ornaments, or a virgin her breast-band? Yet for days without number My people forget Me.

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33Yet what good will you practice in your ways so as to seek love? None. But you also did evil so as to defile your ways.

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34The death of innocent souls was found at your hands. I did not find them by digging in the earth, but under every oak tree.

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35Yet you said, 'But I am innocent, so let Your anger turn from me.' Behold, I pass judgment against you because you say, 'I have not sinned.'

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36Why did you deal so very contemptuously so as to repeat your ways? But you will be ashamed of Egypt as you were of Assyria.

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37For you will go out henceforth with your hands on your head, because the Lord rejected your hope; and you will not prosper in it.

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