Jeremiah 2 - New King James Version (NKJV)

God’s Case Against Israel

2 Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ² “Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord:

“I remember you,
The kindness of your ^(A)youth,
The love of your betrothal,
^(B)When you ^[a]went after Me in the wilderness,
In a land not sown.
^{3 (C)}Israel was holiness to the Lord,
^(D)The firstfruits of His increase.
^(E)All that devour him will offend;
Disaster will ^(F)come upon them,” says the Lord.’ ”

⁴ Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. ⁵ Thus says the Lord:

^(G)“What injustice have your fathers found in Me,
That they have gone far from Me,
^(H)Have followed ^[b]idols,
And have become idolaters?
⁶ Neither did they say, ‘Where is the Lord,
Who ^(I)brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who led us through ^(J)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?’
⁷ I brought you into ^(K)a bountiful country,
To eat its fruit and its goodness.
But when you entered, you ^(L)defiled My land
And made My heritage an abomination.
⁸ The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the ^(M)law did not know Me;
The rulers also transgressed against Me;
^(N)The prophets prophesied by Baal,
And walked after things that do not profit.

⁹ “Therefore ^(O)I will yet ^[c]bring charges against you,” says the Lord,
“And against your children’s children I will bring charges.
¹⁰ For pass beyond the coasts of ^[d]Cyprus and see,
Send to ^[e]Kedar and consider diligently,
And see if there has been such a ^(P)thing.
^{11 (Q)}Has a nation changed its gods,
Which are ^(R)not gods?
^(S)But My people have changed their Glory
For what does not profit.
¹² Be astonished, O heavens, at this,
And be horribly afraid;
Be very desolate,” says the Lord.
¹³ “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the ^(T)fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.

¹⁴ “Is Israel ^(U)a servant?
Is he a homeborn slave?
Why is he plundered?
^{15 (V)}The young lions roared at him, and growled;
They made his land waste;
His cities are burned, without inhabitant.
¹⁶ Also the people of ^[f]Noph and ^(W)Tahpanhes
Have ^[g]broken the crown of your head.
^{17 (X)}Have you not brought this on yourself,
In that you have forsaken the Lord your God
When ^(Y)He led you in the way?
¹⁸ And now why take ^(Z)the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of ^(AA)Sihor?
Or why take the road to ^(AB)Assyria,
To drink the waters of ^[h]the River?
¹⁹ Your own wickedness will ^(AC)correct you,
And your backslidings will rebuke you.
Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing
That you have forsaken the Lord your God,
And the ^[i]fear of Me is not in you,”
Says the Lord God of hosts.

²⁰ “For of old I have ^(AD)broken your yoke and burst your bonds;
And ^(AE)you said, ‘I will not ^[j]transgress,’
When ^(AF)on every high hill and under every green tree
You lay down, ^(AG)playing the harlot.
²¹ Yet I had ^(AH)planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality.
How then have you turned before Me
Into ^(AI)the degenerate plant of an alien vine?
²² For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap,
Yet your iniquity is ^(AJ)marked^[k] before Me,” says the Lord God.

²³ “How^(AK) can you say, ‘I am not ^[l]polluted,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
See your way in the valley;
Know what you have done:
You are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways,
²⁴ A wild donkey used to the wilderness,
That sniffs at the wind in her desire;
In her time of mating, who can turn her away?
All those who seek her will not weary themselves;
In her month they will find her.
²⁵ Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst.
But you said, ^(AL)‘There is no hope.
No! For I have loved ^(AM)aliens, and after them I will go.’

²⁶ “As the thief is ashamed when he is found out,
So is the house of Israel ashamed;
They and their kings and their princes, and their priests and their ^(AN)prophets,
²⁷ Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
And to a ^(AO)stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’
For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face.
But in the time of their ^(AP)trouble
They will say, ‘Arise and save us.’
²⁸ But ^(AQ)where are your gods that you have made for yourselves?
Let them arise,
If they ^(AR)can save you in the time of your ^[m]trouble;
For ^(AS)according to the number of your cities
Are your gods, O Judah.

²⁹ “Why will you plead with Me?
You all have transgressed against Me,” says the Lord.
³⁰ “In vain I have ^(AT)chastened your children;
They ^(AU)received no correction.
Your sword has ^(AV)devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.

³¹ “O generation, see the word of the Lord!
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a land of darkness?
Why do My people say, ‘We ^[n]are lords;
^(AW)We will come no more to You’?
³² Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people ^(AX)have forgotten Me days without number.

³³ “Why do you beautify your way to seek love?
Therefore you have also taught
The wicked women your ways.
³⁴ Also on your skirts is found
^(AY)The blood of the lives of the poor innocents.
I have not found it by ^[o]secret search,
But plainly on all these things.
^{35 (AZ)}Yet you say, ‘Because I am innocent,
Surely His anger shall turn from me.’
Behold, ^(BA)I will plead My case against you,
^(BB)Because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
^{36 (BC)}Why do you gad about so much to change your way?
Also ^(BD)you shall be ashamed of Egypt ^(BE)as you were ashamed of Assyria.
³⁷ Indeed you will go forth from him
With your hands on ^(BF)your head;
For the Lord has rejected your trusted allies,
And you will ^(BG)not prosper by them.

Footnotes

1. Jeremiah 2:2 followed
2. Jeremiah 2:5 vanities or futilities
3. Jeremiah 2:9 contend with
4. Jeremiah 2:10 Heb. Kittim, representative of western cultures
5. Jeremiah 2:10 In northern Arabian desert, representative of eastern cultures
6. Jeremiah 2:16 Memphis in ancient Egypt
7. Jeremiah 2:16 Or grazed
8. Jeremiah 2:18 The Euphrates
9. Jeremiah 2:19 dread
10. Jeremiah 2:20 Kt. serve
11. Jeremiah 2:22 stained
12. Jeremiah 2:23 defiled
13. Jeremiah 2:28 Or evil
14. Jeremiah 2:31 have dominion
15. Jeremiah 2:34 digging

Cross references

1. Jeremiah 2:2 : Ezek. 16:8; Hos. 2:15
2. Jeremiah 2:2 : Deut. 2:7; Jer. 2:6
3. Jeremiah 2:3 : [Ex. 19:5, 6; Deut. 7:6; 14:2]
4. Jeremiah 2:3 : James 1:18; Rev. 14:4
5. Jeremiah 2:3 : Jer. 12:14
6. Jeremiah 2:3 : Gen. 12:3; Is. 41:11; Jer. 30:15, 16; 50:7
7. Jeremiah 2:5 : Is. 5:4; Mic. 6:3
8. Jeremiah 2:5 : 2 Kin. 17:15; Jer. 8:19; [Jon. 2:8]; Rom. 1:21
9. Jeremiah 2:6 : Ex. 20:2; Is. 63:11
10. Jeremiah 2:6 : Deut. 8:15; 32:10
11. Jeremiah 2:7 : Num. 13:27
12. Jeremiah 2:7 : Num. 35:33; Is. 24:5; Hos. 4:3
13. Jeremiah 2:8 : Rom. 2:20
14. Jeremiah 2:8 : Jer. 23:13
15. Jeremiah 2:9 : Jer. 2:35; Ezek. 20:35, 36; Mic. 6:2
16. Jeremiah 2:10 : Jer. 18:13
17. Jeremiah 2:11 : Mic. 4:5
18. Jeremiah 2:11 : Ps. 115:4; Is. 37:19
19. Jeremiah 2:11 : Ps. 106:20; Rom. 1:23
20. Jeremiah 2:13 : Ps. 36:9; Jer. 17:13; [John 4:14]
21. Jeremiah 2:14 : [Ex. 4:22]
22. Jeremiah 2:15 : Is. 1:7; Jer. 50:17
23. Jeremiah 2:16 : 2 Kin. 23:29–37; Jer. 43:7–9
24. Jeremiah 2:17 : Jer. 4:18
25. Jeremiah 2:17 : Deut. 32:10
26. Jeremiah 2:18 : Is. 30:1–3
27. Jeremiah 2:18 : Josh. 13:3
28. Jeremiah 2:18 : Hos. 5:13
29. Jeremiah 2:19 : Is. 3:9; Jer. 4:18; Hos. 5:5
30. Jeremiah 2:20 : Lev. 26:13
31. Jeremiah 2:20 : Ex. 19:8; Josh. 24:18; Judg. 10:16; 1 Sam. 12:10
32. Jeremiah 2:20 : Deut. 12:2; Is. 57:5, 7; Jer. 3:6
33. Jeremiah 2:20 : Ex. 34:15
34. Jeremiah 2:21 : Ex. 15:17; Ps. 44:2; 80:8; Is. 5:2
35. Jeremiah 2:21 : Deut. 32:32; Is. 5:4
36. Jeremiah 2:22 : Job 14:16, 17; Jer. 17:1, 2; Hos. 13:12
37. Jeremiah 2:23 : Prov. 30:12
38. Jeremiah 2:25 : Is. 57:10; Jer. 18:12
39. Jeremiah 2:25 : Jer. 3:13
40. Jeremiah 2:26 : Is. 28:7; Jer. 5:31
41. Jeremiah 2:27 : Jer. 3:9
42. Jeremiah 2:27 : Judg. 10:10; Is. 26:16; Hos. 5:15
43. Jeremiah 2:28 : Deut. 32:37; Judg. 10:14
44. Jeremiah 2:28 : Is. 45:20
45. Jeremiah 2:28 : 2 Kin. 17:30, 31; Jer. 11:13
46. Jeremiah 2:30 : Is. 9:13
47. Jeremiah 2:30 : Is. 1:5; Jer. 5:3; 7:28
48. Jeremiah 2:30 : Neh. 9:26; Jer. 26:20–24; Acts 7:52; 1 Thess. 2:15
49. Jeremiah 2:31 : Deut. 32:15; Jer. 2:20, 25
50. Jeremiah 2:32 : Ps. 106:21; Is. 17:10; Jer. 3:21; 13:25; Hos. 8:14
51. Jeremiah 2:34 : 2 Kin. 21:16; 24:4; Ps. 106:38; Jer. 7:6; 19:4
52. Jeremiah 2:35 : Jer. 2:23, 29; Mal. 2:17; 3:8
53. Jeremiah 2:35 : Jer. 2:9
54. Jeremiah 2:35 : [Prov. 28:13; 1 John 1:8, 10]
55. Jeremiah 2:36 : Jer. 31:22; Hos. 5:13; 12:1
56. Jeremiah 2:36 : Is. 30:3
57. Jeremiah 2:36 : 2 Chr. 28:16
58. Jeremiah 2:37 : 2 Sam. 13:19; Jer. 14:3, 4
59. Jeremiah 2:37 : Jer. 37:7–10