|
Chapter 2 |
| 1 | Moreover the
word of the LORD came to me, saying, |
| 2 | Go and cry in the ears of
Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy
youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the
wilderness, in a land that was not sown. |
|
3 | Israel was holiness unto the
LORD, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend;
evil shall come upon them, saith the LORD. |
|
4 | Hear ye the word of the
LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: |
| 5 |
Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are
gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? |
| 6 |
Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of
Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of
pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land
that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt? |
| 7 | And I brought
you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness
thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an
abomination. |
| 8
| The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that
handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the
prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
|
| 9 | Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your
children's children will I plead. |
| 10 | For pass over the isles of
Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if
there be such a thing. |
| 11 | Hath a nation changed their gods, which are
yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not
profit. |
| 12
| Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly
afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. |
|
13 | For my people have
committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and
hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. |
| 14 |
Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled? |
| 15 | The
young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his
cities are burned without inhabitant. |
| 16 | Also the children of Noph and
Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head. |
|
17 | Hast thou not procured
this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led
thee by the way? |
|
18 | And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt,
to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to
drink the waters of the river? |
| 19 | Thine own wickedness shall
correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see
that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God,
and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts. |
| 20 | For
of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I
will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou
wanderest, playing the harlot. |
| 21 | Yet I had planted thee a
noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate
plant of a strange vine unto me? |
| 22 | For though thou wash thee
with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me,
saith the Lord GOD. |
| 23 | How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I
have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast
done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways; |
| 24 | A wild ass
used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her
occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary
themselves; in her month they shall find her. |
| 25 | Withhold thy
foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is
no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go. |
| 26 |
As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed;
they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets.
|
| 27 | Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought
me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in
the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us. |
| 28 | But
where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save
thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are
thy gods, O Judah. |
| 29 | Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have
transgressed against me, saith the LORD. |
|
30 | In vain have I smitten
your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your
prophets, like a destroying lion. |
| 31 | O generation, see ye the word
of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness?
wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?
|
| 32 | Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people
have forgotten me days without number. |
| 33 | Why trimmest thou thy way to
seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways. |
| 34 |
Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I
have not found it by secret search, but upon all these. |
| 35 | Yet thou
sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I
will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned. |
| 36 | Why
gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of
Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. |
|
37 | Yea, thou shalt go forth
from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the LORD hath rejected thy
confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them. |
