| 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. |
