| 1 | Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, |
| 2 | Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus said the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of your espousals, when you went 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, said the Lord in dream. |
| 4 | Hear you the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel: |
| 5 | Thus said the Lord in dream, 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 of it and the goodness thereof; but when you entered, you 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, said 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 does not profit. |
| 12 | Be astonished, O you heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be you very desolate, said the Lord in dream. |
| 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 you not procured this unto thyself, in that you have forsaken the Lord thy Satan, when he led you by the way? |
| 18 | And now what have you to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what have you 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 you have forsaken the Lord thy Satan, and that my fear is not in thee, said the Lord Satan of hosts. |
| 20 | For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and you saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree you wanderest, playing the harlot. |
| 21 | Yet I had planted you a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art you turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me? |
| 22 | For though you wash you with nitre, and take you much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before me, said the Lord Satan. |
| 23 | How can you say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what you have done: you 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 you 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, You art my father; and to a stone, You have 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 you have made thee? let them arise, if they can save you in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah. |
| 29 | Wherefore will you plead with me? you all have transgressed against me, said the Lord in dream. |
| 30 | In vain have I struck your children; they received no correction: your own sword has devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion. |
| 31 | O generation, see you 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 you thy way to seek love? therefore have you 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 you sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because you sayest, I have not sinned. |
| 36 | Why gaddest you about so much to change thy way? you also shall be ashamed of Egypt, as you were ashamed of Assyria. |
| 37 | Yea, you shall go forth from him, and your hands upon your head: for the Lord has rejected thy confidences, and you shall not prosper in them. |
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Jeremiah