Font Size
Jeremiah 2
Lexham English Bible
Jeremiah 2
Lexham English Bible
Yahweh Remembers Israel’s Faithfulness
2 And the word of Yahweh came to me, saying,[a] 2 “Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying,[b] ‘Thus says Yahweh,
“I remember concerning you the loyal love of your childhood,[c]
the love of your betrothal-time,
your going[d] after me in the desert,[e]
in the land not sown.
3 Israel was holy to Yahweh,
the first fruit of his produce.
All those who ate it were held guilty;
disaster came to them,” declares[f] Yahweh.’”
The Unfaithfulness of Israel’s Ancestors
4 Hear the word of Yahweh, O house of Jacob, and all the clans[g] of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says Yahweh:
“What injustice did your ancestors[h] find in me
that they were far from me,
and they went after the vanity,
and they became vain?
6 And they did not say,
‘Where is Yahweh,
the one who brought us up from the land of Egypt,
the one who led us in the desert,[i]
in a land of desert plains and gorges,[j]
in a land of dryness and deep darkness,
in a land that no one passes through,[k]
and no human lives there?’
7 And I brought you to the land of the orchard,
to eat its fruit, and its good things.[l]
But you entered and defiled my land,
and my inheritance you made a detestable thing.[m]
8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is Yahweh?’
and those who handle the law did not know me,
and the shepherds have rebelled against me,[n]
and the prophets prophesied by Baal,
and they went after things which do not profit.
The Unfaithfulness of Contemporary Israel
9 Therefore[o] I again bring a lawsuit against you,” declares[p] Yahweh,
“and with your children[q] I bring a lawsuit.
10 For go over to the coasts of Cyprus and look,
and send to Kedar and consider very closely,
and see if there has been a thing like this:
11 Has a nation exchanged gods? And they are not gods!
But my people have exchanged their glory for that which does not profit.
12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this, and shudder;
be utterly desolate,” declares[r] Yahweh.
13 “For my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me, the source[s] of living water,
to hew out for themselves cisterns, cracked cisterns that can hold no water.
14 Is Israel a slave? Or a slave born in a house?[t]
Why has he become plunder?
15 The young lions have roared against him,
they have raised[u] their voices.[v]
And they have made his land as horror;
his cities are destroyed, without[w] an inhabitant.
16 Moreover, people of Memphis and Tahpanhes
will shave[x] your skull.[y]
17 Did you not do this to yourself,
by forsaking Yahweh, your God,
at the time of your leading in the way?
18 And now why do you go[z] the way of Egypt
to drink the waters of the Shihor?
And why do you go[aa] the way of Assyria
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?[ab]
19 Your wickedness will chastise you,
and your apostasies will reprove you.
Therefore know and see that it is evil and bitter,
your forsaking of Yahweh, your God,
and fear of me is not in you,”
declares[ac] the Lord, Yahweh of hosts.
20 “For from long ago you have broken your yoke,
you tore to pieces your bonds.
And you said, ‘I will not serve!’
But on every high hill and under every leafy tree
you were lying down as a prostitute.
21 Yet I planted you as a choice vine,
all of it a seed of trustworthiness.
How then have you altered before me
into something that is degenerate, the foreign vine?
22 For if you wash with natron,
and you use much soap,[ad]
your guilt is sticking as a stain before[ae] me,”
declares[af] the Lord Yahweh.
23 “How can you say, ‘I have not defiled myself,
I have not gone after the Baals?’
Look at your way in the valley,
know what you have done.
You are a young she-camel,
interweaving her ways.
24 A wild ass accustomed to the desert,[ag]
in the desire of her soul.
She gasps for wind in her rutting time.
Who can quell[ah] her lust?
All those who seek her will not grow weary,
in her month they will find her.
25 Restrain your foot from being barefoot,
and your throat from thirst.
But you said, ‘It is hopeless.
No! For I have loved strangers,
and after them I will go.’[ai]
26 As the shame of a thief when he is caught in the act,
so the house of Israel will be ashamed.
They, their kings, their officials,
and their priests, and their prophets.
27 Those who say to the tree, ‘You are my father,’
and to the stone, ‘You gave birth to me.’
For they have turned their backs[aj] to me, and not their faces.
But in the time of their trouble they say, ‘Arise and save us.’
28 But where are your gods that you made for yourself?
Let them arise if they can save you in the time of your trouble.
For according to the number of your towns
are your gods, O Judah.
29 Why do you complain to me?
All of you have rebelled against me,”[ak] declares[al] Yahweh.
30 “For in vain[am] I have struck your children.
They accepted no discipline.
Your sword devoured your prophets,
like a ravening[an] lion.
31 O generation, you see the word of Yahweh.
Have I been a desert[ao] to Israel? Or a land of great darkness?
Why do my people say, ‘We roam about freely,
we will not come again to you’?
32 Can a young woman forget her ornaments?[ap] Or a bride her sashes?
Yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
33 How well you do on your way to seek love!
Therefore[aq] even to the wicked woman you can teach your ways.
34 Also on your skirts is found
the blood of the life of the innocent, the poor.
You did not find them in the act of breaking into a house.
But in spite of all these things,
35 yet you say, ‘But I am innocent,
surely his anger has turned away from me.’
Look, I am entering into judgment with you
because of your saying, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 How you go about so much changing your way!
Also by Egypt you will be put to shame,
just as you were put to shame by Assyria.
37 Also from there you will come out
with your hands on your head,
for Yahweh has rejected those in whom you trust,[ar]
and you will not prosper through them.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 2:1 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 2:2 Literally “to say”
- Jeremiah 2:2 Or “youth”
- Jeremiah 2:2 Or “walking”
- Jeremiah 2:2 Or “wilderness”
- Jeremiah 2:3 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 2:4 Or “families”
- Jeremiah 2:5 Or “fathers”
- Jeremiah 2:6 Or “wilderness”
- Jeremiah 2:6 Hebrew “gorge”
- Jeremiah 2:6 Literally “no man passes through in it”
- Jeremiah 2:7 Hebrew “good thing”
- Jeremiah 2:7 Or “abomination”
- Jeremiah 2:8 Literally “broken with me”
- Jeremiah 2:9 Literally “To thus”
- Jeremiah 2:9 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 2:9 Literally “sons of your sons”
- Jeremiah 2:12 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 2:13 Or “fountain”
- Jeremiah 2:14 Literally “born of a house”
- Jeremiah 2:15 Literally “given”
- Jeremiah 2:15 Hebrew “voice”
- Jeremiah 2:15 Literally “from not”
- Jeremiah 2:16 Literally “pasture”
- Jeremiah 2:16 Or “crown of your head”
- Jeremiah 2:18 Literally “what for you”
- Jeremiah 2:18 Literally “what for you”
- Jeremiah 2:18 Literally “river”
- Jeremiah 2:19 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 2:22 Literally “make numerous for yourself alkaline salt”
- Jeremiah 2:22 Literally “to the face of”
- Jeremiah 2:22 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 2:24 Or “wilderness”
- Jeremiah 2:24 Or “restrain”
- Jeremiah 2:25 Or “walk”
- Jeremiah 2:27 Literally “neck”
- Jeremiah 2:29 Literally “broken with me”
- Jeremiah 2:29 Literally “a declaration of”
- Jeremiah 2:30 Literally “the vanity”
- Jeremiah 2:30 Or “destroying”
- Jeremiah 2:31 Or “wilderness”
- Jeremiah 2:32 Or “jewelry”
- Jeremiah 2:33 Literally “To thus”
- Jeremiah 2:37 Literally “in your objects of trust”
Jeremiah 2
New International Version
Jeremiah 2
New International Version
Israel Forsakes God
2 The word(A) of the Lord came to me: 2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:
“This is what the Lord says:
“‘I remember the devotion of your youth,(B)
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,(C)
through a land not sown.
3 Israel was holy(D) to the Lord,(E)
the firstfruits(F) of his harvest;
all who devoured(G) her were held guilty,(H)
and disaster overtook them,’”
declares the Lord.
4 Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob,
all you clans of Israel.
5 This is what the Lord says:
“What fault did your ancestors find in me,
that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols(I)
and became worthless(J) themselves.
6 They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord,
who brought us up out of Egypt(K)
and led us through the barren wilderness,
through a land of deserts(L) and ravines,(M)
a land of drought and utter darkness,
a land where no one travels(N) and no one lives?’
7 I brought you into a fertile land
to eat its fruit and rich produce.(O)
But you came and defiled my land
and made my inheritance detestable.(P)
8 The priests did not ask,
‘Where is the Lord?’
Those who deal with the law did not know me;(Q)
the leaders(R) rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,(S)
following worthless idols.(T)
9 “Therefore I bring charges(U) against you again,”
declares the Lord.
“And I will bring charges against your children’s children.
10 Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus(V) and look,
send to Kedar[a](W) and observe closely;
see if there has ever been anything like this:
11 Has a nation ever changed its gods?
(Yet they are not gods(X) at all.)
But my people have exchanged their glorious(Y) God
for worthless idols.
12 Be appalled at this, you heavens,
and shudder with great horror,”
declares the Lord.
13 “My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken(Z) me,
the spring of living water,(AA)
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
14 Is Israel a servant, a slave(AB) by birth?
Why then has he become plunder?
15 Lions(AC) have roared;
they have growled at him.
They have laid waste(AD) his land;
his towns are burned(AE) and deserted.(AF)
16 Also, the men of Memphis(AG) and Tahpanhes(AH)
have cracked your skull.
17 Have you not brought this on yourselves(AI)
by forsaking(AJ) the Lord your God
when he led you in the way?
18 Now why go to Egypt(AK)
to drink water from the Nile[b]?(AL)
And why go to Assyria(AM)
to drink water from the Euphrates?(AN)
19 Your wickedness will punish you;
your backsliding(AO) will rebuke(AP) you.
Consider then and realize
how evil and bitter(AQ) it is for you
when you forsake(AR) the Lord your God
and have no awe(AS) of me,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
20 “Long ago you broke off your yoke(AT)
and tore off your bonds;(AU)
you said, ‘I will not serve you!’(AV)
Indeed, on every high hill(AW)
and under every spreading tree(AX)
you lay down as a prostitute.(AY)
21 I had planted(AZ) you like a choice vine(BA)
of sound and reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me
into a corrupt,(BB) wild vine?
22 Although you wash(BC) yourself with soap(BD)
and use an abundance of cleansing powder,
the stain of your guilt is still before me,”
declares the Sovereign Lord.(BE)
23 “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled;(BF)
I have not run after the Baals’?(BG)
See how you behaved in the valley;(BH)
consider what you have done.
You are a swift she-camel
running(BI) here and there,
24 a wild donkey(BJ) accustomed to the desert,(BK)
sniffing the wind in her craving—
in her heat who can restrain her?
Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;
at mating time they will find her.
25 Do not run until your feet are bare
and your throat is dry.
But you said, ‘It’s no use!(BL)
I love foreign gods,(BM)
and I must go after them.’(BN)
26 “As a thief is disgraced(BO) when he is caught,
so the people of Israel are disgraced—
they, their kings and their officials,
their priests(BP) and their prophets.(BQ)
27 They say to wood,(BR) ‘You are my father,’
and to stone,(BS) ‘You gave me birth.’
They have turned their backs(BT) to me
and not their faces;(BU)
yet when they are in trouble,(BV) they say,
‘Come and save(BW) us!’
28 Where then are the gods(BX) you made for yourselves?
Let them come if they can save you
when you are in trouble!(BY)
For you, Judah, have as many gods
as you have towns.(BZ)
29 “Why do you bring charges against me?
You have all(CA) rebelled against me,”
declares the Lord.
30 “In vain I punished your people;
they did not respond to correction.(CB)
Your sword has devoured your prophets(CC)
like a ravenous lion.
31 “You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord:
“Have I been a desert to Israel
or a land of great darkness?(CD)
Why do my people say, ‘We are free to roam;
we will come to you no more’?(CE)
32 Does a young woman forget her jewelry,
a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten(CF) me,
days without number.
33 How skilled you are at pursuing(CG) love!
Even the worst of women can learn from your ways.
34 On your clothes is found
the lifeblood(CH) of the innocent poor,
though you did not catch them breaking in.(CI)
Yet in spite of all this
35 you say, ‘I am innocent;(CJ)
he is not angry with me.’
But I will pass judgment(CK) on you
because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’(CL)
36 Why do you go about so much,
changing(CM) your ways?
You will be disappointed by Egypt(CN)
as you were by Assyria.
37 You will also leave that place
with your hands on your head,(CO)
for the Lord has rejected those you trust;
you will not be helped(CP) by them.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 2:10 In the Syro-Arabian desert
- Jeremiah 2:18 Hebrew Shihor; that is, a branch of the Nile
Lexham English Bible (LEB)
2012 by Logos Bible Software. Lexham is a registered trademark of Logos Bible Software
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.