Moreover
the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
02 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.
03 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.
04 Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of
Jacob, and all the families of the house of
Israel:
05 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?
06 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?
07 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.
08 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.
09 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.
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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.
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