Jeremiah

CHAPTER 2

Infidelity of Israel.^*

I remember the devotion^* of your youth,

how you loved me as a bride,

Following me in the wilderness,

in a land unsown.^a

the first fruits^* of his harvest;

All who ate of it were held guilty,

evil befell them—oracle of the LORD.^b

All you clans of the house of Israel,

What fault did your ancestors find in me

that they withdrew from me,

Went after emptiness,

and became empty themselves?^c

who brought us up from the land of Egypt,

Who led us through the wilderness,

through a land of wastes and ravines,

A land of drought and darkness,

a land which no one crosses,

where no one dwells?”^d

to eat its fine fruits,

But you entered and defiled my land,

you turned my heritage into an abomination.^e

“Where is the LORD?”

The experts in the law^* did not know me:

the shepherds rebelled against me.

The prophets prophesied by Baal,

and went after useless idols.^f

even your children’s children I will accuse.^g

send to Kedar^* and carefully inquire:

Where has anything like this been done?

even though they are not gods at all!

But my people have changed their glory

for useless things.^h

shudder, be appalled—oracle of the LORD.

they have forsaken me, the source of living waters;

They have dug themselves cisterns,

broken cisterns that cannot hold water.ⁱ

Why then has he become plunder?

they raise their voices.

They have turned his land into a waste;

his cities are charred ruins, without an inhabitant.^j

shave the crown of your head.

done this to you?^k

to drink the waters of the Nile?

Why go to Assyria,

to drink the waters of the River?

your own infidelities punish you.

Know then, and see, how evil and bitter

is your forsaking the LORD, your God,

And your showing no fear of me,

oracle of the Lord, the GOD of hosts.^l

you tore off your bonds.

You said, “I will not serve.”

On every high hill, under every green tree,

you sprawled and served as a prostitute.^*

all pedigreed stock;

How could you turn out so obnoxious to me,

a spurious vine?ⁿ

and use much soap,

The stain of your guilt is still before me,

oracle of the Lord GOD.^o

I have not pursued the Baals”?

Consider your conduct in the Valley,^*

recall what you have done:

A skittish young camel,

running back and forth,

Sniffing the wind in her desire—

who can restrain her lust?

None seeking her need tire themselves;

in her time they will find her.

and parching your throat!

But you say, “No use! No!

How I love these strangers,

after them I must go.”^p

so shall the house of Israel be shamed:

They, their kings, their princes,

their priests and their prophets;^q

and to a stone, “You gave me birth.”

They turn their backs to me, not their faces;

yet in their time of trouble they cry out,

“Rise up and save us!”

Let them rise up!

Will they save you in your time of trouble?

For as numerous as your cities

are your gods, O Judah!

And as many as the streets of Jerusalem

are the altars you have set up for Baal.^r

You have all rebelled against me—oracle of the LORD.

correction they did not take.

Your sword devoured your prophets

like a ravening lion.^s

consider the word of the Lord:

Have I become a wilderness to Israel,

a land of gloom?

Why then do my people say, “We have moved on,

we will not come to you any more”?

a bride her sash?

Yet my people have forgotten me

days without number.^t

when seeking love!

In your wickedness,

you have gone by ways unclean!

the life-blood of the innocent,

you did not find them committing burglary;

at least, his anger is turned away from me.”

Listen! I will judge you

on that word of yours, “I have not sinned.”

in changing your course!

By Egypt you will be shamed,

just as you were shamed by Assyria.^u

your hands upon your head;

For the LORD has rejected those in whom you trust,

with them you will have no success.^v

* [2:1–3:5] These chapters may contain some of Jeremiah’s early preaching. He portrays Israel as the wife of the Lord, faithful only in the beginning, when she walked behind him (2:2–3, 5; 3:1). Consistent with the marriage metaphor, he describes her present unfaithfulness as adultery (2:20; 3:2–3); now she walks behind the Baals.

* [2:2] Devotion: Heb. hesed; Israel’s gratitude, fidelity, and love for God.

* [2:3] First fruits: the first yield of a harvest offered as a sign of dependence on and gratitude toward the Lord of the land, thus divine property. Israel, then, is a gift made to God, set apart for his use; cf. Ex 23:19.

* [2:8] Experts in the law: the priests. The shepherds: the kings and nobles.

* [2:10] Kedar: a nomadic tribe in north Arabia. Cyprus and Kedar represent west and east.

* [2:14] House-born servant: one born in the master’s house, in contrast to a slave acquired by purchase or as a captive; cf. Lv 22:11.

* [2:16] Memphis: the capital of Lower Egypt. Tahpanhes: a frontier city of Egypt, east of the Delta. Shave the crown of your head: an image for Egypt plundering Judah; perhaps a reference to the capture of King Jehoahaz in 609 B.C. (2 Kgs 23:34).

* [2:18] Egypt and Assyria were the competing foreign powers favored by rival parties within Judah. The desire for such foreign alliances is a further desertion of the Lord, the source of living waters (v. 13), in favor of the above-named powers, symbolized by the waters of the Nile and the Euphrates rivers.

* [2:20] Served as a prostitute: idolatry (because Israel is the “bride” of God); cf. vv. 2–3.

* [2:23] The Valley: probably Ben-hinnom, south of Jerusalem, site of the sanctuary of Topheth, where children were sacrificed to Molech; cf. 7:31.

a. [2:2] Dt 2:7; 32:9–12; Mi 6:4.

b. [2:3] Jer 12:14; Ex 4:22; Dt 7:6; 14:2.

c. [2:5] 2 Kgs 17:15; Is 5:4; Mi 6:3.

d. [2:6] Ex 20:2–3; Dt 8:14; Is 63:11–14.

e. [2:7] Lv 18:24–25; Dt 8:7–10; 32:13–14.

f. [2:8] Jer 8:8–9; 23:1, 13.

g. [2:9] Ex 20:5.

h. [2:11] Jer 16:20; Ps 106:20.

i. [2:13] Jer 17:13; Ps 36:9; Is 1:4.

j. [2:15] Jer 9:11.

k. [2:17] Jer 4:18; 30:15.

l. [2:19] Prv 5:22; Hos 5:5.

m. [2:20] Jer 3:6, 13; Jgs 10:6.

n. [2:21] Ex 15:17; Ps 80:9; Is 5:4.

o. [2:22] Jb 9:30.

p. [2:25] Jer 18:12.

q. [2:26] Jer 48:27; Rom 6:21.

r. [2:28] Jer 11:13; Dt 32:38; Jgs 10:14.

s. [2:30] Jer 5:3; Neh 9:26.

t. [2:32] Jer 13:25; Dt 32:18.

u. [2:36] 2 Chr 28:16–21.

v. [2:37] 2 Sm 13:19.