And the word of Jehovah came to me, saying,
Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, I remember {Or, concerning}for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
Israel was holiness unto Jehovah, the first-fruits of his increase: all that devour him shall be held guilty; evil shall come upon them, saith Jehovah.
Hear ye the word of Jehovah, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel:
Thus saith Jehovah, What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
Neither said they, Where is Jehovah 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 {Or, deep darkness}the shadow of death, through a land that none passed through, and where no man dwelt?
And I brought you into a plentiful land, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination.
The priests said not, Where is Jehovah? and they that handle the law knew me not: the {Hebrew: shepherds.}rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
Wherefore I will yet contend with you, saith Jehovah, and with your children's children will I contend.
For pass over to the isles of Kittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently; and see if there hath been such a thing.
Hath a nation changed its gods, which yet are no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith Jehovah.
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.
Is Israel a servant? is he a home-born slave? why is he become a prey?
The young lions have roared upon him, and {Hebrew: given out their voice.}yelled; and they have made his land waste: his cities are burned up, without inhabitant.
The children also of Memphis and Tahpanhes have {Or, fed on}broken the crown of thy head.
Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, when he led thee by the way?
And now what hast thou to do in the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of the {That is, the Nile.}Shihor? or what hast thou to do in the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of {That is, the Euphrates.}the River?
Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and a bitter, that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
For of old time {Or, thou hast}I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bonds; and thou saidst, I will not {Another reading is, transgress.}serve; for upon every high hill and under every green tree thou didst bow thyself, playing the harlot.
Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate branches of a foreign vine unto me?
For though thou wash thee with lye, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord Jehovah.
How canst thou say, I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift {Or, young camel}dromedary traversing her ways;
a wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind in her desire; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.
Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, It is in vain; no, for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.
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;
who say to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast {Or, begotten me}brought {Another reading is, us.}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.
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.
Wherefore will ye contend with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith Jehovah.
In vain have I smitten your children; they received no {Or, instruction}correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? or a land of {Or, darkness of Jah}thick darkness? wherefore say my people, We are broken loose; we will come no more unto thee?
Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
How trimmest thou thy way to seek love! therefore even the wicked women hast thou taught thy ways.
Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent poor: {Or, I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these}thou didst not find them breaking in; but it is because of all these things.
Yet thou saidst, I am innocent; surely his anger is turned away from me. Behold, I will enter into judgment with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.
Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou shalt be ashamed of Egypt also, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
From thence also shalt thou go forth, with thy hands upon thy head: for Jehovah hath rejected those in whom thou trustest, and thou shalt not prosper with them.
Querverweise zu Jeremia 2,5 Jer 2,5
O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? or a land of {Or, darkness of Jah}thick darkness? wherefore say my people, We are broken loose; we will come no more unto thee?
Thou hast planted them, yea, they have taken root; they grow, yea, they bring forth fruit: thou art near in their mouth, and far from their {Hebrew: reins.}heart.
But they are {Or, through one thing}together brutish and foolish: {Or, the stock is a doctrine of vanities}the instruction of idols! it is but a stock.
Every man is become brutish and is without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard.
And the Lord said, Forasmuch as this people draw nigh unto me, and with their mouth and with their lips do honor me, but have removed their heart far from me, and their fear of me is a commandment of men which hath been {Or, learned by rote}taught them;
Every man {Or, is too brutish to know}is become brutish and is without knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his graven image; for his molten image is falsehood, and there is no breath in them.
They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?
Son of man, thy brethren, even thy brethren, the men of thy {Hebrew: redemption. See Leviticus 25:25 &c.}kindred, and all the house of Israel, all of them, are they unto whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, Get you far from Jehovah; unto us is this land given for a possession.
They are vanity, a work of {Or, mockery}delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish.
They that make them shall be like unto them;Yea, every one that trusteth in them.
Yet thou hast not called upon me, O Jacob; but thou hast been weary of me, O Israel.
{Isaiah 29:13.}This people honoreth me with their lips;But their heart is far from me.
Are there any among the vanities of the nations that can cause rain? or can the heavens give showers? art not thou he, O Jehovah our God? therefore we will wait for thee; for thou hast {Or, done}made all these things.
They that fashion a graven image are all of them {Or, confusion}vanity; and the things that they delight in shall not profit; and their own witnesses see not, nor know: that they may be put to shame.
Thou hast not brought me of thy sheep for burnt-offerings; neither hast thou honored me with thy sacrifices. I have not burdened thee with {Or, a meal-offering}offerings, nor wearied thee with frankincense.
They have moved me to jealousy with that which is not God;They have provoked me to anger with their vanities:And I will move them to jealousy with those that are not a people;I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.
because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened.
Hear, O ye mountains, Jehovah's controversy, and ye enduring foundations of the earth; for Jehovah hath a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel.
and turn ye not aside; for then would ye go after vain things which cannot profit nor deliver, for they are vain.
O my people, what have I done unto thee? and wherein have I wearied thee? testify against me.
And they rejected his statutes, and his covenant that he made with their fathers, and his testimonies which he testified unto them; and they followed vanity, and became vain, and went after the nations that were round about them, concerning whom Jehovah had charged them that they should not do like them.
They that regard lying vanitiesForsake their own mercy.
and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like {Greek: nature.}passions with you, and bring you good tidings, that ye should turn from these vain things unto a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and all that in them is: