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 2,25 Jer 2,25
And if thou say in thy heart, Wherefore are these things come upon me? for the {Or, multitude}greatness of thine iniquity are thy skirts uncovered, and thy heels suffer violence.
But they say, It is in vain; for we will walk after our own devices, and we will do every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart.
Only {Or, know}acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against Jehovah thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith Jehovah.
But we will certainly perform every word that is gone forth out of our mouth, to burn incense unto the queen of heaven, and to pour out drink-offerings unto her, as we have done, we and our fathers, our kings and our princes, in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem; for then had we plenty of {Hebrew: bread.}victuals, and were well, and saw no evil.
therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies that Jehovah shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.
Thou wast wearied with the length of thy way; yet saidst thou not, It is in vain: thou didst find {Hebrew: the life of thy hand.}a quickening of thy strength; therefore thou wast not {Hebrew: sick.}faint.
For thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they are filled with customs from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philistines, and they strike hands with the children of foreigners.
and it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this {Or, oath (and so verse 20, 21)}curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk in the stubbornness of my heart, {Or, to add drunkenness to thirst}to destroy the moist with the dry.
at that time Jehovah spake by Isaiah the son of Amoz, saying, Go, and loose the sackcloth from off thy loins, and put thy shoe from off thy foot. And he did so, walking naked and barefoot.
And Jehovah said, Like as my servant Isaiah hath walked naked and barefoot {Or, to be for three years a sign &c.}three years for a sign and a wonder concerning Egypt and concerning {Hebrew: Cush.}Ethiopia;
so shall the king of Assyria lead away the captives of Egypt, and the exiles of Ethiopia, young and old, naked and barefoot, and with buttocks uncovered, to the shame of Egypt.
Jehovah will not pardon him, but then the anger of Jehovah and his jealousy will smoke against that man, and all the curse that is written in this book shall lie upon him, and Jehovah will blot out his name from under heaven.
The tongue of the sucking child cleaveth to the roof of his mouth for thirst:The young children ask bread, and no man breaketh it unto them.
They moved him to jealousy with strange gods;With abominations provoked they him to anger.
lest I strip her naked, and set her as in the day that she was born, and make her as a wilderness, and set her like a dry land, and slay her with thirst.
And in the time {Or, that he distressed him}of his distress did he trespass yet more against Jehovah, this same king Ahaz.
But the father said to his {Greek: bondservants.}servants, Bring forth quickly the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet:
Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?
And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am in anguish in this flame.
but after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up for thyself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;
For {Or, by}in hope were we saved: but hope that is seen is not hope: {Many ancient authorities read for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?}for who {Some ancient authorities read awaiteth.}hopeth for that which he seeth?