God's Care for Israel
1 The Lord told me 2 to proclaim this message to everyone in Jerusalem.
“I remember how faithful you were when you were young,
how you loved me when we were first married;
you followed me through the desert,
through a land that had not been planted.
3 Israel, you belonged to me alone;
you were my sacred possession.
I sent suffering and disaster
on everyone who hurt you.
I, the Lord, have spoken.”
The Sin of Israel's Ancestors
4 Listen to the Lord's message, you descendants of Jacob, you tribes of Israel. 5 The Lord says:
“What accusation did your ancestors bring against me?
What made them turn away from me?
They worshiped worthless idols
and became worthless themselves.
6 They did not care about me,
even though I rescued them from Egypt
and led them through the wilderness:
a land of deserts and sand pits,
a dry and dangerous land
where no one lives
and no one will even travel.
7 I brought them into a fertile land,
to enjoy its harvests and its other good things.
But instead they ruined my land;
they defiled the country I had given them.
8 The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’
My own priests did not know me.
The rulers rebelled against me;
the prophets spoke in the name of Baal
and worshiped useless idols.
The Lord's Case against His People
9 “And so I, the Lord, will state my case against my people again.
I will bring charges against their descendants.
10 Go west to the island of Cyprus,
and send someone eastward to the land of Kedar.
You will see that nothing like this has ever happened before.
11 No other nation has ever changed its gods,
even though they were not real.
But my people have exchanged me,
the God who has brought them honor,
for gods that can do nothing for them.
12 And so I command the sky to shake with horror,
to be amazed and astonished,
13 for my people have committed two sins:
they have turned away from me,
the spring of fresh water,
and they have dug cisterns,
cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all.
The Results of Israel's Unfaithfulness
14 “Israel is not a slave;
he was not born into slavery.
Why then do his enemies hunt him down?
15 They have roared at him like lions;
they have made his land a desert,
and his towns lie in ruins, completely abandoned.
16 Yes, the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have cracked his skull.
17 Israel, you brought this on yourself!
You deserted me, the Lord your God,
while I was leading you along the way.
18 What do you think you will gain by going to Egypt
to drink water from the Nile?
What do you think you will gain by going to Assyria
to drink water from the Euphrates?
19 Your own evil will punish you,
and your turning from me will condemn you.
You will learn how bitter and wrong it is
to abandon me, the Lord your God,
and no longer to remain faithful to me.
I, the Sovereign Lord Almighty, have spoken.”
Israel Refuses to Worship the Lord
20 The Sovereign Lord says,
“Israel, long ago you rejected my authority;
you refused to obey me and worship me.
On every high hill
and under every green tree
you worshiped fertility gods.
21 I planted you like a choice vine
from the very best seed.
But look what you have become!
You are like a rotten, worthless vine.
22 Even if you washed with the strongest soap,
I would still see the stain of your guilt.
23 How can you say you have not defiled yourself,
that you have never worshiped Baal?
Look how you sinned in the valley;
see what you have done.
You are like a wild camel in heat,
running around loose,
24 rushing into the desert.
When she is in heat, who can control her?
No male that wants her has to trouble himself;
she is always available in mating season.
25 Israel, don't wear your feet out,
or let your throat become dry
from chasing after other gods.
But you say, ‘No! I can't turn back.
I have loved foreign gods
and will go after them.’”
Israel Deserves to Be Punished
26 The Lord says, “Just as a thief is disgraced when caught, so all you people of Israel will be disgraced—your kings and officials, your priests and prophets. 27 You will all be disgraced—you that say that a tree is your father and that a rock is your mother. This will happen because you turned away from me instead of turning to me. But when you are in trouble, you ask me to come and save you.
28 “Where are the gods that you made for yourselves? When you are in trouble, let them save you—if they can! Judah, you have as many gods as you have cities. 29 What is your complaint? Why have you rebelled against me? 30 I punished you, but it did no good; you would not let me correct you. Like a raging lion, you have murdered your prophets. 31 People of Israel, listen to what I am saying. Have I been like a desert to you, like a dark and dangerous land? Why, then, do you say that you will do as you please, that you will never come back to me? 32 Does a young woman forget her jewelry, or a bride her wedding dress? But my people have forgotten me for more days than can be counted. 33 You certainly know how to chase after lovers. Even the worst of women can learn from you. 34 Your clothes are stained with the blood of the poor and innocent, not with the blood of burglars.
“But in spite of all this, 35 you say, ‘I am innocent; surely the Lord is no longer angry with me.’ But I, the Lord, will punish you because you deny that you have sinned. 36 You have cheapened yourself by turning to the gods of other nations. You will be disappointed by Egypt, just as you were by Assyria. 37 You will turn away from Egypt, hanging your head in shame. I, the Lord, have rejected those you trust; you will not gain anything from them.”
Israel's Unfaithfulness
1 The Lord told me 2 to go to Jerusalem and tell everyone that he had said:
When you were my young bride,
you loved me and followed me
through the barren desert.
3 You belonged to me alone,
like the first part of the harvest,
and I severely punished
those who mistreated you.
4 Listen, people of Israel,
5 and I, the Lord, will speak.
I was never unfair
to your ancestors,
but they left me
and became worthless
by following worthless idols.
6 Your ancestors refused
to ask for my help,
though I had rescued them
from Egypt
and led them through
a treacherous, barren desert,
where no one lives
or dares to travel.
7 I brought you here to my land,
where food is abundant,
but you made my land filthy
with your sins.
8 The priests who teach my laws
don't care to know me.
Your leaders rebel against me;
your prophets
give messages from Baal
and worship false gods.
The Lord Accuses His People
9 I will take you to court
and accuse you
and your descendants
* 10 of a crime that no nation
has ever committed before.
Just ask anyone, anywhere,
from the eastern deserts
to the islands in the west.
11 You will find that no nation
has ever abandoned its gods
even though they were false.
I am the true and glorious God,
but you have rejected me
to worship idols.
12 Tell the heavens
to tremble with fear!
13 You, my people, have sinned
in two ways—
you have rejected me, the source
of life-giving water,
and you've tried to collect water
in cracked and leaking pits
dug in the ground.
14 People of Israel,
you weren't born slaves;
you were captured in war.
15 Enemies roared like lions
and destroyed your land;
towns lie burned and empty.
16 Soldiers from the Egyptian towns
of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have cracked your skulls.
17 It's all your own fault!
You stopped following me,
the Lord your God,
18 and you trusted the power
of Egypt and Assyria.
19 Your own sins will punish you,
because it was a bitter mistake
for you to reject me
without fear of punishment.
I, the Lord All-Powerful,
have spoken.
20 Long ago you left me
and broke all ties between us,
refusing to be my servant.
Now you worship other gods
by having sex
on hilltops or in the shade
of large trees.
21 You were a choice grapevine,
but you have become
a wild, useless vine.
Israel Is Stained with Guilt
22 The Lord said:
People of Israel,
you are stained with guilt,
and no soap or bleach
can wash it away.
23 You deny your sins
and say, “We aren't unclean.
We haven't worshiped Baal.”
But think about what you do
in Hinnom Valley.
You run back and forth
like young camels,
as you rush to worship one idol
after another.
24 You are a female donkey
sniffing the desert air,
wanting to mate
with just anyone.
You are an easy catch!
25 Your shoes are worn out,
and your throat is parched
from running here and there
to worship foreign gods.
“Stop!” I shouted,
but you replied, “No!
I love those gods too much.”
26 You and your leaders
are more disgraceful
than thieves—
you and your kings,
your priests and prophets
27 worship stone idols
and sacred poles
as if they had created you
and had given you life.
You have rejected me,
but when you're in trouble,
you cry to me for help.
28 Go cry to the gods you made!
There should be enough of them
to save you,
because Judah has as many gods
as it has towns.
Israel Rebels against the Lord
29 The Lord said to Israel:
You accuse me of not saving you,
but I say you have rebelled.
30 I tried punishing you,
but you refused
to come back to me,
and like fierce lions
you killed my prophets.
31 Now listen to what I say!
Did I abandon you in the desert
or surround you with darkness?
You are my people,
yet you have told me,
“We'll do what we want,
and we refuse
to worship you!”
32 A bride could not forget
to wear her jewelry
to her wedding,
but you have forgotten me
day after day.
33 You are so clever
at finding lovers
that you could give lessons
to a prostitute.
34 You killed innocent people
for no reason at all.
And even though their blood
can be seen on your clothes,
35 you claim to be innocent,
and you want me to stop
being angry with you.
So I'll take you to court,
and we'll see who is right.
36 When Assyria let you down,
you quickly ran to Egypt,
but you'll find no help there,
37 and you will leave
in great sadness.
I won't let you find help
from those you trust.