Jeremiah 2:1-13
Israel Accused of Apostasy
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Go and announce directly to Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says:
I remember the loyalty of your youth,
your love as a bride —
how you followed me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.
3 Israel was holy to the LORD,
the firstfruits of his harvest.
All who ate of it found themselves guilty;
disaster came on them.”
This is the LORD’s declaration.
4 Hear the word of the LORD, house of Jacob
and all families of the house of Israel.
5 This is what the LORD says:
What fault did your ancestors find in me
that they went so far from me,
followed worthless idols,
and became worthless themselves?
6 They stopped asking, “Where is the LORD
who brought us from the land of Egypt,
who led us through the wilderness,
through a land of deserts and ravines,
through a land of drought and darkness,[fn]
a land no one traveled through
and where no one lived? ”
7 I brought you to a fertile land
to eat its fruit and bounty,
but after you entered, you defiled my land;
you made my inheritance detestable.
8 The priests quit asking, “Where is the LORD? ”
The experts in the law no longer knew me,
and the rulers rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by[fn] Baal
and followed useless idols.
9 Therefore, I will bring a case against you again.
This is the LORD’s declaration.
I will bring a case against your children’s children.
10 Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus[fn] and take a look.
Send someone to Kedar and consider carefully;
see if there has ever been anything like this:
11 Has a nation ever exchanged its gods?
(But they were not gods!)
Yet my people have exchanged their[fn] Glory
for useless idols.
12 Be appalled at this, heavens;
be shocked and utterly desolated!
This is the LORD’s declaration.
13 For my people have committed a double evil:
They have abandoned me,
the fountain of living water,
and dug cisterns for themselves —
cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.
For deeper study: David Guzik Commentary
