1 The word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2 "Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem: 'Thus says the LORD: I remember for you the steadfast love of your youth, the love of your betrothal, when you followed me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
3 Israel was holiness to the LORD, the first of his harvest; all who ate of him incurred guilt, and evil came upon them,' declares the LORD."
4 Hear the word of the LORD, house of Jacob and every clan of the house of Israel.
5 Thus says the LORD: "What wrong did your fathers find in me, that they moved far away from me, went after emptiness, and became empty?
6 They did not ask, 'Where is the LORD, who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of desert and ravines, a land of drought and the shadow of death, a land no one crossed and where no human lived?'
7 I brought you into a land of orchards, to eat its fruit and its goodness; but you came in and made my land unclean, and my inheritance you turned into an abomination.
8 The priests never asked, 'Where is the LORD?' Those who handle the law did not know me, the shepherds rebelled against me, the prophets prophesied by Baal, and they walked after things that are of no use.
9 That is why I will yet bring a charge against you," declares the LORD, "and against your children's children I will bring a charge.
10 For cross over to the coastlands of Kittim and look; send to Kedar and observe closely; see whether such a thing has ever happened.
11 Has a nation ever exchanged its gods, even though they are no gods? Yet my people have exchanged their glory for what is of no use.
12 Be astonished at this, O heavens; bristle with horror, be laid utterly waste," declares the LORD,
13 "for my people have committed two evils: me they have abandoned, the fountain of living waters, to hew out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that hold no water.
14 Is Israel a slave? Or was he born a servant in the household? Why has he become plunder?
15 Over him young lions have roared; they have let out their voice. They have made his land a waste; his cities are burned down, with no one living in them.
16 Even the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have cropped the crown of your head.
17 Is this not what you have done to yourself, by abandoning the LORD your God at the time he was leading you on the way?
18 So now, what business do you have on the way to Egypt, to drink the water of the Shihor? And what business do you have on the way to Assyria, to drink the water of the River?
19 Your own evil will chasten you, and your turnings away will rebuke you. Know, then, and see how evil and bitter it is that you abandoned the LORD your God, and that dread of me is not in you," declares the Lord GOD of hosts.
20 "For long ago I broke your yoke; I snapped your bonds; and you said, 'I will not transgress.' But on every lofty hill and under every leafy tree you lay down as a harlot.
21 Yet I had planted you as a choice vine, all of it true seed. How then have you changed on me into the wild shoots of a foreign vine?
22 Though you wash with natron and use much soap, the stain of your iniquity remains before me," declares the Lord GOD.
23 "How can you say, 'I have not made myself unclean; after the Baals I have not gone'? Look at your path in the valley; know what you have done, you swift young she-camel, crisscrossing her tracks,
24 a wild donkey at home in the wilderness, snuffing the wind in the desire of her soul! Her lust, who can turn it back? None who seek her need tire themselves; in her month they will find her.
25 Keep your foot from going bare and your throat from thirst. But you said, 'It is no use! No, for I love strangers, and after them I will go.'
26 As a thief is shamed when he is found out, so the house of Israel is shamed, they, their kings, their officials, their priests and their prophets,
27 who say to a piece of wood, 'You are my father,' and to a stone, 'You gave me birth.' For they have turned to me the back of the neck and not the face; yet in the time of their disaster they say, 'Rise up and save us!'
28 Then where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them rise up, if they can save you in your time of disaster; for your gods have become as many as your cities, O Judah.
29 Why do you bring a case against me? All of you have rebelled against me," declares the LORD.
30 "For nothing I struck your sons; they would not accept discipline. Your sword devoured your prophets like a ravaging lion.
31 You of this generation, see the word of the LORD! Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of deep gloom? Why do my people say, 'We roam at will; we will not come to you anymore'?
32 Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her sash? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
33 How well you make your way to seek love! So even the wicked women you have taught your ways.
34 Even on your skirts is found the lifeblood of the innocent poor; not for breaking in did you find them. Yet for all these things
35 you say, 'I am innocent; surely his anger has turned from me.' Look, I will enter into judgment with you because you say, 'I have not sinned.'
36 Why do you take it so lightly, changing your course? Of Egypt too you will be ashamed, as you were ashamed of Assyria.
37 From that one also you will go out with your hands on your head, for the LORD has rejected the ones you trust, and you will not succeed with them.