2:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
2:2 Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the
LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of
thy espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in
a land [that was] not sown.
2:3 Israel [was] holiness to the LORD, [and] the first-fruits of
his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come
upon them, saith the LORD.
2:4 Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the
families of the house of Israel:
2:5 Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found
in me, that they have gone far from me, and have walked after
vanity, and have become vain?
2:6 Neither said they, Where [is] the LORD that brought us out
of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness,
through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of
drouth, and of the shades of death, through a land that no man
passed through, and where no man dwelt?
2:7 And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit
of it, and the goodness of it; but when ye entered, ye defiled
my land, and made my heritage an abomination.
2:8 The priests said not, Where [is] the LORD? and they that
handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed
against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked
after [things that] do not profit.
2:9 Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and
with your children's children will I plead.
2:10 For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send to
Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there is such a
thing.
2:11 Hath a nation changed [their] gods, which [are] yet no
gods? but my people have changed their glory for [that which]
doth not profit.
2:12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly
afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken
me the fountain of living waters, [and] hewed out for
themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
2:14 [Is] Israel a servant? [is] he a home-born [slave]? why is
he laid waste?
2:15 The young lions roared upon him, [and] yelled, and they
made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.
2:16 Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the
crown of thy head.
2:17 Hast thou not procured this to thyself in that thou hast
forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?
2:18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink
the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of
Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?
2:19 Thy own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings
shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that [it is] an evil
[thing] and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God,
and that my fear [is] not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
2:20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, [and] burst thy
bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every
high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing
the harlot.
2:21 Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed:
how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange
vine to me?
2:22 For though thou shalt wash thee with niter, and take thee
much soap, [yet] thy iniquity is marked before me, saith the
Lord GOD.
2:23 How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone
after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast
done: [thou art] a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
2:24 A wild ass used to the wilderness, [that] snuffeth up the
wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away?
all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month
they shall find her.
2:25 Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from
thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved
strangers, and after them will I go.
2:26 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,
2:27 Saying to a stock, Thou [art] my father; and to a stone,
Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned [their] back
to me, and not [their] face: but in the time of their trouble
they will say, Arise, and save us.
2:28 But where [are] thy gods that thou hast made for thyself?
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.
2:29 Why will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against
me, saith the LORD.
2:30 In vain have I smitten your children; they have received no
correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a
destroying lion.
2:31 O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a
wilderness to Israel? a land of darkness? why say my people, We
are lords; we will come no more to thee?
2:32 Can a maid forget her ornaments, [or] a bride her attire?
yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
2:33 Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou
also taught the wicked ones thy ways.
2:34 Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the
poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon
all these.
2:35 Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger
will turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou
sayest, I have not sinned.
2:36 Why dost thou go about so much to change thy way? thou also
shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
2:37 Yes, thou shalt go forth from him, and thy hands upon thy
head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou
shalt not prosper in them.
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