2:1 And he said, Thus saith Yehovah,
2:2 I remember the kindness of thy youth, and the love of thine espousals,
2:3 in following the Holy One of Israel, saith Yehovah, Israel was the holy
[people] to Yehovah, [and] the first-fruits of his increase: al that
devoured him shall offend; evils shall come upon them, saith Yehovah.
2:4 Hear the word of Yehovah, O house of Jacob, and every family of the
house of Israel.
2:5 Thus saith Yehovah, What trespass have your fathers found in me, that
they have revolted far from me, and gone after vanities, and become vain?
2:6 And they said not, Where is Yehovah, who brought us up out of the land
of Egypt, who guided us in the wilderness, in an untried and trackless land,
in a land which no man at all went through, and no man dwelt there?
2:7 And I brought you to Carmel, that ye should eat the fruits thereof, and
the good thereof; and ye went in, and defiled my land, and made mine
heritage an abomination.
2:8 The priest said not, Where is Yehovah? and they that held by the law
knew me not: the shepherds also sinned against me, and the prophets
prophesied by Baal, and went after that which profited not.
2:9 Therefore I will yet plead with you, and will plead with your children's
children.
2:10 For go to the isles of the Chettians, and se; and send to Kedar, and
observe accurately, and see if such things have been done;
2:11 if the nations will change their gods, though they are not gods: but my
people have changed their glory, [for that] from which they shall not be
profited.
2:12 The heaven is amazed at this, and is very exceedingly horror-struck,
saith Yehovah.
2:13 For my people has committed two [faults], and evil ones: they have
forsaken me, the fountain of water of life, and hewn out for themselves
broken cisterns, which will not be able to hold water.
2:14 Is Israel a servant, or a home-born slave? why has he become a spoil?
2:15 The lions roared upon him, and uttered their voice, which have made his
land a wilderness: and his cities are broken down, that they should not be
inhabited.
2:16 Also the children of Memphis and Taphnas have known thee, and mocked
thee.
2:17 Has not thy forsaking me brought these things upon thee? saith Yehovah
thy Elohim.
2:18 And now what hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the water
of Geon? and what hast thou to do with the way of the Assyrians, to drink
the water of rivers?
2:19 Thine apostasy shall correct thee, and thy wickedness shall reprove
thee: know then, and see, that thy forsaking me [has been] bitter to thee,
saith Yehovah thy Elohim; and I have taken no pleasure in thee, saith Yehovah
thy Elohim.
2:20 For of old thou hast broken thy yoke, and plucked asunder thy bands;
and thou has said, I will not serve thee, but will go upon every high hill,
and under every shady tree, there will I indulge in my fornication.
2:21 Yet I planted thee a fruitful vine, entirely of the right sort: how art
thou a strange vine turned to bitterness!
2:22 Though thou shouldest wash thyself with nitre, and multiply to thyself
soap, [still] thou art stained by thine iniquities before me, saith the
Lord.
2:23 How wilt thou say, I am not polluted, and have not gone after Baal?
behold thy ways in the burial-ground, and know what thou hast done: her
voice has howled in the evening:
2:24 she has extended her ways over the waters of the desert; she was
hurried along by the lusts of her soul; she is given up [to them], who will
turn her back? none that seek her shall be weary; at [the time of] her
humiliation they shall find her.
2:25 Withdraw thy foot from a rough way, and they throat from thirst: but
she said I will strengthen myself: for she loved strangers, and went after
them.
2:26 As is the shame of a thief when he is caught, so shall the children of
Israel be ashamed; they, and their kings, and their princes, and their
priests, and their prophets.
2:27 They said to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou has
begotten me: and they have turned [their] backs to me, and not their faces:
yet in the time of their afflictions they will say, Arise, and save us.
2:28 And where are thy gods, which thou madest for thyself? will they arise
and save in the time of thine affliction? for according to the number of thy
cities were thy gods, O Judah; and according to the number of the streets of
Jerusalem they sacrificed to Baal.
2:29 Wherefore do ye speak unto me? ye all have been ungodly, and ye all
have transgressed against me, saith Yehovah.
2:30 In vain have I smitten your children; ye have not received correction:
a sword has devoured your prophets as a destroying lion; yet ye feared not.
2:31 Hear ye the word of Yehovah: thus saith Yehovah, Have I been a
wilderness or a dry land to Israel? wherefore has my people said, We will
not be ruled over, and will not come to thee any more?
2:32 Will a bride forget her ornaments, or a virgin her girdle? but my
people has forgotten me days without number.
2:33 What fair device wilt thou yet employ in thy ways, so as to seek love?
[it shall] not [be] so; moreover thou has done wickedly in corrupting thy
ways;
2:34 and in thine hands has been found the blood of innocent souls; I have
not found them in holes, but on every oak.
2:35 Yet thou saidst, I am innocent: only let his wrath be turned away from
me. Behold, I [will] plead with thee, whereas thou sayest, I have not
sinned.
2:36 For thou has been so exceedingly contemptuous as to repeat thy ways;
but thou shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assur.
2:37 For thou shalt go forth thence also with thine hands upon thine head;
for Yehovah has rejected thine hope, and thou shalt not prosper in it. |
2:1 Moreover the word of Yehovah came to
me, saying,
2:2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Yehovah; I
remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when
thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
2:3 Israel was holiness unto Yehovah, and the firstfruits of his increase:
all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith Yehovah.
2:4 Hear ye the word of Yehovah, O house of Jacob, and all the families of
the house of Israel:
2:5 Thus saith Yehovah, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that
they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become
vain?
2:6 Neither said they, Where is Yehovah 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 the shadow 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 thereof and
the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine
heritage an abomination.
2:8 The priests said not, Where is Yehovah? 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 Yehovah, and with your
children's children will I plead.
2:10 For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and
consider diligently, and see if there be 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 Yehovah.
2:13 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.
2:14 Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?
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 unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken
Yehovah thy Elohim, 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 Thine 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 Yehovah thy Elohim, and that my fear is not in thee,
saith Yehovah 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 unto me?
2:22 For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet
thine iniquity is marked before me, saith Yehovah 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 unto 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 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.
2:29 Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me,
saith Yehovah.
2:30 In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your
own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
2:31 O generation, see ye the word of Yehovah. Have I been a wilderness
unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we
will come no more unto 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 shall turn
from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not
sinned.
2:36 Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be
ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
2:37 Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for
Yehovah hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them. |