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The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah, Chapter 2
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1 |
Moreover the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
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2 |
Go and cryin the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; 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.
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3 |
Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits of his
increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them,
saith the LORD.
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4 |
Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the
families of the house of Israel:
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5 |
Thus saith the LORD, What
iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from
me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?
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6 |
Neither
said they, Where is the LORD 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?
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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.
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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.
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9 |
Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your
children's children will I plead.
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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.
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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.
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12 |
Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be
ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
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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.
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14 |
Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?
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15 |
The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his
land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.
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16 |
Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of
thy head.
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Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast
forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?
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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?
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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 the LORD thy
God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
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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.
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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?
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22 |
For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much
soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.
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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;
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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29 |
Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against
me, saith the LORD.
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30 |
In vain have I smitten your children; they received no
correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a
destroying lion.
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31 |
O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. 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?
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32 |
Can a maid forget
her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me
days without number.
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33 |
Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also
taught the wicked ones thy ways.
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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.
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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.
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36 |
Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt
be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
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37 |
Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine
head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not
prosper in them.
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