2:1 The LORD spoke to me. He said: 2:2 “Go and declare in the hearing of the people of Jerusalem: ‘This is what the LORD says: “I remember for your sake¹ how devoted you were to me in your early years.² I remember how you loved me like a new bride and followed me through the wilderness, through a land that had never been planted. 2:3 Israel was set apart to the LORD; they were like the first fruits of a harvest to Him.³ All who tried to devour them were punished; disaster came upon them,” says the LORD.’”

2:4 Now listen to what the Lord has to say, you descendants of Jacob,
all you family groups from the nation of Israel.
2:5 This is what the Lord says:
“What possible fault could your ancestors have found in me
that they strayed so far from me?⁴
They paid allegiance to⁵ worthless idols, and so became worthless to me.⁶
2:6 They did not ask:
‘Where is the LORD who delivered us out of Egypt,
who brought us through the wilderness,
through a land of desert sands and rift valleys,
through a land of drought and deep darkness,⁷
through a land in which no one travels,
and where no one lives?’⁸
2:7 I brought you⁹ into a fertile land
so you could enjoy¹⁰ its fruits and its rich bounty.
But when you entered my land, you defiled it;¹¹
you made the land I call my own¹² loathsome to me.
2:8 Your priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’¹³
Those responsible for teaching my law¹⁴ did not really know me.¹⁵
Your rulers rebelled against me.
Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal.¹⁶
All your leaders worshiped idols that could not help them.”¹⁷

2:9 “So, once more I will state my case¹⁸ against you,” says the LORD.
“I will also state it against your children and grandchildren.¹⁹
2:10 For²⁰ go west across the sea to the coasts of Cyprus²¹ and see.
Send someone east to Kedar²² and have them look carefully.
See if such a thing as this has ever happened:
2:11 Has a nation ever changed its gods,
even though they are not really gods at all.
But my people have exchanged me, their glorious God,²³
for a god that cannot help them at all.²⁴
2:12 Be amazed at this, O heavens!²⁵
Be shocked and utterly dumbfounded,”
says the LORD.
2:13 “Do so because my people have committed a double wrong:
they have left me,
the fountain of life-giving water;²⁶
and they have dug cisterns for themselves,
cracked cisterns which cannot even hold water.”

2:14 “Israel is not a slave, is he?
He was not born into slavery, was he?²⁷
If not, why then has he become something to be carried off?
2:15 Like lions his enemies roar victoriously over him;
they raise their voices in triumph.²⁸
They have laid his land waste;
his cities have been burned down and abandoned.²⁹
2:16 Moreover, the soldiers from Memphis and Tahpanhes
have cracked your skulls, people of Israel.³⁰
2:17 You have brought all this on yourself, Israel.³¹
You brought it about by leaving the LORD your God,
even while He was leading you along the way.³²
2:18 What good will it do you³³ then³⁴ to go down to Egypt
to seek help from the Egyptians?³⁵
And what good will it do you³⁶ to go over to Assyria
to seek help from the Assyrians?³⁷
2:19 Your own wickedness will bring about your punishment.
Your unfaithful acts will bring down discipline on you.³⁸
Know, then, and realize how utterly harmful³⁹
it was for you to leave me, the LORD your God,⁴⁰
and to show no respect for me,”⁴¹
says the Lord GOD who rules over all.⁴²

2:20 “Indeed,⁴³ long ago you threw off my authority
and refused to be subject to me.⁴⁴
You said, ‘I will not serve you.’⁴⁵
Instead, you gave yourself to other gods on every high hill,
and under every green tree,
like a prostitute sprawls down before her lovers.⁴⁶
2:21 I planted you in the land
like a special vine of the very best stock.
Why in the world have you turned into something like a wild vine
that produces rotten, foul smelling grapes?⁴⁷
2:22 You can try to wash away your guilt with a strong detergent.
You can use as much soap as you want.
But the stain of your guilt is still there for me to see,”⁴⁸
says the Lord GOD.⁴⁹
2:23 “How can you say, ‘I have not made myself unclean.
I have not paid allegiance to⁵⁰ the gods called Baal.’
Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom!⁵¹
Think about the things you have done there!
You are like a flighty, young she-camel
that rushes here and there, criss-crossing its path.⁵²
2:24 You are like a wild she-ass brought up in the wilderness.
In her lust she sniffs the wind to get the scent of a male.⁵³
No one can hold her back when she is in heat.
None of the males need wear themselves out chasing after her.
At mating time she is easy to find.⁵⁴
2:25 Israel, do not chase after other gods until your shoes wear out
and your throats become dry.⁵⁵
But you say, ‘It is useless for you to try and stop me!
You can’t because I love those foreign gods.⁵⁶
I want to chase after them.’
2:26 A thief has to suffer dishonor when he is caught.
So also the people of Israel will suffer dishonor for what they have
done.⁵⁷
And so will their kings and officials,
their priests and their prophets.
2:27 They say to a piece of wood, ‘You are my father.’
They say to a piece of stone, ‘You gave me birth.’⁵⁸
Yes, they have turned away from me
instead of turning to me.⁵⁹
Yet when they are in trouble they say,
‘Come and save us.’
2:28 But where are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them come and save you, if they really can,
when you are in trouble.
The sad fact is that⁶⁰ you have as many gods
as you have towns, Judah.”
2:29 “Why do you try to refute me?⁶¹
All of you have rebelled against me,”
says the LORD.
2:30 “It did no good for me to punish your people.
They did not respond to such correction.
You slaughtered your prophets
just like a voracious lion would.”⁶²
2:31 You people of this generation,
listen to what the LORD says.
“Have I been like a wilderness to you, Israel?
Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to you?⁶³
Why then do you⁶⁴ say, ‘We are free to wander.⁶⁵
We will not come to you any more?’
2:32 Does a young woman forget to put on her jewels?
Does a bride forget to put on her bridal attire?
But my people have forgotten me
for more days than can even be counted.”
2:33 “My, how good you have become
at chasing after your lovers!⁶⁶
Why, even the worst of women
could learn from the things you have done!⁶⁷
2:34 Moreover, your clothes are stained with
the lifeblood of the poor who were not guilty of doing anything
wrong.
You did not, for example, catch them breaking into your homes.⁶⁸
Yet, in spite of all these things you have done,⁶⁹
2:35 you say, ‘I have not done anything wrong;
so the LORD can not really be angry with me any more.’
But, watch out!⁷⁰ I will bring down judgment on you
because you say, ‘I have not committed any sin.’
2:36 Why do you constantly go about
changing your political allegiances?⁷¹
You will get no help from Egypt
just as you got no help from Assyria.⁷²
2:37 Moreover, you will come away from Egypt
with your hands covering your faces in sorrow and shame.⁷³
That is because the LORD will not let your reliance on them be successful.
You will not gain any help from them.⁷⁴