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Judah's Apostasy

¹ Now the word of the LORD came to me saying,² "Go and ^(C1)proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the LORD,

"I remember concerning you the ^(F1)(C2)devotion of your youth,
The love of your betrothals,
^(C3)Your following after Me in the wilderness,
Through a land not sown.

³ "Israel was ^(C1)holy to the LORD,
The ^(C2)first of His harvest.
^(C3)All who ate of it became guilty;
Evil came upon them," declares the LORD.'"

⁴ Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.⁵ Thus says the LORD,

"^(C1)What injustice did your fathers find in Me,
That they went far from Me
And walked after ^(C2)emptiness and became empty?

⁶ "They did not say, 'Where is the LORD
Who ^(C1)brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who ^(C2)led us through the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and of pits,
Through a land of drought and of ^(F1)deep darkness,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no man dwelt?'

⁷ "I brought you into the ^(C1)fruitful land
To eat its fruit and its good things.
But you came and ^(C2)defiled My land,
And My inheritance you made an abomination.

⁸ "The ^(C1)priests did not say, 'Where is the LORD?'
And those who handle the law ^(C2)did not know Me;
The ^(F1)rulers also transgressed against Me,
And the ^(C3)prophets prophesied by Baal
And walked after ^(C4)things that did not profit.

⁹ "Therefore I will yet ^(C1)contend with you," declares the LORD,
"And with your sons' sons I will contend.

¹⁰ "For ^(C1)cross to the coastlands of ^(F1)Kittim and see,
And send to ^(C2)Kedar and observe closely
And see if there has been such a thing as this!

¹¹ "Has a nation changed gods
When ^(C1)they were not gods?
But My people have ^(C2)changed their glory
For that which does not profit.

¹² "Be appalled, ^(C1)O heavens, at this,
And shudder, be very desolate," declares the LORD.

¹³ "For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The ^(C1)fountain of living waters,
To hew for themselves ^(C2)cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That can hold no water.

¹⁴ "Is Israel ^(C1)a slave? Or is he a homeborn servant?
Why has he become a prey?

¹⁵ "The young ^(C1)lions have roared at him,
They have ^(F1)roared loudly.
And they have ^(C2)made his land a waste;
His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.

¹⁶ "Also the ^(F1)men of ^(C1)Memphis and Tahpanhes
Have ^(F2)shaved the ^(C2)crown of your head.

¹⁷ "Have you not ^(C1)done this to yourself
By your forsaking the LORD your God
When He ^(C1)led you in the way?

¹⁸ "But now what are you doing ^(C1)on the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of the ^(F1)(C2)Nile?
Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,
To drink the waters of the ^(F2)Euphrates?

¹⁹ "^(C1)Your own wickedness will correct you,
And your ^(C2)apostasies will reprove you;
Know therefore and see that it is evil and ^(C3)bitter
For you to forsake the LORD your God,
And ^(C4)the dread of Me is not in you," declares the Lord ^(F1)GOD of hosts.

²⁰ "For long ago ^(F1)(C1)I broke your yoke
And tore off your bonds;
But you said, 'I will not serve!'
For on every ^(C2)high hill
And under every green tree
You have lain down as a harlot.

²¹ "Yet I ^(C1)planted you a choice vine,
A completely faithful seed.
How then have you turned yourself before Me
Into the ^(C2)degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?

²² "Although you ^(C1)wash yourself with lye
And ^(F1)use much soap,
The ^(C2)stain of your iniquity is before Me," declares the Lord ^(F2)GOD.

²³ "^(C1)How can you say, 'I am not defiled,
I have not gone after the ^(C2)Baals'?
Look at your way in the ^(C3)valley!
Know what you have done!
You are a swift young camel ^(C4)entangling her ways,

²⁴ A ^(C1)wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness,
That sniffs the wind in her passion.
In the time of her ^(F1)heat who can turn her away?
All who seek her will not become weary;
In her month they will find her.

²⁵ "Keep your feet from being unshod
And your throat from thirst;
But you said, '^(C1)It is ^(F1)hopeless!
No! For I have ^(C2)loved strangers,
And after them I will walk.'

²⁶ "As the ^(C1)thief is shamed when he is discovered,
So the house of Israel is shamed;
They, their kings, their princes
And their priests and their prophets,

²⁷ Who say to a tree, 'You are my father,'
And to a stone, 'You gave me birth.'
For they have turned their ^(C1)back to Me,
And not their face;
But in the ^(C2)time of their ^(F1)trouble they will say,
'Arise and save us.'

²⁸ "But where are your ^(C1)gods
Which you made for yourself?
Let them arise, if they can ^(C2)save you
In the time of your ^(F1)trouble;
For ^(C3)according to the number of your cities
Are your gods, O Judah.

²⁹ "Why do you contend with Me?
You have ^(C1)all transgressed against Me," declares the LORD.

³⁰ "^(C1)In vain I have struck your sons;
They accepted no chastening.
Your ^(C2)sword has devoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.

³¹ "O generation, heed the word of the LORD.
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a ^(C1)land of thick darkness?
Why do My people say, '^(C2)We are free to roam;
We will no longer come to You'?

³² "Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people have ^(C1)forgotten Me
Days without number.

³³ "How well you prepare your way
To seek love!
Therefore even ^(F1)the wicked women
You have taught your ways.

³⁴ "Also on your skirts is found
The ^(C1)lifeblood of the innocent poor;
You did not find them ^(C2)breaking in.
But in spite of all these things,

³⁵ Yet you said, 'I am innocent;
Surely His anger is turned away from me.'
Behold, I will ^(C1)enter into judgment with you
Because you ^(C2)say, 'I have not sinned.'

³⁶ "Why do you ^(C1)go around so much
Changing your way?
Also, ^(C2)you will be put to shame by Egypt
As you were put to shame by ^(C3)Assyria.

³⁷ "From this place also you will go out
With ^(C1)your hands on your head;
For the LORD has rejected ^(C2)those in whom you trust,
And you will not prosper with them."