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Jeremiah 2 GNT
<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "//www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8" /><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><title>Jeremiah 2 GNT</title><link rel="stylesheet" href="/chapnew2.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="../spec.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /></head><!-- Google tag (gtag.js) --> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-LR4HSKRP2H"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-LR4HSKRP2H'); </script><body><div id="fx"><table width="100%" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" id="fx2"><tr><td><iframe width="100%" height="30" scrolling="no" src="../cmenus/jeremiah/2.htm" align="left" 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height="27" scrolling="no" frameborder="0"></iframe></td></tr></table></div></div></td></tr></table><div id="movebox2"><table border="0" align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td><div id="topheading"><a href="../jeremiah/1.htm" title="Jeremiah 1">◄</a> Jeremiah 2 <a href="../jeremiah/3.htm" title="Jeremiah 3">►</a></div></td></tr></table></div><div align="center" class="maintable2"><table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="center"><tr><td><div id="leftbox"><div class="padleft"><div class="vheading">Good News Translation</div><div class="chap"><h3 class="s">God's Care for Israel</h3><p class="par"><span class="v24_2_1"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.1" class="v24_2_1">1</span>The <span class="nd">Lord</span> told me </span><span class="v24_2_2"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.2" class="v24_2_2">2</span>to proclaim this message to everyone in Jerusalem.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_2">“I remember how faithful you were when you were young,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_2">how you loved me when we were first married;</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_2">you followed me through the desert,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_2">through a land that had not been planted.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_3"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.3" class="v24_2_3">3</span>Israel, you belonged to me alone;</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_3">you were my sacred possession.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_3">I sent suffering and disaster</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_3">on everyone who hurt you.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_3">I, the <span class="nd">Lord</span>, have spoken.”</span></p><h3 class="s">The Sin of Israel's Ancestors</h3><p class="par"><span class="v24_2_4"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.4" class="v24_2_4">4</span>Listen to the <span class="nd">Lord</span>'s message, you descendants of Jacob, you tribes of Israel. </span><span class="v24_2_5"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.5" class="v24_2_5">5</span>The <span class="nd">Lord</span> says:</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_5">“What accusation did your ancestors bring against me?</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_5">What made them turn away from me?</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_5">They worshiped worthless idols</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_5">and became worthless themselves.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_6"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.6" class="v24_2_6">6</span>They did not care about me,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_6">even though I rescued them from Egypt</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_6">and led them through the wilderness:</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_6">a land of deserts and sand pits,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_6">a dry and dangerous land</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_6">where no one lives</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_6">and no one will even travel.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_7"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.7" class="v24_2_7">7</span>I brought them into a fertile land,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_7">to enjoy its harvests and its other good things.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_7">But instead they ruined my land;</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_7">they defiled the country I had given them.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_8"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.8" class="v24_2_8">8</span>The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the <span class="nd">Lord</span>?’</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_8">My own priests did not know me.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_8">The rulers rebelled against me;</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_8">the prophets spoke in the name of Baal</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_8">and worshiped useless idols.</span></p><h3 class="s">The <span class="nd">Lord</span>'s Case against His People</h3><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_9"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.9" class="v24_2_9">9</span>“And so I, the <span class="nd">Lord</span>, will state my case against my people again.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_9">I will bring charges against their descendants.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_10"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.10" class="v24_2_10">10</span>Go west to the island of Cyprus,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_10">and send someone eastward to the land of Kedar.</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_10">You will see that nothing like this has ever happened before.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_11"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.11" class="v24_2_11">11</span>No other nation has ever changed its gods,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_11">even though they were not real.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_11">But my people have exchanged me,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_11">the God who has brought them honor,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_11">for gods that can do nothing for them.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_12"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.12" class="v24_2_12">12</span>And so I command the sky to shake with horror,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_12">to be amazed and astonished,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_13"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.13" class="v24_2_13">13</span>for my people have committed two sins:</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_13">they have turned away from me,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_13">the spring of fresh water,</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_13">and they have dug cisterns,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_13">cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all.</span></p><h3 class="s">The Results of Israel's Unfaithfulness</h3><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_14"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.14" class="v24_2_14">14</span>“Israel is not a slave;</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_14">he was not born into slavery.</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_14">Why then do his enemies hunt him down?</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_15"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.15" class="v24_2_15">15</span>They have roared at him like lions;</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_15">they have made his land a desert,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_15">and his towns lie in ruins, completely abandoned.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_16"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.16" class="v24_2_16">16</span>Yes, the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_16">have cracked his skull.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_17"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.17" class="v24_2_17">17</span>Israel, you brought this on yourself!</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_17">You deserted me, the <span class="nd">Lord</span> your God,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_17">while I was leading you along the way.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_18"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.18" class="v24_2_18">18</span>What do you think you will gain by going to Egypt</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_18">to drink water from the Nile?</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_18">What do you think you will gain by going to Assyria</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_18">to drink water from the Euphrates?</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_19"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.19" class="v24_2_19">19</span>Your own evil will punish you,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_19">and your turning from me will condemn you.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_19">You will learn how bitter and wrong it is</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_19">to abandon me, the <span class="nd">Lord</span> your God,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_19">and no longer to remain faithful to me.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_19">I, the Sovereign <span class="nd">Lord</span> Almighty, have spoken.”</span></p><h3 class="s">Israel Refuses to Worship the <span class="nd">Lord</span></h3><p class="par"><span class="v24_2_20"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.20" class="v24_2_20">20</span>The Sovereign <span class="nd">Lord</span> says,</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_20">“Israel, long ago you rejected my authority;</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_20">you refused to obey me and worship me.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_20">On every high hill</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_20">and under every green tree</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_20">you worshiped fertility gods.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_21"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.21" class="v24_2_21">21</span>I planted you like a choice vine</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_21">from the very best seed.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_21">But look what you have become!</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_21">You are like a rotten, worthless vine.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_22"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.22" class="v24_2_22">22</span>Even if you washed with the strongest soap,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_22">I would still see the stain of your guilt.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_23"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.23" class="v24_2_23">23</span>How can you say you have not defiled yourself,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_23">that you have never worshiped Baal?</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_23">Look how you sinned in the valley;</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_23">see what you have done.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_23">You are like a wild camel in heat,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_23">running around loose,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_24"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.24" class="v24_2_24">24</span>rushing into the desert.<a href="#Jer.2.24!f.1" id="link_Jer.2.24!f.1" class="notelink f-link"><span>+</span></a> </span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_24">When she is in heat, who can control her?</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_24">No male that wants her has to trouble himself;</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_24">she is always available in mating season.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_25"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.25" class="v24_2_25">25</span>Israel, don't wear your feet out,</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_25">or let your throat become dry</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_25">from chasing after other gods.</span></p><p class="q1"><span class="v24_2_25">But you say, ‘No! I can't turn back.</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_25">I have loved foreign gods</span></p><p class="q2"><span class="v24_2_25">and will go after them.’”</span></p><h3 class="s">Israel Deserves to Be Punished</h3><p class="par"><span class="v24_2_26"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.26" class="v24_2_26">26</span>The <span class="nd">Lord</span> says, “Just as a thief is disgraced when caught, so all you people of Israel will be disgraced—your kings and officials, your priests and prophets. </span><span class="v24_2_27"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.27" class="v24_2_27">27</span>You will all be disgraced—you that say that a tree is your father and that a rock is your mother. This will happen because you turned away from me instead of turning to me. But when you are in trouble, you ask me to come and save you.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v24_2_28"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.28" class="v24_2_28">28</span>“Where are the gods that you made for yourselves? When you are in trouble, let them save you—if they can! Judah, you have as many gods as you have cities. </span><span class="v24_2_29"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.29" class="v24_2_29">29</span>What is your complaint? Why have you rebelled against me? </span><span class="v24_2_30"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.30" class="v24_2_30">30</span>I punished you, but it did no good; you would not let me correct you. Like a raging lion, you have murdered your prophets. </span><span class="v24_2_31"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.31" class="v24_2_31">31</span>People of Israel, listen to what I am saying. Have I been like a desert to you, like a dark and dangerous land? Why, then, do you say that you will do as you please, that you will never come back to me? </span><span class="v24_2_32"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.32" class="v24_2_32">32</span>Does a young woman forget her jewelry, or a bride her wedding dress? But my people have forgotten me for more days than can be counted. </span><span class="v24_2_33"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.33" class="v24_2_33">33</span>You certainly know how to chase after lovers. Even the worst of women can learn from you. </span><span class="v24_2_34"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.34" class="v24_2_34">34</span>Your clothes are stained with the blood of the poor and innocent, not with the blood of burglars.</span></p><p class="par"><span class="v24_2_34">“But in spite of all this, </span><span class="v24_2_35"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.35" class="v24_2_35">35</span>you say, ‘I am innocent; surely the <span class="nd">Lord</span> is no longer angry with me.’ But I, the <span class="nd">Lord</span>, will punish you because you deny that you have sinned. </span><span class="v24_2_36"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.36" class="v24_2_36">36</span>You have cheapened yourself by turning to the gods of other nations. You will be disappointed by Egypt, just as you were by Assyria. </span><span class="v24_2_37"><span class="reftext" id="Jer.2.37" class="v24_2_37">37</span>You will turn away from Egypt, hanging your head in shame. I, the <span class="nd">Lord</span>, have rejected those you trust; you will not gain anything from them.”</span></p><a name="fn"></a><br /><br /><br /><b>Footnotes:<br /><br /><note caller="+" style="f"><char style="fr" closed="false">2.24: </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Probable text </char><char style="fq" closed="false">rushing into the desert; </char><char style="ft" closed="false">Hebrew </char><char style="fq" closed="false">a wild donkey used to the desert.</char></note></div></div><span class="p"><br /><br /></span><div align="center"><p><span style="font-size:11pt;">Good News Translation® (Today’s English Version, Second Edition)</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:11pt;">© 1992 American Bible Society. 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