Jeremiah 2:12-27

12Be appalled at this, 1you heavens, And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.13“For My people have committed two evils: They have abandoned Me, The 2fountain of living waters, To carve out for themselves 3cisterns, Broken cisterns That do not hold water.

14“Is Israel 4a slave? Or is he a servant born in the home? Why has he become plunder?15The young 5lions have roared at him, They have 6roared loudly. And they have 7made his land a waste; His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.16Also the 8men of 9Memphis and Tahpanhes Have 10shaved 11your head.17Have you not 12done this to yourself By your abandoning the Lord your God When He 13led you in the way?18But now what are you doing 14on the road to Egypt, Except to drink the waters of the 1516Nile? Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria, Except to drink the waters of the Euphrates River?1917Your own wickedness will correct you, And your 18apostasies will punish you; Know therefore and see that it is evil and 19bitter For you to abandon the Lord your God, And 20the fear of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord 21God of armies.

20“For long ago 2223I broke your yoke And tore off your restraints; But you said, ‘I will not serve!’ For on every 24high hill And under every leafy tree You have lain down as a prostitute.21Yet I 25planted you as a choice vine, A completely faithful seed. How then have you turned yourself before Me Into the 26degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?22Although you 27wash yourself with lye And 28use much soap, The 29stain of your guilt is before Me,” declares the Lord 30God.23“31How can you say, ‘I am not defiled, I have not gone after the 32Baals’? Look at your way in the 33valley! Know what you have done! You are a swift young camel 34running about senselessly on her ways,24A 35wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness, That sniffs the wind in her passion. Who can turn her away in her mating season? None who seek her will grow weary; In her month they will find her.25Keep your feet from being bare, And your throat from thirst; But you said, ‘36It is 37hopeless! No! For I have 38loved strangers, And I will walk after them.’

26“Like the shame of a 39thief when he is discovered, So the house of Israel is shamed; They, their kings, their leaders, Their priests, and their prophets,27Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their 40backs to Me, And not their faces; But in the 41time of their 42trouble they will say, ‘Arise and save us!’