Jeremiah 2

vayehi devar-Adonai elay lemor

The word of GOD came to me, saying,

halokh veqarata ve'ozne yerushalai͏m lemor koh amar Adonai zakharti lakh khesed ne'urayikh ahavat kelulotayikh lekhtekh akharay bammidbar be'erets lo zeru'ah

Go proclaim to Jerusalem: Thus said GOD: I accounted to your favor The devotion of your youth, Your love as a bride— How you followed Me in the wilderness, In a land not sown.

qodesh yisra'el la-Adonai reshit tevu'atoh kol-okhelayw yeshamu ra'ah tavo alehem ne'um-Adonai

Israel was holy to GOD, The first fruits of God’s harvest. All who ate of it were held guilty; Disaster befell them —declares GOD.

shimu devar-Adonai bet ya'aqov vekhol-mishpekhot bet yisra'el

Hear the word of GOD, O House of Jacob, Every clan of the House of Israel!

koh amar Adonai mah-mmatse'u avotekhem bi avel ki rakhaqu me'alay vayyelekhu akhare hahevel vayyehbalu

Thus said GOD: What wrong did your ancestors find in Me That they abandoned Me And went after delusion and were deluded?

velo ameru ayyeh Adonai hamma'aleh otanu me'erets mitsrayim hammolikh otanu bammidbar be'erets aravah veshukhah be'erets tsiyyah vetsalmavet be'erets lo-avar bah ish velo-yashav adam sham

They never asked themselves, “Where is GOD, Who brought us up from the land of Egypt, Who led us through the wilderness, A land of deserts and pits, A land of drought and darkness, A land nobody had traversed, Where no human being had dwelt?”

va'avi etkhem el-erets hakkarmel le'ekhol piryah vetuvah vattavo'u vattetamme'u et-artsi venakhalati samtem leto'evah

I brought you to this country of farmland To enjoy its fruit and its bounty; But you came and defiled My land, You made My possession abhorrent.

hakkohanim lo ameru ayyeh Adonai vetofese hattorah lo yeda'uni veharo'im pashe'u vi vehannevi'im nibbe'u vabba'al ve'akhare lo-yo'ilu halakhu

The priests never asked themselves, “Where is GOD?” The guardians of the Teaching ignored Me; The rulers rebelled against Me, And the prophets prophesied by Baal And followed what can do no good.

lakhen od ariv ittekhem ne'um-Adonai ve'et-bene venekhem ariv

Oh, I will go on accusing you —declares GOD— And I will accuse your children’s children!

ki ivru iyye khittiyyim ure'u veqedar shilkhu vehitbonenu me'od ure'u hen hayetah kazot

Just cross over to the isles of the Kittim and look, Send to Kedar and observe carefully; See if aught like this has ever happened:

hahemir goy elohim vehemmah lo elohim ve'ammi hemir kevodo belo yo'il

Has any nation changed its gods Even though they are no-gods? But My people has exchanged its glory For what can do no good.

shommu shamayim al-zot vesa'aru khorvu me'od ne'um-Adonai

Be appalled, O heavens, at this; Be horrified, utterly dazed! —says GOD.

ki-shetayim ra'ot asah ammi oti azevu meqor mayim khayyim lakhtsov lahem borot borot nishbarim asher lo-yakhilu hammayim

For My people have done a twofold wrong: They have forsaken Me, the Fount of living waters, And hewed out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, That cannot even hold water.

ha'eved yisra'el im-yelid bayit hu maddua hayah lavaz

Is Israel a bondman? Is he a home-born slave? Then why is he given over to plunder?

alayw yishagu khefirim natenu qolam vayyashitu artso leshammah arayw (ntsth) [nitsetu] mibbeli yoshev

Lions have roared over him, Have raised their cries. They have made his land a waste, His cities desolate, without inhabitants.

gam-bene-nof (vtkhfns) [vetakhpankhes] yirukh qodqod

Those, too, in Noph and Tahpanhes Will lay bare your head.

halo-zot ta'aseh-llakh ozvekh et-Adonai elohayikh be'et molikhekh baddarekh

See, that is the price you have paid For forsaking the ETERNAL your God Who led you in the way.

ve'attah mah-llakh lederekh mitsrayim lishtot me shikhor umah-llakh lederekh ashur lishtot me nahar

What, then, is the good of your going to Egypt To drink the waters of the Nile? And what is the good of your going to Assyria To drink the waters of the Euphrates?

teyasserekh ra'atekh umeshuvotayikh tokhikhukh ude'i ure'i ki-ra vamar ozvekh et-Adonai elohayikh velo fakhdati elayikh ne'um-adonay Elohim tseva'ot

Let your misfortune reprove you, Let your afflictions rebuke you; Mark well how bad and bitter it is That you forsake the ETERNAL your God, That awe for Me is not in you —declares my Sovereign GOD of Hosts.

ki me'olam shavarti ullekh nittaqti moserotayikh vattomeri lo (vvd) [e'evor] ki al-kol-givah gevohah vetakhat kol-ets ra'anan at tso'ah zonah

For long ago you broke your yoke, Tore off your yoke-bands, And said, “I will not work!” On every high hill and under every verdant tree, You recline as a whore.

ve'anokhi netatikh soreq kulloh zera emet ve'ekh nehpakht li sure haggefen nokhriyyah

I planted you with noble vines, All with choicest seed; Alas, I find you changed Into a base, an alien vine!

ki im-tekhabbesi banneter vetarbi-lakh borit nikhtam avonekh lefanay ne'um adonay Elohim

Though you wash with natron And use much lye, Your guilt is ingrained before Me —declares my Sovereign GOD.

ekh tomeri lo nitmeti akhare habbe'alim lo halakhti re'i darkekh baggay de'i meh asit bikhrah qallah mesarekhet derakheha

How can you say, “I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baalim”? Look at your deeds in the Valley, Consider what you have done! Like a lustful she-camel, Restlessly running about,

pereh limmud midbar be'avvat (nfshv) [nafshah] sha'afah ruakh ta'anatah mi yeshivennah kol-mevaqsheha lo yi'afu bekhodshah yimtsa'uneha

Or like a wild ass used to the desert, Snuffing the wind in her eagerness, Whose passion none can restrain, None that seek her need grow weary— In her season, they’ll find her!

mini raglekh miyyakhef (vgvrnkh) [ugeronekh] mitsimah vattomeri no'ash lo ki-ahavti zarim ve'akharehem elekh

Save your foot from going bare, And your throat from thirst. But you say, “It is no use. No, I love the strangers, And after them I must go.”

kevoshet gannav ki yimmatse ken hovishu bet yisra'el hemmah malkhehem sarehem vekhohanehem unevi'ehem

Like a thief chagrined when caught, So is the House of Israel chagrined— They, their kings, their officers, And their priests and prophets.

omerim la'ets avi attah vela'even at (yldtny) [yelidtanu] ki-fanu elay oref velo fanim uve'et ra'atam yomeru qumah vehoshi'enu

They said to wood, “You are my father,” To stone, “You gave birth to me,” While to Me they turned their backs And not their faces. But in their hour of calamity they cry, “Arise and save us!”

ve'ayyeh elohekha asher asita lakh yaqumu im-yoshi'ukha be'et ra'atekha ki mispar arekha hayu elohekha yehudah

And where are those gods You made for yourself? Let them arise and save you, if they can, In your hour of calamity. For your gods have become, O Judah, As many as your towns!

lammah tarivu elay kullekhem peshatem bi ne'um-Adonai

Why do you call Me to account? You have all rebelled against Me —declares GOD.

lashav hikketi et-benekhem musar lo laqakhu okhlah kharbekhem nevi'ekhem ke'aryeh mashkhit

To no purpose did I smite your children; They would not accept correction. Your sword has devoured your prophets Like a ravening lion.

haddor attem re'u devar-Adonai hamidbar hayiti leyisra'el im erets mapeleyah maddua ameru ammi radnu lo-navo od elekha

O generation, behold the word of GOD! Have I been like a desert to Israel, Or like a land of deep gloom? Then why do My people say, “We have broken loose, We will not come to You anymore?”

hatishkakh betulah edyah kallah qishureha ve'ammi shekhekhuni yamim en mispar

Can a maiden forget her jewels, A bride her adornments? Yet My people have forgotten Me— Days without number.

mah-ttetivi darkekh levaqqesh ahavah lakhen gam et-hara'ot (lmdty) [limmadt] et-derakhayikh

How skillfully you plan your way To seek out love! Why, you have even taught The worst of women your ways.

gam bikhnafayikh nimtse'u dam nafshot evyonim neqiyyim lo-vammakhteret metsatim ki al-kol-elleh

Moreover, on your garments is found The lifeblood of the innocent poor— You did not catch them breaking in. Yet, despite all these things,

vattomeri ki niqqeti akh shav appo mimmenni hinni nishpat otakh al-omrekh lo khatati

You say, “I have been acquitted; Surely, God’s anger has turned away from me.” Lo, I will bring you to judgment For saying, “I have not sinned.”

mah-ttezeli me'od leshannot et-darkekh gam mimmitsrayim tevoshi ka'asher-bosht me'ashur

How you cheapen yourself, By changing your course! You shall be put to shame through Egypt, Just as you were put to shame through Assyria.

gam me'et zeh tetse'i veyadayikh al-roshekh ki-ma'as Adonai bemivtakhayikh velo tatslikhi lahem

From this way, too, you will come out With your hands on your head; For GOD has rejected those you trust, You will not prosper with them.