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Israel Forsakes God
2:1 Moreover the word of the LORD came to me,
saying,
2:2 Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith
the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the
love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the
wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
2:3 Israel was holiness unto the LORD, and the firstfruits
of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil
shall come upon them, saith the LORD.
2:4 Hear ye the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all
the families of the house of Israel:
2:5 Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers
found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked
after vanity, and are become vain?
2:6 Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up
out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the
wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a
land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land
that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?
2:7 And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the
fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered,
ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.
2:8 The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that
handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed
against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked
after things that do not profit.
2:9 Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD,
and with your children's children will I plead.
2:10 For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send
unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be
such a thing.
2:11 Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no
gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which
doth not profit.
2:12 Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly
afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
2:13 For my people have committed two evils; they have
forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them
out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
2:14 Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he
spoiled?
2:15 The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they
made his land waste: his cities are burned without
inhabitant.
2:16 Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken
the crown of thy head.
2:17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou
hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?
2:18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to
drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the
way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?
2:19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy
backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that
it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the
LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the
Lord GOD of hosts.
2:20 For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy
bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon
every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest,
playing the harlot.
2:21 Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right
seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of
a strange vine unto me?
2:22 For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee
much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the
Lord GOD.
2:23 How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone
after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast
done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
2:24 A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up
the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her
away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in
her month they shall find her.
2:25 Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat
from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I
have loved strangers, and after them will I go.
2:26 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the
house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes,
and their priests, and their prophets.
2:27 Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone,
Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back
unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their
trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.
2:28 But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let
them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy
trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy
gods, O Judah.
2:29 Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have
transgressed against me, saith the LORD.
2:30 In vain have I smitten your children; they received no
correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like
a destroying lion.
2:31 O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been
a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say
my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?
2:32 Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her
attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
2:33 Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast
thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways.
2:34 Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of
the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search,
but upon all these.
2:35 Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his
anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee,
because thou sayest, I have not sinned.
2:36 Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou
also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of
Assyria.
2:37 Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands
upon thine head: for the LORD hath rejected thy confidences,
and thou shalt not prosper in them. |
Cults 
Why Did God Permit Sin?
