Jeremiah 2
1Moreover the Devar Hashem came to me, saying,
2Go and cry, shouting in the ears of Yerushalayim, saying, Thus saith Hashem; 1 I remember thee, the chesed of thy ne'urim, 1 the ahavas of thy days as a kallah, 1 when thou wentest after Me in midbar, 1 in an eretz that was not sown. 1
3Yisroel was Kodesh unto Hashem, 1 and the reshit (firstfruit) of his tevu'ah (crop): 1 all that devour him are held guilty; 1 ra'ah shall overtake them, saith Hashem.
4Hear ye the Devar Hashem, O Beis Ya'akov, and all the mishpekhot of Bais Yisroel:
5Thus saith Hashem: 1 What avel (wrong, fault) have avoteichem found in Me, 1 that they are strayed far from Me, 1 and have walked after hevel (vain, empty delusion), and are become deluded? 1
6Neither did they ask: Where is Hashem 1 that brought us up out of Eretz Mitzrayim, 1 that led us through the midbar, 1 through an eretz of deserts and pits, 1 through an eretz tziyyah (land of drought) and tzalmavet, 1 through eretz that no ish passed through, 1 where no adam dwelt? 1
7And I brought you into an eretz hacarmel, 1 to eat the pri thereof and the tovah thereof; 1 but when ye entered, ye made My land tameh, 1 and made My nachalah a to'evah. 1
8The Kohanim asked not: Where is Hashem? 1 And they that handle the Torah had no da'as of Me; 1 the ro'im also rebelled against Me, 1 and the nevi'im prophesied by Ba'al, 1 and walked after worthless things. 1
9Therefore I will yet bring lawsuit against you, saith Hashem, 1 and against bnei beneichem will I bring lawsuit. 1
10For pass over to the isles of Kittim, and look; 1 and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, 1 and see if there has ever been anything like this. 1
11Hath ever a nation changed elohim, 1 and these no elohim at all? 1 But My people have exchanged their kavod 1 for that which is worthless. 1
12Be appalled, O ye Shomayim, at this, 1 and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith Hashem. 1
13For Ami have committed shtayim ra'ot (two evils): 1 they have forsaken Me, the fountain of Mayim Chayim, 1 and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, 1 that can hold no mayim. 1
14Is Yisroel an eved? 1 Is he a homeborn slave? 1 Why has he become plunder? 1
15The young lions roared upon him, and growled, 1 and they made his + 2:15 Israelʼs Eretz waste; 1 his towns are burned without inhabitant. 1
16Also the Bnei Noph and Tachpanches 1 have broken the crown of thy head. 1
17Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, 1 in that thou hast forsaken Hashem Eloheicha, 1 when He led thee by the derech? 1
18And now what hast thou to do in the derech Mitzrayim, 1 to drink the waters of the Shichor ([Nile] River)? 1 Or what hast thou to do in the derech Ashur (Assyria), 1 to drink the waters of the Euphrates [River]? 1
19Thine own ra'ah shall correct thee, 1 and thy meshuvot (backslidings) shall reprove thee: 1 know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and mar (bitter), 1 that thou hast forsaken Hashem Eloheicha, 1 and that My pachad is not in thee, saith Adonoi Hashem Tzva'os. 1
20For long ago I have broken thy ol (yoke), 1 and tore off thy bonds; 1 and thou saidst: I will not serve; 1 when upon every high hill 1 and under every green tree 1 thou hast sprawled, playing the zonah. 1
21Yet I had planted thee a choice vine, 1 wholly a zera emes. 1 How then art thou turned into the degenerate plant 1 of a gefen nochriyah unto Me? 1
22For though thou wash thee with lye, 1 and take thee much soap, 1 yet thine avon (iniquity) is marked before Me, saith Adonoi Hashem. 1
23How canst thou say: I am not tameh, 1 I have not gone after Ba'alim? 1 See thy derech in the valley, 1 know what thou hast done: 1 thou art a swift camel traversing her ways; 1
24A pereh used to the midbar, 1 that sniffs up the ruach in the craving of her nefesh; 1 in her occasion [of heat] who can turn her away? 1 All they that seek her will not weary themselves; 1 in her month they shall find her. 1
25Withhold thy regel from being unshod, 1 and thy throat from thirst; 1 but thou saidst, There is no hope: 1 no; for I have loved zarim, 1 and after them will I go. 1
26As the ganav is ashamed when he is caught, 1 so is the Bais Yisroel ashamed; 1 they, their melachim, their sarim, 1 and their kohanim, and their nevi'im. 1
27Saying to Etz (wood): Thou art Avi; 1 and to Even (stone): Thou hast brought me forth; 1 for they have turned their back unto Me, 1 and not their face; 1 but in the time of their trouble they will say: 1 Arise, and hoshi'einu (save us). 1
28But where are thy elohim 1 that thou hast made for thee? 1 Let them arise, if they can save thee 1 in the time of thy trouble; 1 for as many as are the mispar (number) 1 of thy towns are thy elohim, O Yehudah. 1
29Why will ye bring lawsuit against Me? 1 Ye all have rebelled against Me, saith Hashem. 1
30In vain have I struck your banim; 1 they received no musar; + 2:30 cf Isa 53:5 1 your own cherev hath devoured your nevi'im, 1 like a destroying lion. 1
31O HaDor (Generation), heed ye the Devar Hashem. 1 Have I been a midbar unto Yisroel? 1 An eretz of great darkness? 1 Madu'a (why) say Ami: We are free; 1 we will come no more unto Thee? 1
32Can a betulah forget her jewelry, 1 or a kallah her adornments? 1 Yet My people have forgotten Me 1 yamim ein mispar (days without number). 1
33How well thou direct thy derech to seek ahavah? 1 Therefore hast thou also taught hara'ot (the worst women) 1 the darkhei (ways) of thee. 1
34Also in thy skirts is found the dahm 1 of the nefashot of the innocent poor; 1 although you never caught them breaking in. 1 Yet concerning all these 1
35Thou sayest: Because I am innocent, 1 surely His anger shall turn from me. 1 Hineni, I will plead My case with thee, 1 because thou sayest: Loh chatati (I have not sinned). 1
36Why doest thou gad about so much 1 to change the course of thy derech? 1 Thou also shalt be ashamed of Mitzrayim, 1 as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. 1
37Yea, thou shalt go forth from this, + 2:37 dependence on religiously entangling and compromising foreign allies 1 and thine hands upon thine head; 1 for Hashem hath rejected thy confidences, 1 and thou shalt not prosper in them.