1. The word of the Lord came to me:
2. “Go and announce directly to Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says:I remember the loyalty of your youth, your love as a bride —how you followed Me in the wilderness,in a land not sown.
3. Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of His harvest. All who ate of it found themselves guilty; disaster came on them.”This is the Lord’s declaration.
4. Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacoband all families of the house of Israel.
5. This is what the Lord says:What fault did your fathers find in Me that they went so far from Me,followed worthless idols, and became worthless themselves?
6. They stopped asking, “Where is the Lord who brought us from the land of Egypt,who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines,through a land of drought and darkness, a land no one traveled throughand where no one lived? ”
7. I brought you to a fertile land to eat its fruit and bounty,but after you entered, you defiled My land; you made My inheritance detestable.
8. The priests quit asking, “Where is the Lord? ”The experts in the law no longer knew Me, and the rulers rebelled against Me.The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols.
9. Therefore, I will bring a case against you again.This is the Lord’s declaration.I will bring a case against your children’s children.
10. Cross over to Cyprus and take a look.Send someone to Kedar and consider carefully;see if there has ever been anything like this:
11. Has a nation ever exchanged its gods? (But they were not gods! )Yet My people have exchanged their Gloryfor useless idols.
12. Be horrified at this, heavens; be shocked and utterly appalled.This is the Lord’s declaration.