1. The Lord’S message came to me:
2. “Jeremiah, go and speak to the people of Jerusalem. Tell them that this is what the Lord says: “‘At the time you were a young nation, you were faithful to me. You followed me like a young bride. You followed me through the desert, through a land that had never been used for farmland.
3. The people of Israel were a holy gift to the Lord. They were the first fruit he gathered. Any people who tried to hurt them were judged guilty. Bad things happened to those wicked people.’” This message is from the Lord.
4. Family of Jacob, hear the Lord’S message. Tribes of Israel, listen.
5. This is what the Lord says: “Do you think that I was not fair to your ancestors? Is that why they turned away from me? Your ancestors worshiped worthless idols, and they became worthless themselves.
6. Your ancestors did not say, ‘The Lord brought us out of Egypt. He led us through the desert, through a dry and rocky land. He led us through a dark and dangerous land. No one lives there; people don’t even travel through that land. But the Lord led us through that land. So where is he now?’
7. “I brought you into a good land, a land filled with many good things. I did this so that you could eat the fruit and crops that grow there. But you only made my land ‘dirty.’ I gave that land to you, but you made it a bad place.
8. “The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ The people who know the law did not want to know me. The leaders of the people of Israel turned against me. The prophets spoke in the name of the false god Baal. They worshiped worthless idols.”
9. The Lord says, “So now I will accuse you again, and I will also accuse your grandchildren.
10. Go across the sea to the Islands of Kittim. Send someone to the land of Kedar. Look very carefully. See if anyone has ever done anything like this.
11. Has any nation ever stopped worshiping their old gods so that they could worship new gods? No! And their gods are not really gods at all! But my people stopped worshiping their glorious God and started worshiping idols that are worth nothing.
12. “Skies, be shocked at what happened! Shake with great fear!” This message is from the Lord.