1. The word of the Lord came to me:
2. Go, cry out this message for Jerusalem to hear!I remember the devotion of your youth,how you loved me as a bride,Following me in the wilderness,in a land unsown.
3. Israel was dedicated to the Lord,the first fruits of his harvest;All who ate of it were held guilty,evil befell them—oracle of the Lord.
4. Listen to the word of the Lord, house of Jacob!All you clans of the house of Israel,
5. thus says the Lord:What fault did your ancestors find in methat they withdrew from me,Went after emptiness,and became empty themselves?
6. They did not ask, “Where is the Lordwho brought us up from the land of Egypt,Who led us through the wilderness,through a land of wastes and ravines,A land of drought and darkness,a land which no one crosses,where no one dwells?”