Dual Panel1The Lord <03068> spoke <01697> to <0413> me. He said <0559>:
2“Go <01980> and declare <07121> in the hearing <0241> of the people of Jerusalem <03389>: ‘This is what <03541> the Lord <03069> says <0559>: “I have fond memories <02142> of you, how devoted <02617> you were to me in your early years <05271>. I remember how you loved <0160> me like a new bride <03623>; you followed <01980> me through the wilderness <04057>, through a land <0776> that had never <03808> been planted <02232>.
3Israel <03478> was set apart <06944> to the Lord <03068>; they were like the first fruits <07225> of a harvest <08393> to him. All <03605> who tried to devour <0398> them were punished <0816>; disaster <07451> came <0935> upon <0413> them,” says <05002> the Lord <03068>.’”
4Now listen <08085> to what <01697> the Lord <03068> has to say, you descendants <01004> of Jacob <03290>, all <03605> you family <04940> groups from the nation <01004> of Israel <03478>.
5This is what <03541> the Lord <03068> says <0559>: “What <04100> fault <05766> could your ancestors <01> have possibly found <04672> in me that <03588> they strayed <07368> so far <07368> from <05921> me? They paid allegiance <0310> <01980> to worthless idols <01892>, and so became worthless <01891> to me.
6They did not <03808> ask <0559>: ‘Where <0346> is the Lord <03068> who delivered <05927> us out <05927> of Egypt <04714>, who brought <01980> us through the wilderness <04057>, through a land <0776> of desert sands <06160> and rift valleys <07745>, through a land <0776> of drought <06723> and deep darkness <06757>, through a land <0776> in which no <03808> one <0376> travels <05674>, and where <08033> no <03808> one <0120> lives <03427>?’
7I brought <0935> you into <0413> a fertile <03759> land <0776> so you could enjoy <0398> its fruits <06529> and its rich bounty <02898>. But when you entered <0935> my land, you defiled <02930> it; you made <07760> the land <0776> I call my own loathsome <08441> to me.
8Your priests <03548> did not <03808> ask <0559>, ‘Where <0346> is the Lord <03068>?’ Those responsible <08610> for teaching my law <08451> did not <03808> really know <03045> me. Your rulers <07462> rebelled against <06586> me. Your prophets <05030> prophesied <05012> in the name of the god Baal <01168>. They all worshiped <01980> <0310> idols that could not <03808> help <03276> them.
9“So <03651>, once more <05750> I will state <07378> my case against <0854> you,” says <05002> the Lord <03068>. “I will also state <07378> it against <0854> your children <01121> and grandchildren <01121>.
10Go <05674> west across <05674> the sea to the coasts <0339> of Cyprus <03794> and see <07200>. Send <07971> someone east to Kedar <06938> and have them look <0995> carefully <03966>. See <07200> if <02005> such a thing as this <02063> has ever happened <01961>:
11Has a nation <01471> ever changed <04171> its gods <0430> (even though they <01992> are not <03808> really gods <0430> at all <03808>)? But my people <05971> have exchanged <04171> me, their glorious <03519> God, for a god <01094> that cannot help <03276> them at all!
12Be amazed <08074> at this <02063>, O heavens <08064>! Be shocked <08175> and utterly <03966> dumbfounded <02717>,” says <05002> the Lord <03068>.
13“Do so because <03588> my people <05971> have committed <06213> a double <08147> wrong <07451>: they have rejected <05800> me, the fountain <04726> of life-giving <02416> water <04325>, and they have dug <02672> cisterns <0877> for themselves, cracked <07665> cisterns <0877> which <0834> cannot <03808> even hold <03557> water <04325>.”
14“Israel <03478> is not a slave <05650>, is he? He was not born <03211> into slavery, was he <01931>? If not, why <04069> then is he being <01961> carried off <0957>?
15Like lions <03715> his enemies roar <07580> victoriously over him; they raise <05414> their voices <06963> in triumph. They have laid <07896> his land <0776> waste <08047>; his cities <05892> have been burned down <03341> and deserted <03427> <01097>.
16Even <01571> the soldiers <01121> from Memphis <05297> and Tahpanhes <08471> have cracked <07462> your skulls <06936>, people of Israel.
17You have brought <06213> all this <02063> on yourself, Israel, by deserting <05800> the Lord <03068> your God <0430> when <06256> he was leading <01980> you along the right path <01870>.
18What <04100> good will it do you then to go down to <01870> Egypt <04714> to seek help <04325> <08354> from the Egyptians? What <04100> good will it do you to go over <01870> to Assyria to seek help <04325> <08354> from the Assyrians <0804>?
19Your own wickedness <07451> will bring about <03256> your punishment <03256>. Your unfaithful acts <04878> will bring down discipline <03198> on you. Know <03045>, then, and realize <07200> how <03588> utterly harmful <04751> <07451> it was for you to reject <05800> me, the Lord <03068> your God <0430>, to show <06345> no <03808> respect <06345> for <0413> me,” says <05002> the Lord <0136> God <03069> who rules over all <06635>.
20“Indeed <03588>, long ago <05769> you threw off <07665> my authority <05923> and refused <05423> to be subject <04147> to me. You said <0559>, ‘I will not <03808> serve <05647> you.’ Instead <03588>, you <0859> gave yourself to other gods on <05921> every <03605> high <01364> hill <01389> and under <08478> every <03605> green <07488> tree <06086>, like a prostitute <02181> sprawls out <06808> before her lovers.
21I <0595> planted <05193> you in the land like a special vine <08321> of the very best <0571> stock <02233>. Why <0349> in the world have you turned <02015> into something like a wild <05237> vine <01612> that produces rotten, foul-smelling grapes <05494>?
22You can try to wash away <03526> your guilt with a strong detergent <05427>. You can use <07235> as much <07235> soap <01287> as you want. But the stain <03799> of your guilt <05771> is still there <06440> for me to see <06440>,” says <05002> the Lord <0136> God <03069>.
23“How <0349> can you say <0559>, ‘I have not <03808> made <02930> myself unclean <02930>. I have not <03808> paid allegiance <01980> to <0310> the gods called Baal <01168>.’ Just look at <07200> the way <01870> you have behaved in the Valley <01516> of Hinnom! Think about <03045> the things <04100> you have done <06213> there! You are like a flighty, young female camel <01072> that rushes <07031> here and there, crisscrossing <08308> its path <01870>.
24You are like a wild female donkey <06501> brought up <03928> in the wilderness <04057>. In her lust <05315> <0185> she sniffs <07602> the wind <07307> to get the scent of a male. No one <04310> can hold <07725> her back <07725> when she is in heat <08385>. None <03808> <03605> of the males need wear <03286> themselves out <03286> chasing after <01245> her. At mating time <02320> she is easy to find <04672>.
25Do not chase after <04513> other gods until your shoes wear out <03182> <07272> and your throats <01637> become dry <06773>. But you say <0559>, ‘It is useless <02976> for you to try and stop me because <03588> I love <0157> those foreign <02114> gods and want to pursue <01980> <0310> them!’
26Just as a thief <01590> has to suffer dishonor <01322> when <03588> he is caught <04672>, so <03651> the people <01004> of Israel <03478> will suffer dishonor <0954> for what they <01992> have done. So will their kings <04428> and officials <08269>, their priests <03548> and their prophets <05030>.
27They say <0559> to a wooden <06086> idol, ‘You <0859> are my father <01>.’ They say to a stone <068> image, ‘You <0859> gave birth <03205> to me.’ Yes <03588>, they have turned away <06437> from <0413> me instead of turning to me. Yet when <06256> they are in trouble <07451>, they say <0559>, ‘Come <06965> and save <03467> us!’
28But where <0346> are the gods <0430> you made <06213> for yourselves? Let them save <03467> you when <06256> you are in trouble <07451>. The sad fact is that <03588> you have as many <04557> gods <0430> as you have towns <05892>, Judah <03063>.
29“Why <04100> do you try to refute <07378> me? All <03605> of you have rebelled <06586> against me,” says <05002> the Lord <03068>.
30“It did no good <07723> for me to punish <05221> your people <01121>. They did not <03808> respond <03947> to such correction <04148>. You slaughtered <0398> your prophets <05030> like a voracious <07843> lion <0738>.”
31You <0859> people of this generation <01755>, listen <07200> to what the Lord <03068> says. “Have I been like <01961> a wilderness <04057> to you, Israel <03478>? Have <0518> I been like a dark <03991> and dangerous land <0776> to you? Why <04069> then do you <05971> say <0559>, ‘We are free to wander <07300>. We will not <03808> come <0935> to <0413> you any more <05750>?’
32Does a young woman <01330> forget <07911> to put on her jewels <05716>? Does a bride <03618> forget to put on her bridal attire <07196>? But my people <05971> have forgotten <07911> me for more <04557> <0369> days <03117> than can even be counted <04557> <0369>.
33“My, how <04100> good <03190> you have become at <01870> chasing <01245> after your lovers <0160>! Why <03651>, you could even <01571> teach <03925> prostitutes <07451> a thing <01870> or two!
34Even <01571> your clothes <03671> are stained <04672> with the lifeblood <05315> <01818> of the poor <034> who had not done anything wrong <05355>; you did not <03808> catch <04672> them breaking <04290> into your homes. Yet <03588>, in spite <05921> of all <03605> these things <0428> you have done,
35you say <0559>, ‘I have not done anything wrong <05352>, so <0389> the Lord cannot really be <07725> angry <0639> with <04480> me any more.’ But, watch out <02005>! I will bring down judgment <08199> on <0854> you because <05921> you say <0559>, ‘I have not <03808> committed <02398> any sin <02398>.’
36Why <04100> do you constantly <03966> go <0235> about changing <08138> your political allegiances <01870>? You will get no help <0954> from Egypt <04714> just as <0834> you got no help <0954> from Assyria <0804>.
37Moreover <01571>, you will come away <03318> from Egypt with your hands <03027> covering <05921> your faces <07218> in sorrow and shame because <03588> the Lord <03068> will not allow <03988> your reliance <04009> on them to be successful <06743> and you will not <03808> gain any help from them.