God’s Case Against Israel
Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord:
“I remember you,
The kindness of your ayouth,
The love of your betrothal,
bWhen you went after Me in the wilderness,
In a land not sown.
3 aIsrael was holiness to the Lord,
bThe firstfruits of His increase.
cAll that devour him will offend;
Disaster will dcome upon them,” says the Lord.’ ”
4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord:
a“What injustice have your fathers found in Me,
That they have gone far from Me,
bHave followed idols,
And have become idolaters?
6 Neither did they say, ‘Where is the Lord,
Who abrought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who led us through bthe wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and pits,
Through a land of drought and the shadow of death,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no one dwelt?’
7 I brought you into aa bountiful country,
To eat its fruit and its goodness.
But when you entered, you bdefiled My land
And made My heritage an abomination.
8 The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the alaw did not know Me;
The rulers also transgressed against Me;
bThe prophets prophesied by Baal,
And walked after things that do not profit.
9 “Therefore aI will yet bring charges against you,” says the Lord,
“And against your children’s children I will bring charges.
10 For pass beyond the coasts of Cyprus and see,
Send to Kedar and consider diligently,
And see if there has been such a athing.
11 aHas a nation changed its gods,
Which are bnot gods?
cBut My people have changed their Glory
For what does not profit.
12 Be astonished, O heavens, at this,
And be horribly afraid;
Be very desolate,” says the Lord.
13 “For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the afountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.
14 “Is Israel aa servant?
Is he a homeborn slave?
Why is he plundered?
15 aThe young lions roared at him, and growled;
They made his land waste;
His cities are burned, without inhabitant.
16 Also the people of Noph and aTahpanhes
Have broken the crown of your head.
17 aHave you not brought this on yourself,
In that you have forsaken the Lord your God
When bHe led you in the way?
18 And now why take athe road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of bSihor?
Or why take the road to cAssyria,
To drink the waters of the River?
19 Your own wickedness will acorrect you,
And your backslidings will rebuke you.
Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing
That you have forsaken the Lord your God,
And the fear of Me is not in you,”
Says the Lord God of hosts.
20 “For of old I have abroken your yoke and burst your bonds;
And byou said, ‘I will not transgress,’
When con every high hill and under every green tree
You lay down, dplaying the harlot.
21 Yet I had aplanted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality.
How then have you turned before Me
Into bthe degenerate plant of an alien vine?
22 For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap,
Yet your iniquity is amarked before Me,” says the Lord God.
23 “Howa can you say, ‘I am not polluted,
I have not gone after the Baals’?
See your way in the valley;
Know what you have done:
You are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways,
24 A wild donkey used to the wilderness,
That sniffs at the wind in her desire;
In her time of mating, who can turn her away?
All those who seek her will not weary themselves;
In her month they will find her.
25 Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst.
But you said, a‘There is no hope.
No! For I have loved baliens, and after them I will go.’
26 “As the thief is ashamed when he is found out,
So is the house of Israel ashamed;
They and their kings and their princes, and their priests and their aprophets,
27 Saying to a tree, ‘You are my father,’
And to a astone, ‘You gave birth to me.’
For they have turned their back to Me, and not their face.
But in the time of their btrouble
They will say, ‘Arise and save us.’
28 But awhere are your gods that you have made for yourselves?
Let them arise,
If they bcan save you in the time of your trouble;
For caccording to the number of your cities
Are your gods, O Judah.
29 “Why will you plead with Me?
You all have transgressed against Me,” says the Lord.
30 “In vain I have achastened your children;
They breceived no correction.
Your sword has cdevoured your prophets
Like a destroying lion.
31 “O generation, see the word of the Lord!
Have I been a wilderness to Israel,
Or a land of darkness?
Why do My people say, ‘We are lords;
aWe will come no more to You’?
32 Can a virgin forget her ornaments,
Or a bride her attire?
Yet My people ahave forgotten Me days without number.
33 “Why do you beautify your way to seek love?
Therefore you have also taught
The wicked women your ways.
34 Also on your skirts is found
aThe blood of the lives of the poor innocents.
I have not found it by secret search,
But plainly on all these things.
35 aYet you say, ‘Because I am innocent,
Surely His anger shall turn from me.’
Behold, bI will plead My case against you,
cBecause you say, ‘I have not sinned.’
36 aWhy do you gad about so much to change your way?
Also byou shall be ashamed of Egypt cas you were ashamed of Assyria.
37 Indeed you will go forth from him
With your hands on ayour head;
For the Lord has rejected your trusted allies,
And you will bnot prosper by them.
The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson.
All rights reserved.