1And the word of LORD came to me, saying, 2Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus says LORD, I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, how thou went after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. 3Israel [was] holiness to LORD, the first-fruits of his increase. All who devour him shall be held guilty. Evil shall come upon them, says LORD. 4Hear ye the word of LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. 5Thus says LORD: What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me, that they have gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and have become vain? 6Nor did they say, Where is LORD who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought and of the shadow of death, through a land that none pa 7And I brought you into a plentiful land, to eat the fruit of it and the goodness of it. But when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. 8The priests did not say, Where is LORD? and those who handle the law did not know me. The rulers also transgressed against me. And the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. 9Therefore I will yet contend with you, says LORD, and I will contend with your son's sons. 10For pass over to the isles of Kittim, and see, and send to Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there has been such a thing. 11Has a nation changed [its] gods, which yet are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. 12Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid. Be ye very desolate, says LORD. 13For my people have committed two evils: They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. 14Is Israel a servant? Is he a home-born [slave]? Why has he become a prey? 15The young lions have roared upon him, and yelled, and they have made his land waste. His cities are burned up, without inhabitant. 16The sons also of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of thy head. 17Have thou not procured this to thyself, in that thou have forsaken LORD thy God when he led thee by the way? 18And now what have thou to do in the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Shihor? Or what have thou to do in the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River? 19Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee. Know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and a bitter, that thou have forsaken LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, says the Lord, L 20For from old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bonds. And thou said, I will not serve, for upon every high hill and under every green tree thou bowed thyself, playing the harlot. 21Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed. How then have thou turned into the degenerate branches of a foreign vine to me? 22For though thou wash thee with lye, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, says lord LORD. 23How can thou say, I am not defiled; I have not gone after the Baalim? See thy way in the valley. Know what thou have done, a swift dromedary traversing her ways, 24a wild donkey used to the wilderness, that sniffs up the wind in her desire. In her time of estrus who can turn her away? All those who seek her will not weary themselves. In her month they shall find her. 25Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst. But thou said, It is in vain. No, for I have loved strangers, and after them I will go. 26As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed, they, their kings, their rulers, and their priests, and their prophets, 27who say to a block of wood, Thou are my father, and to a stone, Thou have brought me forth. For they have turned their back to me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us. 28But where are thy gods that thou have made thee? Let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble. For according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah. 29Why will ye contend with me? Ye have all transgressed against me, says LORD. 30In vain I have smitten your sons. They received no correction. Your own sword has devoured your prophets like a destroying lion. 31O generation, see ye the word of LORD. Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of thick darkness? Why do my people say, We have broken loose. We will come no more to thee? 32Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number. 33How thou trim thy way to seek love! Therefore even the wicked women thou have taught thy ways. 34Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent poor. Thou did not find them breaking in. But it is because of all these things. 35Yet thou said, I am innocent. Surely his anger is turned away from me. Behold, I will enter into judgment with thee because thou say, I have not sinned. 36Why do thou gad about so much to change thy way? Thou shall be ashamed of Egypt also, as thou were ashamed of Assyria. 37Thou shall also go forth from there with thy hands upon thy head. For LORD has rejected those in whom thou trust. And thou shall not prosper with them.