Jeremiah:2

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* And the word of the Lord came to me , saying : * Go , and cry in the ears of Jerusalem , saying : Thus saith the Lord : I have remembered thee , pitying thy soul , pitying thy youth , and the love of thy espousals , when thou followedst me in the desert , in a land that is not sown . * Israel is holy to the Lord , the first fruits of his increase : all they that devour him offend : evils shall come upon them , saith the Lord . * Hear ye the word of the Lord , O house of Jacob , and all ye families of the house of Israel . * Thus saith the Lord : What iniquity have your fathers found in me , that they are gone far from me , and have walked after vanity , and are become vain ? * And they have not said : Where is the Lord , that made us come up out of the land of Egypt ? that led us through the desert , through a land uninhabited and unpassable , through a land of drought , and the image of death , through a land wherein no man walked , nor any man dwelt ? * And I brought you into the land of Carmel , to eat the fruit thereof , and the best things thereof : ad when ye entered in , you defiled my land , and made my inheritance an abomination . * The priests did not say : Where is the Lord ? and they that held the law knew me not , and the pastors transgressed against me : and the prophets prophesied in Baal , and followed idols . * Therefore will I yet contend in judgement with you , saith the Lord , and I will plead with your children . * Pass over to the isles of Cethim , and see : and send into Cedar , and consider diligently : and see if there hath been done any thing like this . * If a nation hath changed their gods , and indeed they are not gods ,: but my people have changed their glory into an idol . * Be astonished , O ye heavens , at this , and ye gates thereof , be very desolate , saith the Lord . * For my people have done two evils . They have forsaken me , the fountain of living water , and have digged to themselves cisterns , broken cisterns , that can hold no water . * Is Israel a bondman , or a homeborn slave ? why then is he become prey ? * The lions have roared upon him , and have made a noise , they have made his land a wilderness : his cities are burnt down and there is none to dwell in them . * The children also of Memphis , and of Taphnes have deflowered thee , even to the crown of the head . * Hath not this been done to thee , because thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God at that time , when he led thee by the way ? * And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt , to drink the troubled water ? And what hast thou to do with the way of the Assyrians , to drink the water of the river ? * Thy own wickedness shall reprove thee , and thy apostasy shall rebuke thee . Know thou , and see that it is an evil and a bitter thing for thee , to have left the Lord thy God , and that my fear is not with thee , saith the Lord the God of hosts . * Of old time thou hast broken my yoke , thou hast burst my bands , and thou saidst : I will not serve . For on every high hill , and under every green tree thou didst prostitute thyself . * Yet I planted thee a chosen vineyard , all true seed : how then art thou turned unto me into that which is good for nothing , O strange vineyard ? * Though thou wash thyself with nitre , and multiply to thyself the herb borith , thou art stained in thy iniquity before me , saith the Lord God . * How canst thou say : I am not polluted , and I have not walked after Baalim ? see thy ways in the valley , know what thou hast done : as a swift runner pursuing his course . * A wild ass accustomed to the wilderness in the desire of his heart , snuffed up the wind of his love : none shall turn her away : all that seek her shall not fail : in her monthly filth they shall find her . * Keep thy foot from being bare , and thy throat from thirst . But thou saidst : I have lost all hope , I will not do it : for I have loved strangers , and I will walk after them . * As the thief is confounded when he is taken , so is the house of Israel confounded , they and their kings , their princes and their priests , and their prophets . * Saying to a stock : Thou art my father : and to a stone : thou hast begotten me : they have turned their back to me , and not their face : and in the time of their affliction they will say : Arise , and deliver us . * Where are the gods , whom thou hast made thee ? let them arise and deliver thee in the time of thy affliction : for according to the number of thy cities were thy gods , O Juda . * Why will you contend with me in judgement ? you have all forsaken me , saith the Lord . * In vain have I struck your children , they have not received correction : your sword hath devoured your prophets , your generation is like a ravaging lion . * See ye the word of the Lord : Am I become a wilderness to Israel , or a lateward springing land ? why then have my people said : We are revolted , we will come to thee no more . * Will a virgin forget her ornament , or a bride her stomacher ? but my people hath forgotten me days without number . * Why dost thou endeavor to shew thy way good to seek my love , thou who has also taught thy malices to be thy ways , * And in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor and innocent ? not in ditches have I found them , but in all places , which I mentioned before . * And thou hast said : I am without sin and am innocent : and therefore let thy anger be turned away from me . Behold , I will contend with thee in judgement , because thou hast said : I have not sinned . * How exceeding base art thou become , going the same ways over again ! and thou shalt be ashamed of Egypt , as thou wast ashamed of Assyria . * For from thence thou shalt go , and thy hand shall be upon thy head : for the Lord hath destroyed thy trust , and thou shalt have nothing prosperous therein .

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