Israel Has Forsaken God

1Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says:

‘I remember the devotion of your youth,

your love as a bride,

how you followed Me in the wilderness,

in a land not sown.

3Israel was holy to the LORD,

the firstfruits of His harvest.

All who devoured her

found themselves guilty;

disaster came upon them,’”

declares the LORD.

4Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all you families of the house of Israel. 5This is what the LORD says:

“What fault did your fathers find in Me

that they strayed so far from Me,

and followed worthless idols,

and became worthless themselves?

6They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD

who brought us up from the land of Egypt,

who led us through the wilderness,

through a land of deserts and pits,

a land of drought and darkness,

a land where no one travels and no one lives?’

7I brought you into a fertile land

to eat its fruit and bounty,

but you came and defiled My land,

and made My inheritance detestable.

8The priests did not ask,

‘Where is the LORD?’

The experts in the law no longer knew Me,

and the leaders rebelled against Me.

The prophets prophesied by Baal

and followed useless idols.

9Therefore, I will contend with you again,

declares the LORD,

and I will bring a case

against your children’s children.

10Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus

and take a look;

send to Kedar and consider carefully;

see if there has ever been anything like this:

11Has a nation ever changed its gods,

though they are no gods at all?

Yet My people have exchanged their Glory

for useless idols.

12Be stunned by this, O heavens;

be shocked and utterly appalled,”

declares the LORD.

13“For My people have committed two evils:

They have forsaken Me,

the fountain of living water,

and they have dug their own cisterns—

broken cisterns that cannot hold water.