"Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, 'Thus says the LORD: "I remember you, The kindness of your youth, The love of your betrothal, When you went after Me in the wilderness, In a land not sown.
Neither did they say, 'Where [is] the LORD, Who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, Who led us through the 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?'
I brought you into a bountiful country, To eat its fruit and its goodness. But when you entered, you defiled My land And made My heritage an abomination.
The priests did not say, 'Where [is] the LORD?' And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me; The prophets prophesied by Baal, And walked after [things that] do not profit.
"For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, [And] hewn themselves cisterns -- broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Your own wickedness will correct 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.
" For of old I have broken your yoke [and] burst your bonds; And you said, 'I will not transgress,' When on every high hill and under every green tree You lay down, playing the harlot.
"How 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,
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.
Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst. But you said, 'There is no hope. No! For I have loved aliens, and after them I will go.'
" 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 prophets,
Saying to a tree, 'You [are] my father,' And to a stone, 'You gave birth to me.' 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.'
But where [are] your gods that you have made for yourselves? Let them arise, If they can save you in the time of your trouble; For [according to] the number of your cities Are your gods, O Judah.
"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; We will come no more to You'?
Yet you say, 'Because I am innocent, Surely His anger shall turn from me.' Behold, I will plead My case against you, Because you say, 'I have not sinned.'