Ἱερεμίας 2
The Lord's message came to me, saying,
2 καὶ εἶπεν τάδε λέγει κύριος ἐμνήσθην ἐλέους νεότητός σου καὶ ἀγάπης τελειώσεώς σου τοῦ ἐξακολουθῆσαί σε τῷ ἁγίῳ Ισραηλ λέγει κύριος
Go and announce to the people of Jerusalem that this is what the Lord says: I remember when you were young how devoted to me you were. I remember how you loved me when you were my bride. I remember how you followed me in the desert, in a land where nothing is grown.
3 ἅγιος Ισραηλ τῷ κυρίῳ ἀρχὴ γενημάτων αὐτοῦ πάντες οἱ ἔσθοντες αὐτὸν πλημμελήσουσιν κακὰ ἥξει ἐπ’ αὐτούς φησὶν κύριος
Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest. Anyone who ate this harvest was guilty of sin, and they experienced the disastrous results, declares the Lord.
4 ἀκούσατε λόγον κυρίου οἶκος Ιακωβ καὶ πᾶσα πατριὰ οἴκου Ισραηλ
Listen to the Lord's message, descendants of Jacob, all you Israelites.
5 τάδε λέγει κύριος τί εὕροσαν οἱ πατέρες ὑμῶν ἐν ἐμοὶ πλημμέλημα ὅτι ἀπέστησαν μακρὰν ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ καὶ ἐπορεύθησαν ὀπίσω τῶν ματαίων καὶ ἐματαιώθησαν
This is what the Lord says: What did your forefathers think was wrong with me that they went so far away from me? They went off to worship useless idols, and as a result became useless themselves!
6 καὶ οὐκ εἶπαν ποῦ ἐστιν κύριος ὁ ἀναγαγὼν ἡμᾶς ἐκ γῆς Αἰγύπτου ὁ καθοδηγήσας ἡμᾶς ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ ἐν γῇ ἀπείρῳ καὶ ἀβάτῳ ἐν γῇ ἀνύδρῳ καὶ ἀκάρπῳ ἐν γῇ ἐν ᾗ οὐ διώδευσεν ἐν αὐτῇ οὐθὲν καὶ οὐ κατῴκησεν ἐκεῖ υἱὸς ἀνθρώπου
They didn't ask themselves, “Where is the Lord who led us from Egypt, who led us through the wasteland, through a land of deserts and ravines, a land of drought and darkness, a land that no one travels through and where no one lives?”
7 καὶ εἰσήγαγον ὑμᾶς εἰς τὸν Κάρμηλον τοῦ φαγεῖν ὑμᾶς τοὺς καρποὺς αὐτοῦ καὶ τὰ ἀγαθὰ αὐτοῦ καὶ εἰσήλθατε καὶ ἐμιάνατε τὴν γῆν μου καὶ τὴν κληρονομίαν μου ἔθεσθε εἰς βδέλυγμα
I led you into a productive land to eat all the good things that grow there. But you came and made my land unclean, making it offensive to me.
8 οἱ ἱερεῖς οὐκ εἶπαν ποῦ ἐστιν κύριος καὶ οἱ ἀντεχόμενοι τοῦ νόμου οὐκ ἠπίσταντό με καὶ οἱ ποιμένες ἠσέβουν εἰς ἐμέ καὶ οἱ προφῆται ἐπροφήτευον τῇ Βααλ καὶ ὀπίσω ἀνωφελοῦς ἐπορεύθησαν
Your priests did not ask, “Where is the Lord?” Your teachers of the law no longer believed in me, and your leaders rebelled against me. Your prophets prophesied by calling on Baal and followed worthless idols.
9 διὰ τοῦτο ἔτι κριθήσομαι πρὸς ὑμᾶς λέγει κύριος καὶ πρὸς τοὺς υἱοὺς τῶν υἱῶν ὑμῶν κριθήσομαι
So I'm going to confront you again, declares the Lord, and I will bring charges against your children's children.
10 διότι διέλθετε εἰς νήσους Χεττιιμ καὶ ἴδετε καὶ εἰς Κηδαρ ἀποστείλατε καὶ νοήσατε σφόδρα καὶ ἴδετε εἰ γέγονεν τοιαῦτα
Travel over to the islands of Cyprus and take a look; go to the land of Kedar and examine carefully to see if anything like this has ever happened before.
11 εἰ ἀλλάξονται ἔθνη θεοὺς αὐτῶν καὶ οὗτοι οὔκ εἰσιν θεοί ὁ δὲ λαός μου ἠλλάξατο τὴν δόξαν αὐτοῦ ἐξ ἧς οὐκ ὠφεληθήσονται
Has a nation ever changed its gods? —even though they're not gods at all! Yet my people have traded their glorious God for worthless idols.
12 ἐξέστη ὁ οὐρανὸς ἐπὶ τούτῳ καὶ ἔφριξεν ἐπὶ πλεῖον σφόδρα λέγει κύριος
You heavens, you should be appalled, shocked and horrified! declares the Lord.
13 ὅτι δύο πονηρὰ ἐποίησεν ὁ λαός μου ἐμὲ ἐγκατέλιπον πηγὴν ὕδατος ζωῆς καὶ ὤρυξαν ἑαυτοῖς λάκκους συντετριμμένους οἳ οὐ δυνήσονται ὕδωρ συνέχειν
For my people have done two evil things. They have abandoned me, the source of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that can't hold water.
14 μὴ δοῦλός ἐστιν Ισραηλ ἢ οἰκογενής ἐστιν διὰ τί εἰς προνομὴν ἐγένετο
Are Israelites slaves? Were they born into slavery? So why have they become victims?
15 ἐπ’ αὐτὸν ὠρύοντο λέοντες καὶ ἔδωκαν τὴν φωνὴν αὐτῶν οἳ ἔταξαν τὴν γῆν αὐτοῦ εἰς ἔρημον καὶ αἱ πόλεις αὐτοῦ κατεσκάφησαν παρὰ τὸ μὴ κατοικεῖσθαι
The young lions roared at you; they growled loudly. They have devastated your country; your towns lie in ruins. No one lives there.
16 καὶ υἱοὶ Μέμφεως καὶ Ταφνας ἔγνωσάν σε καὶ κατέπαιζόν σου
The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved your heads.
17 οὐχὶ ταῦτα ἐποίησέν σοι τὸ καταλιπεῖν σε ἐμέ λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός σου
Didn't you bring this on yourself by abandoning the Lord your God when he was leading you in the right way?
18 καὶ νῦν τί σοι καὶ τῇ ὁδῷ Αἰγύπτου τοῦ πιεῖν ὕδωρ Γηων καὶ τί σοι καὶ τῇ ὁδῷ Ἀσσυρίων τοῦ πιεῖν ὕδωρ ποταμῶν
Now what will you benefit as you travel back to Egypt to drink the waters of Shihor River? What will you gain on your way to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates River?
19 παιδεύσει σε ἡ ἀποστασία σου καὶ ἡ κακία σου ἐλέγξει σε καὶ γνῶθι καὶ ἰδὲ ὅτι πικρόν σοι τὸ καταλιπεῖν σε ἐμέ λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός σου καὶ οὐκ εὐδόκησα ἐπὶ σοί λέγει κύριος ὁ θεός σου
Your own wickedness will discipline you; your own disobedience will teach you a lesson. Think about it and you'll recognize what a bitter evil it is for you to abandon the Lord your God and not to respect me, declares the Lord God Almighty.
20 ὅτι ἀπ’ αἰῶνος συνέτριψας τὸν ζυγόν σου διέσπασας τοὺς δεσμούς σου καὶ εἶπας οὐ δουλεύσω ἀλλὰ πορεύσομαι ἐπὶ πᾶν βουνὸν ὑψηλὸν καὶ ὑποκάτω παντὸς ξύλου κατασκίου ἐκεῖ διαχυθήσομαι ἐν τῇ πορνείᾳ μου
You broke off your yoke and ripped off your chains long ago. “I won't worship you!” you declared. On the contrary, you lay down like a prostitute on every high hill and under every green tree.
21 ἐγὼ δὲ ἐφύτευσά σε ἄμπελον καρποφόρον πᾶσαν ἀληθινήν πῶς ἐστράφης εἰς πικρίαν ἡ ἄμπελος ἡ ἀλλοτρία
I was the one who planted you like the finest vine, grown from the very best seed. How could you degenerate into a useless wild vine?
22 ἐὰν ἀποπλύνῃ ἐν νίτρῳ καὶ πληθύνῃς σεαυτῇ πόαν κεκηλίδωσαι ἐν ταῖς ἀδικίαις σου ἐναντίον ἐμοῦ λέγει κύριος
Even bleach and plenty of soap can't get rid of your guilty stains. I still see them, declares the Lord God.
23 πῶς ἐρεῖς οὐκ ἐμιάνθην καὶ ὀπίσω τῆς Βααλ οὐκ ἐπορεύθην ἰδὲ τὰς ὁδούς σου ἐν τῷ πολυανδρίῳ καὶ γνῶθι τί ἐποίησας ὀψὲ φωνὴ αὐτῆς ὠλόλυξεν τὰς ὁδοὺς αὐτῆς
How dare you say, “I'm not unclean! I haven't gone to worship the Baals!” Look at what you've been doing down in the valley. Admit what you've done! You're a young female camel, racing around everywhere.
24 ἐπλάτυνεν ἐφ’ ὕδατα ἐρήμου ἐν ἐπιθυμίαις ψυχῆς αὐτῆς ἐπνευματοφορεῖτο παρεδόθη τίς ἐπιστρέψει αὐτήν πάντες οἱ ζητοῦντες αὐτὴν οὐ κοπιάσουσιν ἐν τῇ ταπεινώσει αὐτῆς εὑρήσουσιν αὐτήν
You're a female donkey living in the desert, sniffing the wind for a mate because she's in heat. No one can control her at mating time. All those who're looking for her won't have trouble finding her when she's in heat.
25 ἀπόστρεψον τὸν πόδα σου ἀπὸ ὁδοῦ τραχείας καὶ τὸν φάρυγγά σου ἀπὸ δίψους ἡ δὲ εἶπεν ἀνδριοῦμαι ὅτι ἠγαπήκει ἀλλοτρίους καὶ ὀπίσω αὐτῶν ἐπορεύετο
You don't have to run around barefoot or have your throat go dry. But you reply, “No, it's impossible! I'm in love with foreign gods—I must go to them.”
26 ὡς αἰσχύνη κλέπτου ὅταν ἁλῷ οὕτως αἰσχυνθήσονται οἱ υἱοὶ Ισραηλ αὐτοὶ καὶ οἱ βασιλεῖς αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ ἄρχοντες αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς αὐτῶν καὶ οἱ προφῆται αὐτῶν
In the same way that a thief feels guilty when they're caught, so the people of Israel have been shamed. All of them—their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets.
27 τῷ ξύλῳ εἶπαν ὅτι πατήρ μου εἶ σύ καὶ τῷ λίθῳ σὺ ἐγέννησάς με καὶ ἔστρεψαν ἐπ’ ἐμὲ νῶτα καὶ οὐ πρόσωπα αὐτῶν καὶ ἐν τῷ καιρῷ τῶν κακῶν αὐτῶν ἐροῦσιν ἀνάστα καὶ σῶσον ἡμᾶς
They say to an idol made of wood, “You are my father,” and one made of stone, “You gave birth to me.” They turn their backs on me, and hide their faces from me. But when they're in trouble they come begging to me, saying, “Please come and save us!”
28 καὶ ποῦ εἰσιν οἱ θεοί σου οὓς ἐποίησας σεαυτῷ εἰ ἀναστήσονται καὶ σώσουσίν σε ἐν καιρῷ τῆς κακώσεώς σου ὅτι κατ’ ἀριθμὸν τῶν πόλεών σου ἦσαν θεοί σου Ιουδα καὶ κατ’ ἀριθμὸν διόδων τῆς Ιερουσαλημ ἔθυον τῇ Βααλ
So where are these “gods” of yours that you made for yourselves? Let them come and help you when you're in trouble! Let them save you if they can, because you Israelites have as many gods as you have towns.
29 ἵνα τί λαλεῖτε πρός με πάντες ὑμεῖς ἠσεβήσατε καὶ πάντες ὑμεῖς ἠνομήσατε εἰς ἐμέ λέγει κύριος
Why are you complaining to me? It's all of you who have all rebelled against me! declares the Lord.
30 μάτην ἐπάταξα τὰ τέκνα ὑμῶν παιδείαν οὐκ ἐδέξασθε μάχαιρα κατέφαγεν τοὺς προφήτας ὑμῶν ὡς λέων ὀλεθρεύων καὶ οὐκ ἐφοβήθητε
It was pointless of me to punish your children because they refused to accept any discipline. You used your own swords to kill your prophets, destroying them like a ferocious lion.
31 ἀκούσατε λόγον κυρίου τάδε λέγει κύριος μὴ ἔρημος ἐγενόμην τῷ Ισραηλ ἢ γῆ κεχερσωμένη διὰ τί εἶπεν ὁ λαός μου οὐ κυριευθησόμεθα καὶ οὐχ ἥξομεν πρὸς σὲ ἔτι
You people of today, think about what the Lord is saying: Israel, have I treated you like an empty desert, or a land of thick darkness? Why are my people saying, “We can go where we like! We don't have to come and worship you any more”?
32 μὴ ἐπιλήσεται νύμφη τὸν κόσμον αὐτῆς καὶ παρθένος τὴν στηθοδεσμίδα αὐτῆς ὁ δὲ λαός μου ἐπελάθετό μου ἡμέρας ὧν οὐκ ἔστιν ἀριθμός
Does a girl forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding dress? Yet my people have forgotten me for too many years to count.
33 τί ἔτι καλὸν ἐπιτηδεύσεις ἐν ταῖς ὁδοῖς σου τοῦ ζητῆσαι ἀγάπησιν οὐχ οὕτως ἀλλὰ καὶ σὺ ἐπονηρεύσω τοῦ μιᾶναι τὰς ὁδούς σου
How cleverly you look for your lovers! Even prostitutes could learn something from you!
34 καὶ ἐν ταῖς χερσίν σου εὑρέθησαν αἵματα ψυχῶν ἀθῴων οὐκ ἐν διορύγμασιν εὗρον αὐτούς ἀλλ’ ἐπὶ πάσῃ δρυί
On top of that, your clothes are stained with the blood of the poor and the innocent. It's not like you killed them breaking into your homes. Despite all this,
35 καὶ εἶπας ἀθῷός εἰμι ἀλλὰ ἀποστραφήτω ὁ θυμὸς αὐτοῦ ἀπ’ ἐμοῦ ἰδοὺ ἐγὼ κρίνομαι πρὸς σὲ ἐν τῷ λέγειν σε οὐχ ἥμαρτον
you go on saying, “I'm innocent! Surely he can't still be upset with me!” Watch out! I'm going to punish you because you go on saying, “I haven't sinned.”
36 τί κατεφρόνησας σφόδρα τοῦ δευτερῶσαι τὰς ὁδούς σου καὶ ἀπὸ Αἰγύπτου καταισχυνθήσῃ καθὼς κατῃσχύνθης ἀπὸ Ασσουρ
You're just so fickle—you keep on changing your mind! You will end up just as disappointed by your alliance with Egypt as you were with Assyria.
37 ὅτι καὶ ἐντεῦθεν ἐξελεύσῃ καὶ αἱ χεῖρές σου ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς σου ὅτι ἀπώσατο κύριος τὴν ἐλπίδα σου καὶ οὐκ εὐοδωθήσῃ ἐν αὐτῇ
In fact you will go into exile with your hands on your head as prisoners, because the Lord will have nothing to do with those you trust; they will be no help to you.
