The Word of YAHWEH1 came to me, saying, 2“Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says YAHWEH, “I remember for you the kindness of your youth, the love of your weddings; how you went after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. 3Israel was holiness to YAHWEH, the first fruits of his increase: all who devour him will be held guilty; evil will come on them,”‘ says YAHWEH.”
4Hear the Word of YAHWEH, O house of Yaqub,2 and all the families of the house of Israel: 5thus says YAHWEH, “What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me, that they have gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? 6Neither did they say, ‘Where is YAHWEH 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 passed through, and where no man lived?’ 7I brought you into a plentiful land, to eat its fruit and its goodness; but when you entered, you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination. 8The priests did not say, ‘Where is YAHWEH?’ And those who handle the Taurat3 did not know me: the rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.”
9“Therefore I will yet contend with you,” says YAHWEH, “and with your children’s children will I contend.” 10For pass over to the isles of Kittim, and see; and send to Qaydar,4 and consider diligently; and see if there has been such a thing. 11Has a nation changed its gods, which really are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.
12“Be astonished, you heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid. Be very desolate,” says YAHWEH. 13“For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the spring of living waters, and cut out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. 14Is Israel a slave? Is he born into slavery? Why has he become a captive? 15The young lions have roared at him, and raised their voices. They have made his land waste; his cities are burned up, without inhabitant. 16The children also of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of your head.
17“Haven’t you brought this on yourself, in that you have forsaken YAHWEH your God,5 when he led you by the way? 18Now what do you gain by going down to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Shihor? Or why will you go the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River?
19“Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backsliding will reprove you: know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing, that you have forsaken YAHWEH your God, and that my fear is not in you,” says the Lord YAHWEH All-Powerful.
20“For long ago I broke your yoke, and burst your bonds; and you said, ‘I will not worship.’ For on every high hill and under every green tree you bowed down, playing the prostitute. 21Yet I had planted you a noble vine, of good and reliable seed: how then have you turned into the degenerate branches of a foreign vine to me? 22For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before me,” says the Lord YAHWEH.
23“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baals’? See your way in the valley, know what you have done: you are a swift dromedary traversing her ways; 24a wild donkey used to the wilderness, that snuffs up the wind in her desire; when she is in heat, who can turn her away? All those who seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they will find her.
25“Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst: but you said, ‘It is in vain; no, for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.’ 26As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets; 27who tell a stock, ‘You are my father;’ and to a stone, ‘You 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.’
28“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, Judah.
29“Why will you contend with me? You all have transgressed against me,” says YAHWEH. 30“In vain I have struck your children; they received no correction: your own sword has devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion. 31O generation, consider the Word of YAHWEH. Have I been a wilderness to Israel? Or a land of thick darkness? Why do my people say, ‘We are broken loose; we will come no more to you’?
32“Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number. 33How you prepare your way to seek love! Therefore you have taught even the wicked women your ways. 34Also the blood of the souls of the innocent poor is found in your skirts. You didn’t find them breaking in, but it is because of all these things.
35“Yet you said, ‘I am innocent; surely his anger is turned away from me.’ Behold, I will enter into judgment with you, because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’ 36Why do you go about so much to change your way? You will be ashamed of Egypt also, as you were ashamed of Assyria. 37From there also you will go forth, with your hands on your head: for YAHWEH has rejected those in whom you trust, and you will not prosper with them.”
- 2:1 YAHWEH, the name God revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15 – God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.” ↩︎
- 2:4 Yaqub, or Jacob, derived from the Hebrew name Ya’akov. An alternative name for the people of Israel. ↩︎
- 2:8 Taurat, an Arabic term derived from the Hebrew word Torah, which means “instruction” or “teaching.” Depending on context, Taurat can refer to,
1. The whole Hebrew Bible contained here under the title Taurat, equivalent to what Jews today call Tanakh, and what Christians call the Old Testament.
2. The revelation given to Prophet Musa, that is, the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, sometimes called the Pentateuch. Pentateuch is a Greek word meaning “five books” and includes Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. These five books are attributed to Prophet Musa himself. This is the traditional and most common meaning given to Taurat or Torah.
3. The Law of Musa found within the Pentateuch, with its hundreds of rules and regulations covering many aspects of daily life for the people of Israel. The most famous of these laws are the Ten Commandments, found in Exodus 20.
4. Taurat can also refer to divine instruction and teaching in general without reference to a particular book of the Hebrew Bible. ↩︎ - 2:10 Qaydar, or Kedar, one of the sons of Ismail or Ishmael. ↩︎
- 2:17 God, English translation of elohim. Elohim (Hebrew) is related to allah (Arabic) and alaha (Syriac), all of which translate as “God,” and refer to the one true God. ↩︎