Jeremiah 2
1 Yahweh gave me another message
| ויהי דבר יהוה אלי לאמר |
2 [to proclaim to everyone in Jerusalem. He said that I should tell them this] [MET]: “I, Yahweh, remember that you very much wanted to please me [long ago]. [You tried to please me like] a bride [tries to please her husband]; You loved me, and you followed me through the desert [DOU].
| הלך וקראת באזני ירושלם לאמר כה אמר יהוה זכרתי לך חסד נעוריך אהבת כלולתיך--לכתך אחרי במדבר בארץ לא זרועה |
3 [At that time you] Israelis (were set apart/belonged only) to me; [you belonged to me like] the first part of the harvests belong to me [MET]. I promised to punish all those who harmed you, my people, and truly I did send disasters on them. [That happened because I], Yahweh, said [that it would happen].”
| קדש ישראל ליהוה ראשית תבואתה כל אכליו יאשמו רעה תבא אליהם נאם יהוה |
4 So, you [descendants of] [MTY] Jacob, all you people of [MTY] Israel,
| שמעו דבר יהוה בית יעקב וכל משפחות בית ישראל |
5 listen to what Yahweh says: “(What sin did I commit [RHQ] that caused your ancestors to turn far away from me?/Though your ancestors found no fault in me, they turned far away from me.) They worshiped worthless idols, and they themselves became worthless.
| כה אמר יהוה מה מצאו אבותיכם בי עול--כי רחקו מעלי וילכו אחרי ההבל ויהבלו |
6 They did not say, ‘Yahweh brought us [safely] out of Egypt, and he led us through a desert where there were a lot of pits; he led us where there was no water and where it was very dangerous, through a land where no one lives, and no one even travels. (So where is Yahweh now?/So he should be helping us now!) [RHQ]’
| ולא אמרו--איה יהוה המעלה אתנו מארץ מצרים המוליך אתנו במדבר בארץ ערבה ושוחה בארץ ציה וצלמות--בארץ לא עבר בה איש ולא ישב אדם שם |
7 And when I brought you into a very fertile land, in order that you could enjoy [all] the fruit and [other] good things that you would harvest, you caused the land that I promised to give to you to be unfit for me and to become disgusting/detestable to me.
| ואביא אתכם אל ארץ הכרמל לאכל פריה וטובה ותבאו ותטמאו את ארצי ונחלתי שמתם לתועבה |
8 [Your] priests also did not say, ‘(Where is Yahweh now?/Yahweh should be helping us now!)’ [RHQ] Those who teach/explain my laws do not [want to] know me, and [your] leaders have rebelled against me. [Your] prophets gave you messages from [their god] Baal, and they worship worthless idols.”
| הכהנים לא אמרו איה יהוה ותפשי התורה לא ידעוני והרעים פשעו בי והנבאים נבאו בבעל ואחרי לא יועלו הלכו |
9 “So, I will accuse you in court. [In future years], I will say what your children and your grandchildren have done that is wrong. [That will happen because I], Yahweh, have said [that it will happen].
| לכן עד אריב אתכם--נאם יהוה ואת בני בניכם אריב |
10 If you go [west] to the island of Cyprus, or if you go [east] to Kedar [land, ] and if you ask people in those places, they will tell you that no people [from their countries] have ever done the wicked things that you people have done!
| כי עברו איי כתיים וראו וקדר שלחו והתבוננו מאד וראו הן היתה כזאת |
11 The people of no other nation have ever [RHQ] abandoned their gods that they thought were glorious and started to worship gods that are not really gods, but you people have abandoned me, your glorious God, and are worshiping gods that are useless.
| ההימיר גוי אלהים והמה לא אלהים ועמי המיר כבודו בלוא יועיל |
12 [It is as though everything in] the sky is surprised and dismayed/appalled [about what you have done]; [it is as though] they tremble because they are very horrified.
| שמו שמים על זאת ושערו חרבו מאד נאם יהוה |
13 [You], my people, have done two evil things: You have rejected me, the one who is [like] [MET] a fountain [where you can obtain] fresh water, and you [are worshiping gods that are like] [MET] pits in the ground that are cracked and which are not able to hold any water.
| כי שתים רעות עשה עמי אתי עזבו מקור מים חיים לחצב להם בארות--בארת נשברים אשר לא יכלו המים |
14 You Israeli people, you were certainly not [RHQ] slaves when you were born; you were captured [by your enemies].
| העבד ישראל--אם יליד בית הוא מדוע היה לבז |
15 [Your enemies] [MET] roared [like] lions, and they destroyed your land. [Now] your towns have been burned, and no one lives in them.
| עליו ישאגו כפרים נתנו קולם וישיתו ארצו לשמה עריו נצתה (נצתו) מבלי ישב |
16 Soldiers from Memphis and Tahpenes, [cities in Egypt], have [defeated you] [and] shaved your heads [to show that you are their slaves].
| גם בני נף ותחפנס (ותחפנחס) ירעוך קדקד |
17 But it is [RHQ] because you abandoned [me], Yahweh, that these disasters have happened to you.
| הלוא זאת תעשה לך עזבך את יהוה אלהיך בעת מולכך בדרך |
18 So (why are you trying to make an alliance with [MET] the rulers of Egypt?/it certainly will not help you to make an alliance with the rulers of Egypt) [RHQ]. Why are you trying to make an alliance with [MET] the rulers of Assyria who live near the [Euphrates] River?
| ועתה מה לך לדרך מצרים לשתות מי שחור ומה לך לדרך אשור לשתות מי נהר |
19 [It is because] you have been [very] wicked that I [PRS] will punish you. It is because you have turned away from me that I [PRS] will condemn you. [When I do that], you will realize that painful and evil [DOU] things will happen to you because you have forsaken [me], Yahweh, your God, and you no [longer] revere me. [That will certainly happen because] I, Yahweh, the Commander of the armies of angels in heaven, have said it.
| תיסרך רעתך ומשבותיך תוכחך ודעי וראי כי רע ומר עזבך את יהוה אלהיך ולא פחדתי אליך נאם אדני יהוה צבאות |
20 Long ago, you stopped obeying [me] [MET], and you would not allow [me] to lead you [MET]; you refused to worship [me]. Instead, you worship idols that are under trees on the top of every hill, and your young women have sex with [EUP] [men at those places].
| כי מעולם שברתי עלך נתקתי מוסרותיך ותאמרי לא אעבוד (אעבור) כי על כל גבעה גבהה ותחת כל עץ רענן את צעה זנה |
21 [It is as though] [MET] you were a grapevine that I planted when it was a cutting from a very good vine. So now it is disgusting that [RHQ] you have become [like] a rotten worthless vine.
| ואנכי נטעתיך שורק כלה זרע אמת ואיך נהפכת לי סורי הגפן נכריה |
22 Your guilt from your sins is like [MET] very bad stains on a cloth, and you cannot get rid of those stains even by using very strong soap. [This is true because I], Yahweh, have said it.
| כי אם תכבסי בנתר ותרבי לך ברית--נכתם עונך לפני נאם אדני יהוה |
23 You say that you have not sinned. You say ‘We have not become unacceptable to God; we have not worshiped Baal.’ But think about [the disgusting things that you do very eagerly] in [Hinnom] Valley [outside Jerusalem]. You are like desperate female camels, running here and there [to find male camels to have sex with].
| איך תאמרי לא נטמאתי אחרי הבעלים לא הלכתי--ראי דרכך בגיא דעי מה עשית בכרה קלה משרכת דרכיה |
24 You are [like] wild female donkeys in the desert. They sniff the air to find where the male donkeys are, and no one can [RHQ] restrain them. The male donkeys that want them do not become tired searching for them, because at mating time they find them [easily].
| פרה למד מדבר באות נפשו (נפשה) שאפה רוח--תאנתה מי ישיבנה כל מבקשיה לא ייעפו בחדשה ימצאונה |
25 You constantly run here and there [to find idols to worship], with the result that your sandals are worn out, and your throats have become dry. [I told you to stop doing that], but you said, ‘We cannot stop, because we love foreign gods, and we must worship them.’”
| מנעי רגלך מיחף וגורנך (וגרונך) מצמאה ותאמרי נואש--לוא כי אהבתי זרים ואחריהם אלך |
26 [Yahweh says this]: “A robber is disgraced when he is caught. And all of you, including your kings and priests and prophets, are similarly disgraced.
| כבשת גנב כי ימצא כן הבישו בית ישראל המה מלכיהם שריהם וכהניהם ונביאיהם |
27 You say to [a piece of] wood [that is carved to become a sacred idol], ‘You are our father!’ And you say to a stone [that you have set up], ‘You are our mother!’ You have rejected [IDM] me, but when you experience troubles, you cry out to me to rescue you.
| אמרים לעץ אבי אתה ולאבן את ילדתני (ילדתנו) כי פנו אלי ערף ולא פנים ובעת רעתם יאמרו קומה והושיענו |
28 Why do you not [RHQ] cry out to the gods that you made? You have as many gods as you have cities [and towns] in Judah. So why do you not plead with them to rescue you when you experience disasters?
| ואיה אלהיך אשר עשית לך--יקומו אם יושיעוך בעת רעתך כי מספר עריך היו אלהיך יהודה |
29 You complain that it was wrong for me [not to have rescued you], but you have all rebelled against me.
| למה תריבו אלי כלכם פשעתם בי נאם יהוה |
30 I punished some of you, but you did not learn anything from my doing that. You have killed many of the prophets that I [sent to you], like [SIM] fierce lions kill [other animals].
| לשוא הכיתי את בניכם מוסר לא לקחו אכלה חרבכם נביאיכם כאריה משחית |
31 You people of Israel, pay attention to what I say. I have certainly [RHQ] never [abandoned you] in a desert; I have never [left you] in a land full of darkness. So, why do you, my people, say ‘We are free from God’s control; we will not return to [worship] God any more’?
| הדור אתם ראו דבר יהוה המדבר הייתי לישראל אם ארץ מאפליה מדוע אמרו עמי רדנו--לוא נבוא עוד אליך |
32 A young woman would certainly never [RHQ] forget [to wear] her jewelry, and a bride would never [RHQ] forget to wear her wedding dress, but you my people have forgotten me for many years.
| התשכח בתולה עדיה כלה קשריה ועמי שכחוני ימים אין מספר |
33 You know how to easily find [gods from other countries] whom you can love. You can find them as easily as a prostitute [can find men to sleep with].
| מה תיטבי דרכך לבקש אהבה לכן גם את הרעות למדתי (למדת) את דרכיך |
34 Although you have on your clothes the blood of poor people whom you have murdered, people who (were innocent/had not done things that are wrong),
| גם בכנפיך נמצאו דם נפשות אביונים נקיים לא במחתרת מצאתים כי על כל אלה |
35 you say ‘We have not done anything that is wrong; so surely [Yahweh] is not angry with us.’ But I will punish [MTY] you [severely] for saying ‘We have not sinned.’
| ותאמרי כי נקיתי אך שב אפו ממני הנני נשפט אותך על אמרך לא חטאתי |
36 Previously you requested [the army of] Assyria to help you, but they were not able to help you. Now you have requested [the army of] Egypt to help you, but they will not be able to help you, either.
| מה תזלי מאד לשנות את דרכך גם ממצרים תבשי כאשר בשת מאשור |
37 They will capture you, and you will be [their prisoners] [MTY], led to Egypt, [very ashamed] with your hands on your heads. That will happen because I, Yahweh, have rejected those [nations] that you are relying on, and they will not be able to help you at all.”
| גם מאת זה תצאי וידיך על ראשך כי מאס יהוה במבטחיך ולא תצליחי להם |
