Listen to the word of Jehovah, offspring of Jacob, all the families in the house of Israel.

Israel was dedicated (consecrated) to Jehovah. It was the best part of the harvest. All who consumed it became guilty, and disaster struck them,' says Jehovah.

Jehovah says: What bad thing (injustice) did your fathers find in me that they went so far away from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless (lead astray) themselves.

They did not ask: 'Where is Jehovah who brought us from Egypt? He led us through the desert, through a wasteland and its pits, a land of drought and the shadow of death. No one lives there or travels there.'

I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and its produce. You came and made my land unclean. You made my heritage disgusting.

The priests did not ask: 'Where is Jehovah? Those who deal with my Law did not know me. The rulers rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal and followed things that could not help (profit) them.'

Go over to the coasts of Cyprus (Kittim), and see. Send someone to Kedar and observe closely. See if there has ever been such a thing as this.

That is why I will bring charges against you, proclaims Jehovah, and I will bring charges against your grandchildren.

Be horrified over this, heaven. Be terribly afraid, declares Jehovah.

Jehovah spoke his word to me:

Has any nation ever exchanged gods? Their gods are not really gods. Yet my people have exchanged their glory for something that does not help them.

Men from Noph (Memphis, capital city of Egypt) and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head, Israel.

Your own wickedness will correct you. Your apostasies (unfaithful ways) will punish you! You should know and see how evil and bitter it is for you when you abandon Jehovah your God! You do not respect (reverence) me, says the Sovereign Lord Jehovah of Hosts.

Long ago you broke off your yoke, tore off your bonds, and said that you would not be a slave. You lay down and acted like a prostitute on every high hill and under every large tree.

Are the people of Israel slaves? Were they born into slavery? Why, then, have they become someone's property?

Go and announce to Jerusalem, 'This is what Jehovah says: I remember the unfailing loyalty of your youth, the love you had for me as a bride. I remember how you followed me into the desert, into a land that was not sown (farmed).

I planted you like a choice grapevine from the very best seed. Now you have turned against me and have become a wild vine.

You have done this to yourself by abandoning Jehovah your God when he led you on his way.

Why are you going to Egypt to drink water from the Nile (Shihor) River? You will not gain anything by going to Assyria to drink water from the Euphrates River.

Young lions have roared at them. Young lions have turned the land into waste. The cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.

If you wash with detergent and use a lot of soap, I would still see the stains from your wickedness, says the Lord Jehovah.

Do not run until your feet are bare and your throats are dry. But you say that it is useless. You love foreign gods and follow them.

How can you say, 'I have not been dishonored and have not gone after the Baal gods?' Look how you have behaved in the valley. Acknowledge what you have done. You are like a young camel that swiftly runs here and there.

You are like a wild donkey accustomed to the desert. You sniff at the wind while in heat. All who seek you will not get tired. They will find you during your monthly period.

As a thief feels ashamed when he is caught, so the nation of Israel will feel ashamed. Their kings, princes, priests, and prophets will also feel ashamed.

Where are the gods that you made for yourselves? Let them come and rescue you when you have trouble. You have as many gods as you have cities, Judah!

You call wood your father. You call stone your mother. You turned your backs, not your faces, to me. But when you are in trouble, you ask me to come and rescue you.

Why do you complain about me? You have rebelled against me, proclaims Jehovah.

My people have done two things wrong: (l) They have abandoned me, the fountain (source) of living waters. They have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water. (Revelation 4:11)

A young woman cannot forget her jewelry or a bride her breastband (sash) (girdle). Yet, my people have forgotten me for countless days.

O you people of this generation consider the word of Jehovah! Have I been a wilderness, a land of thick darkness, for Israel? Why do my people say that they are free to wander around and no longer come to me?

You have bloodstains from innocent poor people on your clothes. You did not kill them for breaking in to your home.

You carefully planned ways to look for love. You taught your ways to wicked women.

After all this you say: 'I am innocent. God will turn his anger from me. For I have not sinned.'

I have punished your children without results. They did not respond to correction. You killed my prophets like a raging lion.

You change your mind so easily. You will be shamed by Egypt as you were shamed by Assyria.

You will also leave this place with your hands over your head, because Jehovah has rejected those you trust. They will not help you.