At the time of his distress, King Ahaz himself became more unfaithful to the Lord.
Jeremiah 2:25 - Christian Standard Bible Anglicised Keep your feet from going bare and your throat from thirst. But you say, ‘It’s hopeless; I love strangers, and I will continue to follow them.’ Tuilleadh leaganachaKing James Version (Oxford) 1769 Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go. Amplified Bible - Classic Edition [Cease from your mad running after idols, from which you get nothing but bitter injury.] Keep your feet from being unshod and your throat from thirst. But you said, It is hopeless! For I have loved strangers and foreigners, and after them I will go. American Standard Version (1901) Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst. But thou saidst, It is in vain; no, for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go. Common English Bible Don’t run about until your feet are blistered and your throat is parched. But you say, “What’s the use? I have fallen in love with foreign gods, and I must pursue them.” Catholic Public Domain Version You should keep your foot from being naked, and your throat from being thirsty. But you have said: 'I have lost hope. I will not do it. For certainly, I have loved strangers, and I will walk after them.' Douay-Rheims version of The Bible - 1752 version Keep thy foot from being bare and thy throat from thirst. But thou saidst: I have lost all hope, I will not do it: for I have loved strangers and I will walk after them. |
At the time of his distress, King Ahaz himself became more unfaithful to the Lord.
He sacrificed to the gods of Damascus which had defeated him; he said, ‘Since the gods of the kings of Aram are helping them, I will sacrifice to them so that they will help me.’ But they were the downfall of him and of all Israel.
For you have abandoned your people, the house of Jacob, because they are full of divination from the East and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines. They are in league with foreigners.
You became weary on your many journeys, but you did not say, ‘It’s hopeless! ’ You found a renewal of your strength; therefore you did not grow weak.
What will you say when he appoints close friends as leaders over you, ones you yourself trained? Won’t labour pains seize you, as they do a woman in labour?
And when you ask yourself, ‘Why have these things happened to me? ’ it is because of your great guilt that your skirts have been stripped off, your body exposed.
This is what the Lord says concerning these people: Truly they love to wander; they never rest their feet. So the Lord does not accept them. Now he will remember their iniquity and punish their sins.
But they will say, “It’s hopeless. We will continue to follow our plans, and each of us will continue to act according to the stubbornness of his evil heart.” ’
Evil generation, pay attention to the word of the Lord! Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why do my people claim, ‘We will go where we want; we will no longer come to you’?
Go up to Lebanon and cry out; raise your voice in Bashan; cry out from Abarim, for all your lovers have been crushed.
I spoke to you when you were secure. You said, ‘I will not listen.’ This has been your way since youth; indeed, you have never listened to me.
Only acknowledge your guilt – you have rebelled against the Lord your God. You have scattered your favours to strangers under every green tree and have not obeyed me. This is the Lord’s declaration.
Instead, we will do everything we promised: we will burn incense to the queen of heaven and offer drink offerings to her just as we, our ancestors, our kings, and our officials did in Judah’s cities and in Jerusalem’s streets. Then we had enough food, we were well off, and we saw no disaster,
She weeps bitterly during the night, with tears on her cheeks. There is no one to offer her comfort, not one from all her lovers. , All her friends have betrayed her; they have become her enemies.
The nursing baby’s tongue clings to the roof of his mouth from thirst. Infants beg for food, but no one gives them any.
‘ “When you say, ‘Let’s be like the nations, like the clans of other countries, serving wood and stone,’ what you have in mind will never happen.
Otherwise, I will strip her naked and expose her as she was on the day of her birth. I will make her like a desert and like a parched land, and I will let her die of thirst.
Yes, their mother is promiscuous; she conceived them and acted shamefully. For she thought, ‘I will follow my lovers, the men who give me my food and water, my wool and flax, my oil and drink.’
You have said, ‘It is useless to serve God. What have we gained by keeping his requirements and walking mournfully before the Lord of Armies?
‘But the father told his servants, “Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.
“Father Abraham! ” he called out, “Have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this flame! ”
Now in this hope we were saved, but hope that is seen is not hope, because who hopes for what he sees?
you will serve your enemies that the Lord will send against you, in famine, thirst, nakedness, and a lack of everything. He will place an iron yoke on your neck until he has destroyed you.
They provoked his jealousy with different gods; they enraged him with detestable practices.