1 The Lord spoke his word to me,
2 “Go and announce to Jerusalem,‘This is what the Lord 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 couldn’t be farmed.
3 Israel was set apart for the Lord.It was the best part of the harvest.All who devoured it became guilty,and disaster struck them,’” declares the Lord.
4 Listen to the word of the Lord, descendants of Jacob,all the families in the nation of Israel.
5 This is what the Lord says:What did your ancestors find wrong with methat they went so far away from me?They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.
6 They didn’t ask, “Where is the Lord,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.”