This word of the LORD came to me:
Go, cry... out this message for Jerusalem to hear! I remember the devotion of your youth, how you loved me as a bride, Following me in the desert, in a land unsown.
Sacred to the LORD was Israel, the first fruits of his harvest; Should anyone presume to partake of them, evil would befall him, says the LORD.
When I brought you into the garden land to eat its goodly fruits, You entered and defiled my land, you made my heritage loathsome.
The priests asked not, "Where is the LORD?" Those who dealt with the law knew me not: the shepherds rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, and went after useless idols.
Be amazed at this, O heavens, and shudder with sheer horror, says the LORD.
Two evils have my people done: they have forsaken me, the source of living waters; They have dug themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that hold no water.
Psalms 36(35),6-7ab.8-9.10-11.
O LORD, your mercy reaches to heaven;
your... faithfulness, to the clouds.
Your justice is like the mountains of God;
your judgments, like the mighty deep.
How precious is your mercy, O God!
The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They have their fill of the prime gifts of your house;
from your delightful stream you give them to drink.
For with you is the fountain of life,
and in your light we see light.
Keep up your mercy toward your friends,
your just defense of the upright of heart.
