Jeremiah 2 · WEB
God's Indictment of Unfaithful Israel
Listen — WEB narration 0:00 / 0:00 Narration: World English Bible (David Williams), public domain — AudioTreasure.
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The word of Yahweh came to me, saying,
2"Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, 'Yahweh says, "I remember for you the kindness of your youth, the love of your weddings, how you went after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
3Israel was holiness to Yahweh, the first fruits of his increase. All who devour him will be held guilty. Evil will come on them,"' says Yahweh."
4Hear Yahweh's word, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel!
5Yahweh says, "What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me, that they have gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and have become vain?
6They didn't say, 'Where is Yahweh who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought and of the shadow of death, through a land that no one passed through, and where no man lived?'
7I brought you into a plentiful land to eat its fruit and its goodness; but when you entered, you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination.
8The priests didn't say, 'Where is Yahweh?' and those who handle the law didn't know me. The rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
9"Therefore I will yet contend with you," says Yahweh, "and I will contend with your children's children.
10For pass over to the islands of Kittim, and see. Send to Kedar, and consider diligently, and see whether there has been such a thing.
11Has a nation changed its gods, which really are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.
12"Be astonished, you heavens, at this and be horribly afraid. Be very desolate," says Yahweh.
13"For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the spring of living waters, and cut out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
14Is Israel a servant? Is he a born slave? Why has he become a prey?
15The young lions have roared at him and raised their voices. They have made his land waste. His cities are burned, without inhabitant.
16The children also of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of your head.
17"Haven't you brought this on yourself, in that you have forsaken Yahweh your God, when he led you by the way?
18Now what have you to do in the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Shihor? Or what have you to do in the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River?
19"Your own wickedness will correct you, and your backsliding will reprove you. Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing, that you have forsaken Yahweh your God, and that my fear is not in you," says the Lord, Yahweh of Armies.
20"For long ago I broke your yoke and burst your bonds. You said, 'I will not serve;' for on every high hill and under every green tree you bowed yourself, playing the prostitute.
21Yet I had planted you a noble vine, wholly a right seed. How then have you turned into the degenerate branches of a foreign vine to me?
22For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before me," says the Lord Yahweh.
23"How can you say, 'I am not defiled. I have not gone after the Baals'? See your way in the valley. Know what you have done. You are a swift dromedary traversing her ways,
24a wild donkey used to the wilderness, that sniffs the wind in her desire. In her occasion, who can turn her away? All those who seek her will not weary themselves. In her month, they will find her.
25"Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst. But you said, 'It is in vain. No, for I have loved strangers, and I will go after them.'
26As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so the house of Israel is ashamed-- they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets,
27who tell wood, 'You are my father,' and a stone, 'You have given birth to me,' for they have turned their back to me, and not their face; but in the time of their trouble they will say, 'Arise, and save us!'
28"But where are your gods that you have made for yourself? Let them arise, if they can save you in the time of your trouble, for you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah.
29"Why will you contend with me? You all have transgressed against me," says Yahweh.
30"I have struck your children in vain. They received no correction. Your own sword has devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.
31Generation, consider Yahweh's word. Have I been a wilderness to Israel? Or a land of thick darkness? Why do my people say, 'We have broken loose. We will come to you no more'?
32"Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me for days without number.
33How well you prepare your way to seek love! Therefore you have even taught the wicked women your ways.
34Also the blood of the souls of the innocent poor is found in your skirts. You didn't find them breaking in; but it is because of all these things.
35"Yet you said, 'I am innocent. Surely his anger has turned away from me.' "Behold, I will judge you, because you say, 'I have not sinned.'
36Why do you go about so much to change your way? You will be ashamed of Egypt also, as you were ashamed of Assyria.
37You will also go away from there with your hands on your head; for Yahweh has rejected those in whom you trust, and you will not prosper with them.
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Summary
Jeremiah 2 records God's legal case against Israel for spiritual adultery. God recalls Israel's early devotion during the wilderness period but charges the nation with forsaking him -- the fountain of living waters -- in favor of worthless idols that are like broken cisterns holding nothing. Every class of leader (priests, rulers, prophets) has failed, and the people pursue foreign gods and foreign alliances with Egypt and Assyria. Despite the overwhelming evidence, Israel insists she is innocent, which only deepens her guilt.
Themes
- Spiritual adultery and broken covenant loyalty
- The futility of idolatry (broken cisterns versus living water)
- National amnesia -- forgetting God's saving acts
- False security in foreign political alliances
- Self-deception and denial of guilt
Key verses
- Jer 2:13 — “For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the spring of living waters, and cut out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”
- Jer 2:27 — “...who tell wood, 'You are my father,' and a stone, 'You have given birth to me,' for they have turned their back to me, and not their face.”
- Jer 2:32 — “Can a virgin forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me for days without number.”
- Jer 2:5 — “What unrighteousness have your fathers found in me, that they have gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and have become vain?”
Context & background
Jeremiah began his ministry around 627 BC during King Josiah's reign. This oracle likely dates to an early period before Josiah's reforms took full effect, when Judah's syncretistic worship was still rampant. The marriage metaphor draws on Hosea's earlier imagery and reflects the covenant relationship established at Sinai. The references to Egypt (modern northeastern Africa) and Assyria (modern northern Iraq/Syria) reflect Judah's disastrous habit of seeking military alliances with superpowers rather than trusting Yahweh. Kittim refers to Cyprus, and Kedar to nomadic Arabian tribes east of modern Jordan -- God argues that even pagan peoples remain loyal to their gods, while Israel alone has abandoned hers. Memphis and Tahpanhes were Egyptian cities in the Nile Delta region (modern Egypt), centers of Egyptian power that Judah futilely courted.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 32:10-18 — The Song of Moses recalls God's care and Israel's forgetfulness
- Ezekiel 16:8-15 — Extended marriage metaphor for Jerusalem's unfaithfulness
- Hosea 2:14-15 — God remembers Israel's wilderness devotion, same marriage imagery
- Isaiah 1:2-4 — Another prophetic lawsuit (rib) against Israel for forsaking Yahweh
- John 4:10-14 — Jesus offers "living water," echoing Jeremiah 2:13