Jeremiah has been called to stand up and speak to the nations, beginning with the leaders of Judah. We now have a series of prophecies running through chapter 20. These might not be in chronological order. Feinberg argues, however, that chapters 2 through 6 fit together as a single message.
Jeremiah 2:1-4, Formerly a bride
The word of the LORD came to me: "Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:
"`I remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the desert,
through a land not sown.
Israel was holy to the LORD,
the firstfruits of his harvest;
all who devoured her were held guilty,
and disaster overtook them,'"
declares the LORD.
Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob,
all you clans of the house of Israel.
Judah's love for YHWH has declined and decayed. Once Israel acted like a young infatuated bride, following her loving husband into the deserrt. But that has changed.... (One is reminded of the message of Hosea, chapters 1-3, from a century before.)
Jeremiah 2:5-7, Don't you remember?
This is what the LORD says:
"What fault did your fathers find in me,
that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols
and became worthless themselves.
They did not ask, `Where is the LORD,
who brought us up out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness,
through a land of deserts and rifts,
a land of drought and darkness,
a land where no one travels and no one lives?'
I brought you into a fertile land
to eat its fruit and rich produce.
But you came and defiled my land
and made my inheritance detestable.
Verse 5 ends with two Hebrew words, hahevel vaiyehbalu (הַהֶ֖בֶל וַיֶּהְבָּֽלוּ) meaning literally "idols have become idolaters" or "vanities have become vanities." The NIV translates these two words as "worthless idols and became worthless themselves." To the Hebrew, the concept of "idol" was synonymous with "empty" or "vain."
Jeremiah 2:8-10, Ignorant and rebellious leaders
The priests did not ask, `Where is the LORD?'
Those who deal with the law did not know me;
the leaders rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
following worthless idols.
"Therefore I bring charges against you again,"
declares the LORD.
"And I will bring charges against your children's children.
Cross over to the coasts of Kittim and look,
send to Kedar and observe closely;
see if there has ever been anything like this:
The priests have ignored YHWH and the leaders and prophets have rebelled. God is about to act in Kittim (in the Mediterranean, to the west) and Kedar, an Arabian kingdom (to the east.)
Jeremiah 2:11-12, Changed its gods
Has a nation ever changed its gods?
(Yet they are not gods at all.)
But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols.
Be appalled at this, O heavens,
and shudder with great horror,"
declares the LORD.
The nation has replaced YHWH with silly, worthless idols.
The Hebrew text of verse 12 begins with a play on words. The verb "to be appalled" is shamem (שָׁמֵם) and "heavens" is shamayim (שָׁמַיִם), so that the first line of that verse is "šōm·mū šā·ma·yim.
Jeremiah 2:13-16, Forsaken YHWH, different cisterns
"My people have committed two sins:
They have forsaken me, the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth?
Why then has he become plunder?
Lions have roared; they have growled at him.
They have laid waste his land;
his towns are burned and deserted.
Also, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head.
The people have both turned away and aggressively pursued other gods. And so the nation is powerless.
Jeremiah 2:17-19, To Egypt or Assyria?
Have you not brought this on yourselves by forsaking the LORD your God
when he led you in the way?
Now why go to Egypt to drink water from the Shihor?
And why go to Assyria to drink water from the River?
Your wickedness will punish you;
your backsliding will rebuke you.
Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you
when you forsake the LORD your God
and have no awe of me,"
declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.
The people now "drink water" from other nations (Egypt to the west, Assyria to the east.) The people have slidden back into wickedness.
Jeremiah 2:20, Rebellious prostitution
"Long ago you broke off your yoke
and tore off your bonds;
you said, `I will not serve you!'
Indeed, on every high hill
and under every spreading tree
you lay down as a prostitute.
The nation has rebelliously sold itself to other gods. Their worship at altars on the high places is likened to a prostitute lying down under the trees. The adultery/prostitution metaphor is a common one. (There are echoes here of Hosea 4:10-14.)
Jeremiah 2:21, A once beautiful vine has grown wild.
I had planted you like a choice vine of sound and reliable stock.
How then did you turn against me into a corrupt, wild vine?
The "choice vine" is literally soreq (שׂרֵק) from the Sorek valley. The word apparently means "red"; the choicest vines (and wines) were red. (The Sorek valley was home to Samson's lover, Delilah, see Judges 16:4.)
This beautiful bride, the people of Israel, was once like that choice red vine but, now, leaving her husband, she has grown wild and feral.
Jeremiah 2:22-23a, Guilt stain won't wash off
Although you wash yourself with soda
and use an abundance of soap,
the stain of your guilt is still before me,"
declares the Sovereign LORD.
"How can you say, `I am not defiled;
I have not run after the Baals'?
See how you behaved in the valley;
consider what you have done.
The (spiritual) stain of Israel's sin cannot be washed off by soap and soda (lye, Hebrew nether (נֶתֶר).) The nation claims that they are not filthy, but they have eagerly worshiped the Baal idols.
Jeremiah 2:23b-25, Animals in rut
You are a swift she-camel running here and there,
a wild donkey accustomed to the desert,
sniffing the wind in her craving--
in her heat who can restrain her?
Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;
at mating time they will find her.
Do not run until your feet are bare
and your throat is dry.
But you said, `It's no use!
I love foreign gods, and I must go after them.'
The people race to idolatry like animals in heat. They sniff the air like female donkeys looking for a male or like males going into rut, Their passion for idols seems uncontrollable.
Jeremiah 2:26-28, As many gods as towns
"As a thief is disgraced when he is caught,
so the house of Israel is disgraced--
they, their kings and their officials,
their priests and their prophets.
They say to wood, `You are my father,'
and to stone, `You gave me birth.'
They have turned their backs to me and not their faces;
yet when they are in trouble, they say, `Come and save us!'
Where then are the gods you made for yourselves?
Let them come if they can save you when you are in trouble!
For you have as many gods as you have towns, O Judah.
The people love foreign gods and worship useless wood and stone. There are as many gods in Judah as towns!
Jeremiah 2:29-30, Prophets devoured
"Why do you bring charges against me?
You have all rebelled against me,"
declares the LORD.
"In vain I punished your people;
they did not respond to correction.
Your sword has devoured your prophets like a ravening lion.
The people are rebellious and refuse to turn back to God. Even judgment and correction do not turn them around. (Both Manasseh and his great-grandson Jehoiakim killed prophets and righteous people, see 2 Kings 21:16 and Jeremiah 26:20-23.)
Jeremiah 2:31-33, Wandering
"You of this generation, consider the word of the LORD:
"Have I been a desert to Israel
or a land of great darkness?
Why do my people say, `We are free to roam;
we will come to you no more'?
Does a maiden forget her jewelry,
a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten me,
days without number.
How skilled you are at pursuing love!
Even the worst of women can learn from your ways.
In the culture of the ANE, a young woman would take great pride in her wedding ornaments and jewelry. But he people of Judah have been eager to wander away from YHWH, as if a young bride had forgotten her wedding and her husband. Indeed, the metaphor compares Judah to a woman who has left her husband to pursue "love" (sex, seduction) in a variety of ways, with a variety of techniques.
Jeremiah 2:34-37, Blood of the innocent
On your clothes men find the lifeblood of the innocent poor,
though you did not catch them breaking in.
Yet in spite of all this you say, `I am innocent;
he is not angry with me.'
But I will pass judgment on you because you say, `I have not sinned.'
Why do you go about so much, changing your ways?
You will be disappointed by Egypt as you were by Assyria.
You will also leave that place with your hands on your head,
for the LORD has rejected those you trust;
you will not be helped by them.
The people make excuses, claiming to be innocent and to have not sinned, despite the blood on their clothes. But they will be disappointed by the nations of Egypt (on the west) and Assyria (on the east) and will leave for those countries as prisoners.
First published January 22, 2025; updated November 13, 2025
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