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The Prophets · Old Testament

Jeremiah 2

Jeremiah 2: the forsaken fountain and the broken cisterns

General context

The word of the Lord sends Jeremiah to cry in the ears of Jerusalem. The Lord remembers the kindness of Israel's youth and the love of her espousals in the wilderness, when Israel was holiness unto the Lord. He asks the house of Jacob what iniquity their fathers found in him that they went far from him. Neither the people nor the priests asked where the Lord was who brought them out of Egypt; the pastors transgressed and the prophets prophesied by Baal. He sends them to Chittim and Kedar to see whether any nation has changed its gods, and charges his people with two evils: forsaking him, the fountain of living waters, and hewing out broken cisterns that hold no water. Young lions have wasted Israel's land, and the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of her head. Judah has run to Egypt for the waters of Sihor and to Assyria for the waters of the river. The Lord recalls breaking her yoke and planting her a noble vine, only to find a degenerate plant, a swift dromedary and a wild ass. Israel and her kings, princes, priests and prophets say to a stock, Thou art my father, yet in trouble cry, Arise, and save us. The Lord answers that Judah has as many gods as cities. He has smitten their children in vain, their own sword has devoured their prophets, and his people have forgotten him days without number. The blood of poor innocents is found in her skirts, and she still says she is innocent. The chapter ends with Judah going out with her hands on her head, ashamed of Egypt as of Assyria, because the Lord has rejected her confidences.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 2:1, Jeremiah 2:2, Jeremiah 2:3, Jeremiah 2:5, Jeremiah 2:6, Jeremiah 2:8, Jeremiah 2:9, Jeremiah 2:10, Jeremiah 2:11, Jeremiah 2:13, Jeremiah 2:15, Jeremiah 2:16, Jeremiah 2:18, Jeremiah 2:20, Jeremiah 2:21, Jeremiah 2:23, Jeremiah 2:24, Jeremiah 2:26, Jeremiah 2:27, Jeremiah 2:28, Jeremiah 2:30, Jeremiah 2:32, Jeremiah 2:34, Jeremiah 2:35, Jeremiah 2:36, Jeremiah 2:37

Jeremiah 2 (KJV)

1Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,

2Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.

3Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord.

4Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel:

5Thus saith the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain?

6Neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that 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 man passed through, and where no man dwelt?

7And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.

8The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

9Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the Lord, and with your children’s children will I plead.

10For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing.

11Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.

12Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord.

13For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

14Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?

15The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.

16Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.

17Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way?

18And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?

19Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.

20For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.

21Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?

22For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God.

23How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;

24A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.

25Withhold 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.

26As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets,

27Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.

28But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.

29Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord.

30In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion.

31O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?

32Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number.

33Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways.

34Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.

35Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me. Behold, I will plead with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned.

36Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.

37Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the Lord hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.

This page shows the King James Version. In the app, reading opens in the Berean Standard Bible unless you have chosen another translation. The reader includes five translations: the Berean Standard Bible (BSB), the King James Version (KJV), the World English Bible (WEB), the Bible in Basic English (BBE), and the American Standard Version (ASV). Search covers three of them: Berean Standard, King James, and World English. Basic English and American Standard readers search the King James words.

Historical context

The whole chapter is the Lord's speech, introduced by "the word of the Lord came to me" and marked throughout with "saith the Lord." It is addressed first to Jerusalem, then to the house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel, and by verse 28 explicitly to Judah. The speech names Egypt as the land of the exodus and as a present temptation, and names Assyria beside it as a source of waters and of shame, but it does not narrate any specific treaty or campaign. The children of Noph and Tahapanes are said to have broken the crown of Judah's head; the text does not explain who they are beyond the names. The wasting by young lions and the burned cities in verse 15 are stated as already done to Israel, with no date or agent named. The chapter reports the people's own words, quoted by the Lord: "I will not transgress," "I am not polluted," "There is no hope," "We are lords," and "I have not sinned." These are the Lord's quotations of them, not the narrator's account of a scene. The charge in verse 34 of the blood of the poor innocents in her skirts is stated plainly and left without narrative detail. Chittim and Kedar are named only as places to be visited for comparison.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 2:1, Jeremiah 2:2, Jeremiah 2:4, Jeremiah 2:6, Jeremiah 2:10, Jeremiah 2:15, Jeremiah 2:16, Jeremiah 2:18, Jeremiah 2:20, Jeremiah 2:23, Jeremiah 2:25, Jeremiah 2:28, Jeremiah 2:31, Jeremiah 2:34, Jeremiah 2:35, Jeremiah 2:36

Literary context

The chapter moves from remembered devotion to accusation. The opening picture of Israel as a bride following the Lord in an unsown land sets the standard against which the questions that follow are measured. The Lord speaks in questions: what iniquity did the fathers find, has a nation changed its gods, is Israel a servant, can a maid forget her ornaments. The two evils of verse 13 give the chapter its central image, living water against broken cisterns, and the images of drinking from Sihor and the river in verse 18 extend it. The noble vine turned degenerate, the dromedary, and the wild ass sniffing the wind pile up figures of restlessness. Speech and reply are staged inside the Lord's own words: the people say Thou art my father to a stock, and the Lord answers, where are thy gods, let them arise. The word plead recurs, first as the Lord's promise to plead with them, then as his rebuke of their pleading with him, and finally as his answer to the claim of innocence. Egypt and Assyria frame the end of the chapter, and the shame of one is set as a measure of the shame of the other.

Cited passages: Jeremiah 2:2, Jeremiah 2:5, Jeremiah 2:11, Jeremiah 2:13, Jeremiah 2:14, Jeremiah 2:18, Jeremiah 2:21, Jeremiah 2:23, Jeremiah 2:24, Jeremiah 2:27, Jeremiah 2:28, Jeremiah 2:29, Jeremiah 2:32, Jeremiah 2:35, Jeremiah 2:36

Key moments

  1. The kindness of thy youth (Jeremiah 2:2). The Lord recalls Israel following him in the wilderness in the love of her espousals.
  2. What iniquity found in me? (Jeremiah 2:5). The Lord asks what wrong the fathers found in him that they walked after vanity.
  3. Has a nation changed its gods? (Jeremiah 2:11). No nation exchanges its gods, yet the Lord's people have changed their glory for what does not profit.
  4. Broken cisterns (Jeremiah 2:13). The people have forsaken the fountain of living waters and hewn cisterns that hold no water.
  5. A noble vine gone degenerate (Jeremiah 2:21). The Lord planted a right seed and finds a strange vine.
  6. Arise, and save us (Jeremiah 2:27). Those who call a stock their father turn to the Lord only in trouble.
  7. Hands upon thine head (Jeremiah 2:37). Judah will go out ashamed because the Lord has rejected her confidences.

For reflection

The people are said to remember the Lord only in trouble, when they cry Arise, and save us, after saying to a stock, Thou art my father. What does the chapter's picture of broken cisterns suggest about why a people would keep digging them?

People in this chapter

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