Jeremiah 17:2

Jeremiah 17:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.
• New International Version (NIV)Even their children remember their altars and Asherah poles beside the spreading trees and on the high hills.
• English Standard Version (ESV)while their children remember their altars and their Asherim, beside every green tree and on the high hills,
• New King James Version (NKJV)While their children remember Their altars and their wooden images By the green trees on the high hills.

Context of Jeremiah 17:2

1“The sin of Judah is written with an iron stylus, engraved with a diamond point on the tablets of their hearts and on the horns of their altars. Even their children remember their altars and Asherah poles by the green trees and on the high hills. 3O My mountain in the countryside, I will give over your wealth and all your treasures as plunder, because of the sin of your high places, within all your borders. 4And you yourself will relinquish the inheritance that I gave you. I will enslave you to your enemies in a land that you do not know, for you have kindled My anger; it will burn forever.”

Jeremiah 17:2 word by word

כִּזְכֹּ֤ר בְּנֵיהֶם֙ מִזְבְּחוֹתָ֔ם וַאֲשֵׁרֵיהֶ֖ם עַל־עֵ֣ץ רַֽעֲנָ֑ן עַ֖ל גְּבָע֥וֹת הַגְּבֹהֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear

• Even their childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• rememberזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
• their altarsמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
• and Asherah polesאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842
• byעַל‛al · uponH5921
• the greenרַעֲנָןra‛ănân · luxuriantH7488
• treesעֵץ‛êts · treeH6086
• the highגָּבֹהַּgâbôhha gâbôhha · highH1364
• hillsגִּבְעָהgib‛âh · hillH1389

Cross-references for Jeremiah 17:2

• Jeremiah 7:18The sons gather wood, the fathers light the fire, and the women knead the dough to make cakes for the Queen of Heaven; they pour out drink offerings to other gods to provoke Me to anger.
• Hosea 4:13They sacrifice on the mountaintops and burn offerings on the hills, under oak, poplar, and terebinth, because their shade is pleasant. And so your daughters turn to prostitution and your daughters-in-law to adultery.
• Jeremiah 2:20“For long ago you broke your yoke and tore off your chains, saying, ‘I will not serve!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down as a prostitute.
• Judges 3:7So the Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD; they forgot the LORD their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs.
• 2 Chronicles 24:18They abandoned the house of the LORD, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherah poles and idols. So wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs.
• 2 Chronicles 33:3For he rebuilt the high places that his father Hezekiah had torn down, and he raised up altars for the Baals and made Asherah poles. And he worshiped and served all the host of heaven.
• Psalms 78:58They enraged Him with their high places and provoked His jealousy with their idols.
• Isaiah 1:29Surely you will be ashamed of the sacred oaks in which you have delighted; you will be embarrassed by the gardens that you have chosen.
• Isaiah 17:8They will not look to the altars they have fashioned with their hands or to the Asherahs and incense altars they have made with their fingers.
• Ezekiel 20:28When I brought them into the land that I swore to give them and they saw any high hill or leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, presented offerings that provoked Me, sent up their fragrant incense, and poured out their drink offerings.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 17:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Whilst their children remember - Even the rising generation have their imagination stocked with idol images, and their memories with the frantic rites and ceremonies which they saw their parents observe in this abominable worship.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2While their children remember their altars - Perhaps an allusion to their sacrifices of children to Moloch. Present perhaps at some such blood-stained rite, its horrors would be engraven forever upon the memory. Groves - “Asherahs,” i. e., wooden images of Astarte (see Exodus 34:13 note).Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2People cut Asherah poles from trees and placed them near altars for Baal, the Canaanite storm god. Asherah was the Canaanite goddess of fertility, representing the moist ground that helped crops grow. People performed ritual sex near these altars to encourage rain, seed sprouting, and plant growth. A tree near an altar could also symbolize this fertility goddess. The people of Judah were so morally corrupt that parents encouraged their children to join…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-27The the Septuagint omits the first four verses, but other Greek versions have them. 1. The first of the four clauses relates to the third, the second to the fourth, by alternate parallelism. The sense is: They are as keen after idols as if their propensity was "graven with an iron pen (Job 19:24) on their hearts," or as if it were sanctioned by a law "inscribed with a diamond point" on their altars. The names of their gods used to be written on "the horns…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 17:2

• Example
• Groves
• Idolatry
• Influence
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning

In the dictionaries

• Discontinue
• Hallow
• Hatch
• Salt
• Sit
• Asherah
• Color; Colors

Commentaries on Jeremiah 17

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings