Jeremiah 2:20

Jeremiah 2:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For 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.
• New International Version (NIV)“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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)"For long ago I broke your yoke and burst your bonds; but you said, 'I will not serve.' Yes, on every high hill and under every green tree you bowed down like a whore.
• New King James Version (NKJV)“For of old I have broken your yoke and burst your bonds; And you said, ‘I will not transgress,’ When on every high hill and under every green tree You lay down, playing the harlot.

Context of Jeremiah 2:20

18Now what will you gain on your way to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? What will you gain on your way to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates? 19Your own evil will discipline you; your own apostasies will reprimand you. Consider and realize how evil and bitter it is for you to forsake the LORD your God and to have no fear of Me,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts. “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. 21I had planted you like a choice vine from the very best seed. How could you turn yourself before Me into a rotten, wild vine? 22Although you wash with lye and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before Me,” declares the Lord GOD.

Jeremiah 2:20 word by word

כִּ֣י מֵעוֹלָ֞ם שָׁבַ֣רְתִּי עֻלֵּ֗ךְ נִתַּ֙קְתִּי֙ מוֹסְרֹתַ֔יִךְ וַתֹּאמְרִ֖י לֹ֣א אֶעֱב֑וֹר כִּ֣י עַֽל־כָּל־גִּבְעָ֞ה גְּבֹהָ֗ה וְתַ֙חַת֙ כָּל־עֵ֣ץ רַעֲנָ֔ן אַ֖תְּ צֹעָ֥ה זֹנָֽה׃Read the interlinear

• Forכִּיkîy · forH3588
• long agoעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: antiquityH5769
• you brokeשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
• your yokeעֹל‛ôl ‛ôl · yokeH5923
• and tore offנָתַקnâthaq · to tearH5423
• your chainsמוֹסֵרmôsêr môsêrâh môserâh · bondH4147
• sayingאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• I will notלֹאlô' lô' lôh · notH3808
• serveעָבַד‛âbad · to serveH5647
• onעַל‛al · uponH5921
• everyכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• highגָּבֹהַּgâbôhha gâbôhha · highH1364
• hillגִּבְעָהgib‛âh · hillH1389
• and underתַּחַתtachath · underneath: underH8478
• greenרַעֲנָןra‛ănân · luxuriantH7488
• treeעֵץ‛êts · treeH6086
• youאַתְּ'attâh 'attâ 'ath 'attîy 'attem 'atten 'attênâh 'attênnâh · you(f.s.)H859
• lay downצָעָהtsâ‛âh · stoopH6808
• as a prostituteזָנָהzânâh · to fornicateH2181

Cross-references for Jeremiah 2:20

• Jeremiah 30:8On that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will break the yoke off their necks and tear off their bonds, and no longer will strangers enslave them.
• Exodus 3:8I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites.
• Leviticus 26:13I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk in uprightness.
• Deuteronomy 4:20Yet the LORD has taken you and brought you out of the iron furnace, out of Egypt, to be the people of His inheritance, as you are today.
• Deuteronomy 15:15Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today.
• Isaiah 9:4For as in the day of Midian You have shattered the yoke of their burden, the bar across their shoulders, and the rod of their oppressor.
• Isaiah 10:27On that day the burden will be lifted from your shoulders, and the yoke from your neck. The yoke will be broken because your neck will be too large.
• Isaiah 14:25I will break Assyria in My land; I will trample him on My mountain. His yoke will be taken off My people, and his burden removed from their shoulders.”
• Nahum 1:13For I will now break their yoke from your neck and tear away your shackles.”
• Exodus 19:8And all the people answered together, “We will do everything that the LORD has spoken.” So Moses brought their words back to the LORD.
• Exodus 24:3When Moses came and told the people all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all responded with one voice: “All the words that the LORD has spoken, we will do.”
• Deuteronomy 5:27Go near and listen to all that the LORD our God says. Then you can tell us everything the LORD our God tells you; we will listen and obey.”
• Deuteronomy 26:17Today you have proclaimed that the LORD is your God and that you will walk in His ways, keep His statutes and commandments and ordinances, and listen to His voice.
• Joshua 1:16So they answered Joshua, “Everything you have commanded us we will do, and everywhere you send us we will go.
• Joshua 24:26Joshua recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Then he took a large stone and set it up there under the oak that was near the sanctuary of the LORD.
• 1 Samuel 12:10Then they cried out to the LORD and said, ‘We have sinned, for we have forsaken the LORD and served the Baals and Ashtoreths. Now deliver us from the hands of our enemies, that we may serve You.’

Commentaries on Jeremiah 2:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Of old time I have broken thy yoke - It is thought by able critics that the verbs should be read in the second person singular, Thou hast broken thy yoke, Thou hast burst thy bonds; and thus the Septuagint, , "thou hast broken thy yoke." And the Vulgate, Confregisti jugum meum, rupisti, vincula mea; "Thou hast broken my yoke; thou hast burst my bonds;" and so the Arabic. But the Chaldee gives it a meaning which removes the difficulty: "I have broken the…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Transgress - Rather, as in marg. If the “yoke” and “bands” refer to the slavery in Egypt from which Yahweh freed Israel, the sense is - “For of old time I Yahweh broke thy yoke, I burst thy bands,” not that thou mightest be free to do thy own will, but that thou mightest serve me: “and thou saidst, I will not serve.” When … - “For … under every leafy tree thou” layest thyself down as a harlot. The verb indicates the eagerness with which she prostrates…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-28Verses 20-28 Notwithstanding all their advantages, Israel had become like the wild vine that bears poisonous fruit. Men are often as much under the power of their unbridled desires and their sinful lusts, as the brute beasts. But the Lord here warns them not to weary themselves in pursuits which could only bring distress and misery. As we must not despair of the mercy of God, but believe that to be sufficient for the pardon of our sins, so neither must we…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-21long ago: Lessons from Israel's history about the Israelites' rescue from slavery in Egypt had little impact. The people of Israel refused to serve God (Exodus 19:8; 34:15; Leviticus 26:13; Deuteronomy 12:2; Joshua 24:16; Judges 10:16; Isaiah 57:5, 7). you lay down as a prostitute: This metaphor was fitting for the Israelites bowing to idols. Their defiant words matched their rebellious actions. They often worshiped fertility gods, hoping for good crops…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. I--the Hebrew should be pointed as the second person feminine, a form common in Jeremiah: "Thou hast broken," &c. So the Septuagint, and the sense requires it. thy yoke ... bands--the yoke and bands which I laid on thee, My laws (Jr 5:5). transgress--so the Keri, and many manuscripts read. But the Septuagint and most authorities read, "I will not serve," that is, obey. The sense of English Version is, "I broke thy yoke (in Egypt)," &c., "and (at that…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 2:20

• Church
• Yoke

In the dictionaries

• Attire
• Bitter
• Cry
• Degenerate
• Fornication
• Handle
• Hold
• Holiness
• Noble
• Band

Commentaries on Jeremiah 2

• 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