Jeremiah 2:3

Jeremiah 2:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Israel 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.
• New International Version (NIV)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.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest. All who ate of it incurred guilt; disaster came upon them, declares the Lord."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Israel was holiness to the Lord, The firstfruits of His increase. All that devour him will offend; Disaster will come upon them,” says the Lord.’ ”

Context of Jeremiah 2:3

1Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, 2“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of His harvest. All who devoured her were found guilty; disaster came upon them,’” declares the LORD. 4Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all you families of the house of Israel. 5This 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.

Jeremiah 2:3 word by word

קֹ֤דֶשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לַיהוָ֔ה רֵאשִׁ֖ית תְּבוּאָת֑וֹ כָּל־אֹכְלָ֣יו יֶאְשָׁ֔מוּ רָעָ֛ה תָּבֹ֥א אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃ פRead the interlinear

• Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• was holyקֹ֫דֶשׁqôdesh · holinessH6944
• to the LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• the firstfruitsרֵאשִׁיתrê'shîyth · first: beginningH7225
• of His harvestתְּבוּאָהtebû'âh · produceH8393
• Allכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• who devoured herאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• were found guiltyאָשַׁם'âsham 'âshêm · be guiltyH816
• disasterרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: harmH7451
• cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• upon themאֶל'êl 'el · to(wards)H413
• declaresנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002

Cross-references for Jeremiah 2:3

• Exodus 19:5Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
• Deuteronomy 7:6For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of the earth.
• Deuteronomy 14:2for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.
• Deuteronomy 26:19that He will set you high in praise and name and honor above all the nations He has made, and that you will be a holy people to the LORD your God, as He has promised.
• Zechariah 14:20On that day, HOLY TO THE LORD will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the house of the LORD will be like the sprinkling bowls before the altar.
• Ephesians 1:4For He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless in His presence. In love
• 1 Peter 2:9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession, to proclaim the virtues of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.
• Exodus 22:29You must not hold back offerings from your granaries or vats. You are to give Me the firstborn of your sons.
• Exodus 23:16You are also to keep the Feast of Harvest with the firstfruits of the produce from what you sow in the field. And keep the Feast of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather your produce from the field.
• Numbers 18:12I give you all the freshest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain that the Israelites give to the LORD as their firstfruits.
• Amos 6:1Woe to those at ease in Zion and those secure on Mount Samaria, the distinguished ones of the foremost nation, to whom the house of Israel comes.
• Romans 11:16If the first part of the dough is holy, so is the whole batch; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
• Romans 16:5Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my beloved Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
• James 1:18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.
• Revelation 14:4These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been redeemed from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
• Jeremiah 12:14This is what the LORD says: “As for all My evil neighbors who attack the inheritance that I bequeathed to My people Israel, I am about to uproot them from their land, and I will uproot the house of Judah from among them.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 2:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Israel was holiness unto the Lord - Fully consecrated to his service. The first fruits of his increase - They were as wholly the Lord's, as the first fruits were the property of the priests according to the law Numbers 18:13. These the priests alone had a right to devote to their own use. All that devour him shall offend - As they were betrothed to the Lord, they were considered his especial property; they therefore who injured them were considered as…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Render: “Israel” is an offering consecrated to Yahweh, His firstfruits of increase. The firstfruits were God‘s consecrated property, His portion of the whole harvest. Pagan, i. e., unconsecrated, nations must not meddle with Israel, because it is the nation consecrated to God. If they do, they will bring such guilt upon themselves as those incur who eat the first-fruits Leviticus 22:10, Leviticus 22:16.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Israel was holy because the Lord chose her to be his special people and show his character (Exodus 19:5–6; Leviticus 19; 22:31–33). the firstfruits of His harvest: Mosaic law required people to give the first part of every harvest to the Lord (Exodus 23:16, 19; 34:22, 26; Leviticus 2:12, 14; 23:10, 17, 20; Numbers 18:12; 28:26; Deuteronomy 18:4; 26:10; Zechariah 14:20). The people who made the covenant with God at Mount Sinai promised their full…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. holiness unto the Lord--that is, was consecrated to the service of Jehovah (Ex 19:5, 6). They thus answered to the motto on their high priest's breastplate, "Holiness to the Lord" (De 7:6; 14:2, 21). first-fruits of his increase--that is, of Jehovah's produce. As the first-fruits of the whole produce of the land were devoted to God (Ex 23:19; Nu 18:12, 13), so Israel was devoted to Him as the first-fruit and representative nation among all nations. So…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 2:3

• First Fruits
• Israel
• Love

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Attire
• Bitter
• Cry
• Degenerate
• Handle
• Hold
• Holiness

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