Jeremiah 2:5

Jeremiah 2:5 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Thus 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?
• New International Version (NIV)This is what the Lord says: “What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Thus says the Lord: "What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?
• New King James Version (NKJV)Thus says the Lord: “What injustice have your fathers found in Me, That they have gone far from Me, Have followed idols, And have become idolaters?

Context of Jeremiah 2:5

3Israel 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. 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. 6They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought and darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’ 7I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and bounty, but you came and defiled My land and made My inheritance detestable.

Jeremiah 2:5 word by word

כֹּ֣ה׀ אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֗ה מַה־מָּצְא֨וּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶ֥ם בִּי֙ עָ֔וֶל כִּ֥י רָחֲק֖וּ מֵעָלָ֑י וַיֵּֽלְכ֛וּ אַחֲרֵ֥י הַהֶ֖בֶל וַיֶּהְבָּֽלוּ׃Read the interlinear

• This is whatכֹּהkôh · thusH3541
• the LORDיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• saysאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• Whatמָהmâh mah mâ ma meh · what?H4100
• faultעָ֫וֶל‛evel ‛âvel ‛avlâh ‛ôlâh ‛ôlâh · injusticeH5766
• did your fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
• findמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• thatכִּיkîy · forH3588
• they strayed so farרָחַקrâchaq · to removeH7368
• from Meעַל‛al · uponH5921
• They followedהָלַךְhâlak · to go: followH1980
• They followedאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• worthless idolsהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
• and became worthless themselvesהָבַלhâbal · to become vainH1891

Cross-references for Jeremiah 2:5

• Jeremiah 2:31You people of this generation, consider the word of the LORD: “Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to You no more’?
• Isaiah 5:3“And now, O dwellers of Jerusalem and men of Judah, I exhort you to judge between Me and My vineyard.
• Isaiah 43:22But you have not called on Me, O Jacob, because you have grown weary of Me, O Israel.
• Micah 6:2Hear, O mountains, the LORD’s indictment, you enduring foundations of the earth. For the LORD has a case against His people, and He will argue it against Israel:
• Jeremiah 12:2You planted them, and they have taken root. They have grown and produced fruit. You are ever on their lips, but far from their hearts.
• Isaiah 29:13Therefore the Lord said: “These people draw near to Me with their mouths and honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me. Their worship of Me is but rules taught by men.
• Ezekiel 11:15“Son of man, your brothers—your relatives, your fellow exiles, and the whole house of Israel—are those of whom the people of Jerusalem have said, ‘They are far away from the LORD; this land has been given to us as a possession.’
• Matthew 15:8‘These people honor Me with their lips, but their hearts are far from Me.
• Jeremiah 10:8But they are altogether senseless and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!
• Jeremiah 14:22Can the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies alone send showers? Is this not by You, O LORD our God? So we put our hope in You, for You have done all these things.
• Deuteronomy 32:21They have provoked My jealousy by that which is not God; they have enraged Me with their worthless idols. So I will make them jealous by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation without understanding.
• 1 Samuel 12:21Do not turn aside after worthless things that cannot profit you or deliver you, for they are empty.
• 2 Kings 17:15They rejected His statutes and the covenant He had made with their fathers, as well as the decrees He had given them. They pursued worthless idols and became worthless themselves, going after the surrounding nations that the LORD had commanded them not to imitate.
• Jonah 2:8Those who cling to worthless idols forsake His loving devotion.
• Acts 14:15“Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.
• Jeremiah 51:17Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 2:5

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5What iniquity have your fathers found in me - Have they ever discovered any thing cruel, unjust, oppressive in my laws? Any thing unkind or tyrannical in my government? Why then have they become idolaters?Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5The Israelites worshiped worthless idols, so delusions controlled their lives.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. iniquity--wrong done to them (Is 5:4; Mi 6:3; compare De 32:4). walked after vanity--contrasted with "walkest after me in the wilderness" (Jr 2:2): then I was their guide in the barren desert; now they take idols as their guides. vanity ... vain--An idol is not only vain (impotent and empty), but vanity itself. Its worshippers acquire its character, becoming vain as it is (De 7:26; Psa 115:8). A people's character never rises above that of its gods…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 2:5

• Backsliders
• Church
• God Continued...
• Vanity

In the dictionaries

• Attire
• Bitter
• Cry
• Degenerate
• Handle
• Hold
• Holiness
• Noble
• Arabah

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