Christian Standard Bible
Jeremiah 2:5
5This is what the Lord says: What fault did your ancestors find in me that they went so far from me, followed worthless idols, and became worthless themselves?
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 ate of it found themselves guilty; disaster came on them.” This is the Lord’s declaration. 4Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob and all families of the house of Israel. This is what the Lord says: What fault did your ancestors find in me that they went so far from me, followed worthless idols, and became worthless themselves? 6They stopped asking, “Where is the Lord who brought us from the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines, through a land of drought and darkness, a land no one traveled through and where no one lived?” 7I brought you to a fertile land to eat its fruit and bounty, but after you entered, you defiled my land; you made my inheritance detestable.
Read all of Jeremiah 2Jeremiah 2:5 word by word
כֹּ֣ה׀ אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֗ה מַה־מָּצְא֨וּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶ֥ם בִּי֙ עָ֔וֶל כִּ֥י רָחֲק֖וּ מֵעָלָ֑י וַיֵּֽלְכ֛וּ אַחֲרֵ֥י הַהֶ֖בֶל וַיֶּהְבָּֽלוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thus saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- What iniquityעָ֫וֶל‛evel ‛âvel ‛avlâh ‛ôlâh ‛ôlâh · injusticeH5766
- have your fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
- foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
- in me, that they are gone farרָחַקrâchaq · to removeH7368
- from me, and have walkedיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
- and are become vainהָבַלhâbal · to become vainH1891
Cross-references for Jeremiah 2:5
- Jeremiah 2:31Evil generation, pay attention to the word of the Lord! Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why do my people claim, “We will go where we want; we will no longer come to you”?
- Isaiah 5:3So now, residents of Jerusalem and men of Judah, please judge between me and my vineyard.
- Isaiah 43:22“But, Jacob, you have not called on me, because, Israel, you have become weary of me.
- Micah 6:2Listen to the Lord’s lawsuit, you mountains and enduring foundations of the earth, because 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 conscience.
- Isaiah 29:13The Lord said: These people approach me with their speeches to honor me with lip-service, yet their hearts are far from me, and human rules direct their worship of me.
- Ezekiel 11:15“Son of man, your own relatives, those who have the right to redeem your property, along with the entire house of Israel — all of them — are those to whom the residents of Jerusalem have said, ‘You are far from the Lord; this land has been given to us as a possession.’
- Matthew 15:8This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me.
- Jeremiah 10:8They are both stupid and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!
- Jeremiah 14:22Can any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Or can the skies alone give showers? Are you not the Lord our God? We therefore put our hope in you, for you have done all these things.
- Deuteronomy 32:21They have provoked my jealousy with what is not a god; they have enraged me with their worthless idols. So I will provoke their jealousy with what is not a people; I will enrage them with a foolish nation.
- 1 Samuel 12:21Don’t turn away to follow worthless things that can’t profit or rescue you; they are worthless.
- 2 Kings 17:15They rejected his statutes and his covenant he had made with their ancestors and the warnings he had given them. They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves, following the surrounding nations the Lord had commanded them not to imitate.
- Jonah 2:8Those who cherish worthless idols abandon their faithful love,
- Acts 14:15“People! Why are you doing these things? We are people also, just like you, and we are proclaiming good news to you, that you turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything in them.
- Jeremiah 51:17Everyone is stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith is put to shame by his carved image, for his cast images are a lie; 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
In the dictionaries
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
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