EasyEnglish Bible 2018
Jeremiah 2:3
3At that time, Israel belonged to me as my special people. They were like the first crops that grew on my land. I promised to punish anyone who tried to hurt them. I sent great trouble to those who attacked you. That is what I, the Lord, have said.” ’
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
1The Lord spoke to me again. 2He said, ‘Go and tell this to the people in Jerusalem: “This is what the Lord says: I remember how you used to love me when you were young. You loved me as a young wife loves her husband. You followed me through the wilderness, where no crops were growing. At that time, Israel belonged to me as my special people. They were like the first crops that grew on my land. I promised to punish anyone who tried to hurt them. I sent great trouble to those who attacked you. That is what I, the Lord, have said.” ’ 4Listen to what the Lord says, you descendants of Jacob, all you families in Israel. 5This is the Lord's message to you: ‘I had done nothing wrong against your ancestors, but they turned away from me. Instead, they worshipped useless idols. So they themselves became useless.
Read all of Jeremiah 2Jeremiah 2:3 word by word
קֹ֤דֶשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לַיהוָ֔ה רֵאשִׁ֖ית תְּבוּאָת֑וֹ כָּל־אֹכְלָ֣יו יֶאְשָׁ֔מוּ רָעָ֛ה תָּבֹ֥א אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃ פRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- holinessקֹ֫דֶשׁqôdesh · holinessH6944
- unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- the firstfruitsרֵאשִׁיתrê'shîyth · first: beginningH7225
- of his increaseתְּבוּאָהtebû'âh · produceH8393
- all that devourאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- him shall offendאָשַׁם'âsham 'âshêm · be guiltyH816
- evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: harmH7451
- shall comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- upon them, saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002
Cross-references for Jeremiah 2:3
- Exodus 19:5Now you must be careful to obey me and my covenant with you. Then you will belong to me as my special people. The whole earth belongs to me, and I have chosen you from among all the nations.
- Deuteronomy 7:6Remember that you are a special people who belong to the Lord your God. He has chosen you for himself out of all the other people who live on the earth. He loves you as his special people.
- Deuteronomy 14:2You are the Lord's own special people. He has chosen you to belong to him. You are much more valuable to him than any other people in the whole earth.
- Deuteronomy 26:19If you do that, he will make you greater than all the other nations that he has made. Other nations will see that you are great. They will praise you and give you honour. You will be a nation that belongs to the Lord your God as his own special people. He has promised to do this.
- Zechariah 14:20On that day, men will write the words, ‘This is for the Lord’ on the bells of the horses. The pots that anyone uses to cook with in the house of the Lord will be special. They will be as special as the dishes in front of the altar.
- Ephesians 1:4Before God made the world, he chose us to be his people because of Christ. He chose us so that we would please him. Because we belong to Christ, God accepts us as completely good. This shows how much he loves us.
- 1 Peter 2:9But you are not like that. You are a special group of people that God has chosen. You serve God like priests who serve a King. You are his own holy people who belong to him. He has taken you out of the dark place of sin, and he has brought you into his great light. He has done all this so that you can tell people how great he is.
- Exodus 22:29Do not refuse to offer your grain, your wine or your olive oil to me. You must give your firstborn sons to me.
- Exodus 23:16Eat the Feast of Harvest every year. Offer to me the first crops that you bring from your fields. At the end of each year, eat Feast of Final Harvest. Do that when you have finished bringing in all of your crops from the fields.
- Numbers 18:12I will give to you the best olive oil, the best wine and the best grain. The people give to the Lord the first part of these that they get.
- Amos 6:1Trouble is coming to you people who live in Zion and on Samaria's hill. You think that you are safe. You think that you are important people who live in the best nation on earth. Israelite people respect you as their leaders.
- Romans 11:16If you offer the first piece of bread to God, then all the bread will belong to God. If the roots of a tree belong to God, then the branches will also be his.
- Romans 16:5Also say ‘hello’ for me to the group of believers who meet in Priscilla and Aquila's house. Say ‘hello’ to my very good friend Epenetus. He was the first person in the region of Asia who believed in Christ.
- James 1:18He chose to make us his children. He used his true message to do that. Because of that, we are like the first special gift that belongs to him from among everything that he has made.
- Revelation 14:4These 144,000 people have kept themselves pure. They have not had sex with women in a wrong way. They follow the Lamb everywhere that he goes. God has saved them from among the people of the world and he has paid for their sins. They are the first people to become a gift to God and to the Lamb.
- Jeremiah 12:14This is what the Lord says: ‘I will punish the wicked nations that came to attack the land of my people. It was the land that I gave to Israel's people to be their home. But those enemies destroyed it. So I will remove them from their own lands. I will rescue the people 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
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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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