English Standard Version
Jeremiah 2:14
14"Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant? Why then has he become a prey?
Jeremiah 2:14 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?
- New International Version (NIV)Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth? Why then has he become plunder?
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Is Israel a servant? Is he a homeborn slave? Why is he plundered?
- New Living Translation (NLT)“Why has Israel become a slave? Why has he been carried away as plunder?
Context of Jeremiah 2:14
12Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, 13for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. "Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant? Why then has he become a prey? 15The lions have roared against him; they have roared loudly. They have made his land a waste; his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant. 16Moreover, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes have shaved the crown of your head.
Read all of Jeremiah 2Jeremiah 2:14 word by word
הַעֶ֙בֶד֙ יִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אִם־יְלִ֥יד בַּ֖יִת ה֑וּא מַדּ֖וּעַ הָיָ֥ה לָבַֽז׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 2:14
- Exodus 4:22Then you shall say to Pharaoh, 'Thus says the Lord, Israel is my firstborn son,
- Isaiah 50:1Thus says the Lord: "Where is your mother's certificate of divorce, with which I sent her away? Or which of my creditors is it to whom I have sold you? Behold, for your iniquities you were sold, and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.
- Genesis 15:3And Abram said, "Behold, you have given me no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir."
- Ecclesiastes 2:7I bought male and female slaves, and had slaves who were born in my house. I had also great possessions of herds and flocks, more than any who had been before me in Jerusalem.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 2:14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 14Is Israel a servant? - Is he a slave purchased with money, or a servant born in the family? He is a son himself. If so, then, why is he spoiled? Not because God has not shown him love and kindness; but because he forsook God, turned to and is joined with idols.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 14It was Israel‘s glory to be Yahweh‘s servant Jeremiah 30:10, and slaves born in the house were more prized than those bought with money as being more faithful Genesis 14:14. Cannot Yahweh guard His own household? How happens it that a member of so powerful a family is spoiled? In the next verse the prophet gives the reason. Israel is a runaway slave, who has deserted the family to which he belongs by right of birth, and thereby brought upon himself…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 14-19Verses 14-19 Is Israel a servant? No, they are the seed of Abraham. We may apply this spiritually: Is the soul of man a slave? No, it is not; but has sold its own liberty, and enslaved itself to divers lusts and passions. The Assyrian princes, like lions, prevailed against Israel. People from Egypt destroyed their glory and strength. They brought these calamities on themselves by departing from the Lord. The use and application of this is, Repent of thy…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 14The Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt. However, in Jeremiah's time, they became slaves again due to their agreements with Egypt and Assyria (Jeremiah 2:18).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1414. is he a homeborn slave--No. "Israel is Jehovah's son, even His first-born" (Ex 4:22). Jr 2:16, 18, 36, and the absence of any express contrast of the two parts of the nation are against Eichorn's view, that the prophet proposes to Judah, as yet spared, the case of Israel (the ten tribes) which had been carried away by Assyria as a warning of what they might expect if they should still put their trust in Egypt. "Were Israel's ten tribes of meaner birth…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 2:14
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
English Standard Version — © 2001 Crossway Bibles
Commentaries