English Standard Version
Jeremiah 2:15
15The lions have roared against him; they have roared loudly. They have made his land a waste; his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.
Jeremiah 2:15 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.
- New International Version (NIV)Lions have roared; they have growled at him. They have laid waste his land; his towns are burned and deserted.
- New King James Version (NKJV)The young lions roared at him, and growled; They made his land waste; His cities are burned, without inhabitant.
- New Living Translation (NLT)Strong lions have roared against him, and the land has been destroyed. The towns are now in ruins, and no one lives in them anymore.
Context of Jeremiah 2:15
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. 14"Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant? Why then has he become a prey? The 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. 17Have you not brought this upon yourself by forsaking the Lord your God, when he led you in the way?
Read all of Jeremiah 2Jeremiah 2:15 word by word
עָלָיו֙ יִשְׁאֲג֣וּ כְפִרִ֔ים נָתְנ֖וּ קוֹלָ֑ם וַיָּשִׁ֤יתוּ אַרְצוֹ֙ לְשַׁמָּ֔ה עָרָ֥יו נִצְּת֖וּ מִבְּלִ֥י יֹשֵֽׁב׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- The young lionsכְּפִירkephîyr · lionH3715
- roaredשָׁאַגshâ'ag · to roarH7580
- yelledקוֹלqôl qôl · voice: soundH6963
- yelledנָתַןnâthan · to give: cry outH5414
- and they madeשִׁיתshîyth · to set: makeH7896
- his landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- wasteשַׁמָּהshammâh · horror: destroyedH8047
- his citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- are burnedיָצַתyâtsath · to kindleH3341
- without inhabitantיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427
Cross-references for Jeremiah 2:15
- Jeremiah 5:6Therefore a lion from the forest shall strike them down; a wolf from the desert shall devastate them. A leopard is watching their cities; everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great.
- Jeremiah 25:30"You, therefore, shall prophesy against them all these words, and say to them: "'The Lord will roar from on high, and from his holy habitation utter his voice; he will roar mightily against his fold, and shout, like those who tread grapes, against all the inhabitants of the earth.
- Jeremiah 50:17"Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has gnawed his bones.
- Judges 14:5Then Samson went down with his father and mother to Timnah, and they came to the vineyards of Timnah. And behold, a young lion came toward him roaring.
- Job 4:10The roar of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, the teeth of the young lions are broken.
- Psalms 57:4My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts— the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
- Isaiah 5:29Their roaring is like a lion, like young lions they roar; they growl and seize their prey; they carry it off, and none can rescue.
- Hosea 5:14For I will be like a lion to Ephraim, and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear and go away; I will carry off, and no one shall rescue.
- Hosea 11:10They shall go after the Lord; he will roar like a lion; when he roars, his children shall come trembling from the west;
- Hosea 13:7So I am to them like a lion; like a leopard I will lurk beside the way.
- Amos 3:4Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing?
- Nahum 2:11Where is the lions' den, the feeding place of the young lions, where the lion and lioness went, where his cubs were, with none to disturb?
- Isaiah 1:7Your country lies desolate; your cities are burned with fire; in your very presence foreigners devour your land; it is desolate, as overthrown by foreigners.
- Isaiah 24:1Behold, the Lord will empty the earth and make it desolate, and he will twist its surface and scatter its inhabitants.
- Ezekiel 5:14Moreover, I will make you a desolation and an object of reproach among the nations all around you and in the sight of all who pass by.
- Jeremiah 4:7A lion has gone up from his thicket, a destroyer of nations has set out; he has gone out from his place to make your land a waste; your cities will be ruins without inhabitant.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 2:15
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 15The young lions roared upon him - The Assyrians, who have sacked and destroyed the kingdom of Israel, with a fierceness like that of pouncing upon their prey.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 15Upon him - Rather, against him. Israel has run away from his master‘s house, but only to find himself exposed to the beasts of prey in the wilderness. They made his land waste - The prophet points to the actual results of Israel‘s until the multiplication of wild beasts rendered human life unsafe 2 Kings 17:25, but the Assyrian invasions had reduced Judaea to almost as sad a state. Burned - Others render, “leveled to the ground.”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. 15Jeremiah describes the Assyrians, who destroyed the northern kingdom (2 Kings 17:5–23; Nahum 2:11–12), as lions.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1515. lions--the Babylonian princes (Jr 4:7; compare Am 3:4). The disaster from the Babylonians in the fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign, and again three years later when, relying on Egypt, he revolted from Nebuchadnezzar, is here referred to (Jr 46:2; 2Ki 24:1, 2).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 2:15
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