Jeremiah 2:31

Jeremiah 2:31 in other versions

• New International Version (NIV)“You of this generation, consider the word of the Lord: “Have I been a desert to Israel or a land of great darkness? Why do my people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to you no more’?
• English Standard Version (ESV)And you, O generation, behold the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of thick darkness? Why then do my people say, 'We are free, we will come no more to you'?
• New King James Version (NKJV)“O generation, see the word of the Lord! Have I been a wilderness to Israel, Or a land of darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are lords; We will come no more to You’?
• New Living Translation (NLT)“O my people, listen to the words of the Lord! Have I been like a desert to Israel? Have I been to them a land of darkness? Why then do my people say, ‘At last we are free from God! We don’t need him anymore!’

Context of Jeremiah 2:31

29Wherefore will ye plead with me? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord. 30In vain have I smitten your children; they received no correction: your own sword hath devoured your prophets, like a destroying lion. O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee? 32Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? yet my people have forgotten me days without number. 33Why trimmest thou thy way to seek love? therefore hast thou also taught the wicked ones thy ways.

Jeremiah 2:31 word by word

הַדּ֗וֹר אַתֶּם֙ רְא֣וּ דְבַר־יְהוָ֔ה הֲמִדְבָּ֤ר הָיִ֙יתִי֙ לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל אִ֛ם אֶ֥רֶץ מַאְפֵּ֖לְיָ֑ה מַדּ֜וּעַ אָמְר֤וּ עַמִּי֙ רַ֔דְנוּ לֽוֹא־נָב֥וֹא ע֖וֹד אֵלֶֽיךָ׃Read the interlinear

• O generationדּוֹרdôr dôr · generationH1755
• seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: behold!H7200
• ye the wordדָּבָרdâbâr · wordH1697
• of the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• Have I been a wildernessמִדְבָּרmidbâr · wildernessH4057
• unto Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• a landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• of darknessמַאְפֵּלְיָהma'ăphêleyâh · darknessH3991
• wherefore sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• my peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
• We are lordsרוּדrûd · to roamH7300
• we will comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935

Cross-references for Jeremiah 2:31

• Amos 1:1The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.
• Micah 6:9The Lord’s voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.
• Jeremiah 2:5Thus 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?
• 2 Samuel 12:7And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
• 2 Chronicles 31:10And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the Lord, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the Lord hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store.
• Nehemiah 9:21Yea, forty years didst thou sustain them in the wilderness, so that they lacked nothing; their clothes waxed not old, and their feet swelled not.
• Hosea 2:7And she shall follow after her lovers, but she shall not overtake them; and she shall seek them, but shall not find them: then shall she say, I will go and return to my first husband; for then was it better with me than now.
• Malachi 3:9Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.
• Deuteronomy 8:12Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein;
• Deuteronomy 31:20For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.
• Deuteronomy 32:15But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
• Psalms 10:4The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.
• Psalms 12:4Who have said, With our tongue will we prevail; our lips are our own: who is lord over us?
• Proverbs 30:9Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the Lord? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
• Hosea 13:6According to their pasture, so were they filled; they were filled, and their heart was exalted; therefore have they forgotten me.
• 1 Corinthians 4:8Now ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with you.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 2:31

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 31Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? - Have I ever withheld from you any of the blessings necessary for your support? A land of darkness - Have you, since you passed through the wilderness, and came out of the darkness of Egypt, ever been brought into similar circumstances? You have had food and all the necessaries of life for your bodies; and my ordinances and word to enlighten and cheer your souls. I have neither been a wilderness nor a land of…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 31Or, “O generation” that ye are! An exclamation Of indignation at their hardened resistance to God. A land of darkness - This word is written in Hebrew with two accents, as being a compound, signifying not merely darkness, but the darkness of Yahweh, i. e., very great darkness. We are lords - Others render it: We rove about, wander about at our will, go where we like.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 29-37Verses 29-37 The nation had not been wrought upon by the judgements of God, but sought to justify themselves. The world is, to those who make it their home and their portion, a wilderness and a land of darkness; but those who dwell in God, have the lines fallen to them in pleasant places. Here is the language of presumptuous sinners. The Jews had long thrown off serious thoughts of God. How many days of our lives pass without suitable remembrance of him!…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 31The Lord's anger became a plea. He asked why the Israelites saw life in obedience to him as a barren wasteland of death and lack (Numbers 21:5), filled with evil and the fear of darkness (Job 24:17; 1 John 1:5–6).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3131. The Hebrew collocation is, "O, the generation, ye," that is, "O ye who now live." The generation needed only to be named, to call its degeneracy to view, so palpable was it. wilderness--in which all the necessaries of life are wanting. On the contrary, Jehovah was a never-failing source of supply for all Israel's wants in the wilderness, and afterwards in Canaan. darkness--literally, "darkness of Jehovah," the strongest Hebrew term for "darkness; the…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 2:31

• Backsliders
• Church
• Infidelity
• Ingratitude

In the dictionaries

• Israel
• Israel, Israelites
• Jacob, Israel
• Attire
• Bitter
• Cry
• Degenerate
• Handle
• Hold
• Holiness

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