New English Translation
Jeremiah 2:25
25Do not chase after other gods until your shoes wear out and your throats become dry. But you say, ‘It is useless for you to try and stop me because I love those foreign gods and want to pursue them!’
Jeremiah 2:25 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.
- New International Version (NIV)Do not run until your feet are bare and your throat is dry. But you said, ‘It’s no use! I love foreign gods, and I must go after them.’
- English Standard Version (ESV)Keep your feet from going unshod and your throat from thirst. But you said, 'It is hopeless, for I have loved foreigners, and after them I will go.'
- New King James Version (NKJV)Withhold your foot from being unshod, and your throat from thirst. But you said, ‘There is no hope. No! For I have loved aliens, and after them I will go.’
Context of Jeremiah 2:25
23“How can you say, ‘I have not made myself unclean. I have not paid allegiance to the gods called Baal.’ Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom! Think about the things you have done there! You are like a flighty, young female camel that rushes here and there, crisscrossing its path. 24You are like a wild female donkey brought up in the wilderness. In her lust she sniffs the wind to get the scent of a male. No one can hold her back when she is in heat. None of the males need wear themselves out chasing after her. At mating time she is easy to find. Do not chase after other gods until your shoes wear out and your throats become dry. But you say, ‘It is useless for you to try and stop me because I love those foreign gods and want to pursue them!’ 26Just as a thief has to suffer dishonor when he is caught, so the people of Israel will suffer dishonor for what they have done. So will their kings and officials, their priests and their prophets. 27They say to a wooden idol, ‘You are my father.’ They say to a stone image, ‘You gave birth to me.’ Yes, they have turned away from me instead of turning to me. Yet when they are in trouble, they say, ‘Come and save us!’
Read all of Jeremiah 2Jeremiah 2:25 word by word
מִנְעִ֤י רַגְלֵךְ֙ מִיָּחֵ֔ף וּגְרוֹנֵ֖ךְ מִצִּמְאָ֑ה וַתֹּאמְרִ֣י נוֹאָ֔שׁ ל֕וֹא כִּֽי־אָהַ֥בְתִּי זָרִ֖ים וְאַחֲרֵיהֶ֥ם אֵלֵֽךְ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Withholdמָנַעmâna‛ · to withholdH4513
- thy footרֶ֫גֶלregel · footH7272
- from being unshodיָחֵףyâchêph · barefootH3182
- and thy throatגָּרוֹןgârôn gârôn · throatH1627
- from thirstצִמְאָהtsim'âh · parchedH6773
- but thou saidstאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- There is no hopeיָאַשׁyâ'ash · to despairH2976
- no; for I have lovedאָהֵב'âhab 'âhêb · to love: loverH157
- strangersזוּרzûr · be a strangerH2114
- and afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- them will I goיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
Cross-references for Jeremiah 2:25
- Jeremiah 13:22You will probably ask yourself, ‘Why have these things happened to me? Why have I been treated like a disgraced adulteress whose skirt has been torn off and her limbs exposed?’ It is because you have sinned so much.
- Deuteronomy 28:48instead in hunger, thirst, nakedness, and poverty you will serve your enemies whom the Lord will send against you. They will place an iron yoke on your neck until they have destroyed you.
- Isaiah 20:2At that time the Lord announced through Isaiah son of Amoz: “Go, remove the sackcloth from your waist and take your sandals off your feet.” He did as instructed and walked around in undergarments and barefoot.
- Lamentations 4:4The infant’s tongue sticks to the roof of its mouth due to thirst; little children beg for bread, but no one gives them even a morsel. ה (He)
- Hosea 2:3Otherwise, I will strip her naked, and expose her like she was when she was born. I will turn her land into a wilderness and make her country a parched land, so that I might kill her with thirst.
- Luke 15:22But the father said to his slaves, ‘Hurry! Bring the best robe, and put it on him! Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet!
- Luke 16:24So he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in anguish in this fire.’
- Jeremiah 18:12But they just keep saying, ‘We do not care what you say! We will do whatever we want to do! We will continue to behave wickedly and stubbornly!’”
- Isaiah 57:10Because of the long distance you must travel, you get tired, but you do not say, ‘I give up.’ You get renewed energy, so you don’t collapse.
- Jeremiah 3:13However, you must confess that you have done wrong, and that you have rebelled against the Lord your God. You must confess that you have given yourself to foreign gods under every green tree, and have not obeyed my commands,’ says the Lord.
- Isaiah 2:6Indeed, O Lord, you have abandoned your people, the descendants of Jacob. For diviners from the east are everywhere; they consult omen readers like the Philistines do. Plenty of foreigners are around.
- Jeremiah 44:17Instead we will do everything we vowed we would do. We will sacrifice and pour out drink offerings to the goddess called the Queen of Heaven just as we and our ancestors, our kings, and our leaders previously did in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For then we had plenty of food, were well-off, and had no troubles.
- Deuteronomy 29:19When such a person hears the words of this oath he secretly blesses himself and says, “I will have peace though I continue to walk with a stubborn spirit.” This will destroy the watered ground with the parched.
- Deuteronomy 32:16They made him jealous with other gods, they enraged him with abhorrent idols.
- 2 Chronicles 28:22During his time of trouble King Ahaz was even more unfaithful to the Lord.
- Romans 2:4Or do you have contempt for the wealth of his kindness, forbearance, and patience, and yet do not know that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
Commentaries on Jeremiah 2:25
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 25Withhold thy foot from being unshod - When it was said to them, "Cease from discovering thy feet; prostitute thyself no more to thy idols." And thy throat from thirst - Drink no more of their libations, nor use those potions which tend only to increase thy appetite for pollution. Thou didst say, There is no hope: it is useless to advise me thus; I am determined; I have loved these strange pods, and to them will I cleave.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 25God the true husband exhorts Israel not to run barefoot, and with parched throat, like a shameless adulteress, after strangers. There is no hope - i. e., It is in vain.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-28Verses 20-28 Notwithstanding all their advantages, Israel had become like the wild vine that bears poisonous fruit. Men are often as much under the power of their unbridled desires and their sinful lusts, as the brute beasts. But the Lord here warns them not to weary themselves in pursuits which could only bring distress and misery. As we must not despair of the mercy of God, but believe that to be sufficient for the pardon of our sins, so neither must we…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25The Israelites admitted to worshipping Baal, which they had previously denied (Jeremiah 2:23), showing their true feelings.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2525. Withhold, &c.--that is, abstain from incontinence; figuratively for idolatry [Houbigant]. unshod, &c.--do not run so violently in pursuing lovers, as to wear out thy shoes: do not "thirst" so incontinently after sexual intercourse. Hitzig thinks the reference is to penances performed barefoot to idols, and the thirst occasioned by loud and continued invocations to them. no hope--(Jr 18:12; Is 57:10). "It is hopeless," that is, I am desperately…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 2:25
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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