New English Translation
Jeremiah 2:5
5This is what the Lord says: “What fault could your ancestors have possibly found in me that they strayed so far from me? They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to me.
Jeremiah 2:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Thus 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?
- New International Version (NIV)This is what the Lord says: “What fault did your ancestors find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Thus says the Lord: "What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless?
- New King James Version (NKJV)Thus says the Lord: “What injustice have your fathers found in Me, That they have gone far from Me, Have followed idols, And have become idolaters?
Context of Jeremiah 2:5
3Israel was set apart to the Lord; they were like the first fruits of a harvest to him. All who tried to devour them were punished; disaster came upon them,” says the Lord.’” 4Now listen to what the Lord has to say, you descendants of Jacob, all you family groups from the nation of Israel. This is what the Lord says: “What fault could your ancestors have possibly found in me that they strayed so far from me? They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to me. 6They did not ask: ‘Where is the Lord who delivered us out of Egypt, who brought us through the wilderness, through a land of desert sands and rift valleys, through a land of drought and deep darkness, through a land in which no one travels, and where no one lives?’ 7I brought you into a fertile land so you could enjoy its fruits and its rich bounty. But when you entered my land, you defiled it; you made the land I call my own loathsome to me.
Read all of Jeremiah 2Jeremiah 2:5 word by word
כֹּ֣ה׀ אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֗ה מַה־מָּצְא֨וּ אֲבוֹתֵיכֶ֥ם בִּי֙ עָ֔וֶל כִּ֥י רָחֲק֖וּ מֵעָלָ֑י וַיֵּֽלְכ֛וּ אַחֲרֵ֥י הַהֶ֖בֶל וַיֶּהְבָּֽלוּ׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Thus saithאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
- the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
- What iniquityעָ֫וֶל‛evel ‛âvel ‛avlâh ‛ôlâh ‛ôlâh · injusticeH5766
- have your fathersאָב'âb · fatherH1
- foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
- in me, that they are gone farרָחַקrâchaq · to removeH7368
- from me, and have walkedיָלַךְyâlak · to walkH3212
- afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
- vanityהֶ֫בֶלhebel hăbêl · vanityH1892
- and are become vainהָבַלhâbal · to become vainH1891
Cross-references for Jeremiah 2:5
- Jeremiah 2:31You people of this generation, listen to what the Lord says. “Have I been like a wilderness to you, Israel? Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to you? Why then do you say, ‘We are free to wander. We will not come to you any more?’
- Isaiah 5:3So now, residents of Jerusalem, people of Judah, you decide between me and my vineyard!
- Isaiah 43:22“But you did not call for me, O Jacob; you did not long for me, O Israel.
- Micah 6:2Hear the Lord’s accusation, you mountains, you enduring foundations of the earth! For the Lord has a case against his people; he has a dispute with Israel!
- Jeremiah 12:2You plant them like trees and they put down their roots. They grow prosperous and are very fruitful. They always talk about you, but they really care nothing about you.
- Isaiah 29:13The sovereign master says, “These people say they are loyal to me; they say wonderful things about me, but they are not really loyal to me. Their worship consists of nothing but man-made ritual.
- Ezekiel 11:15“Son of man, your brothers, your relatives, and the whole house of Israel, all of them are those to whom the inhabitants of Jerusalem have said, ‘They have gone far away from the Lord; to us this land has been given as a possession.’
- Matthew 15:8‘This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me,
- Jeremiah 10:8The people of those nations are both stupid and foolish. Instruction from a wooden idol is worthless!
- Jeremiah 14:22Do any of the worthless idols of the nations cause rain to fall? Do the skies themselves send showers? Is it not you, O Lord our God, who does this? So we put our hopes in you because you alone do all this.”
- Deuteronomy 32:21They have made me jealous with false gods, enraging me with their worthless gods; so I will make them jealous with a people they do not recognize, with a nation slow to learn I will enrage them.
- 1 Samuel 12:21You should not turn aside after empty things that can’t profit and can’t deliver, since they are empty.
- 2 Kings 17:15They rejected his rules, the covenant he had made with their ancestors, and the laws he had commanded them to obey. They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to the Lord. They copied the practices of the surrounding nations in blatant disregard of the Lord’s command.
- Jonah 2:8Those who worship worthless idols forfeit the mercy that could be theirs.
- Acts 14:15“Men, why are you doing these things? We too are men, with human natures just like you! We are proclaiming the good news to you, so that you should turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heaven, the earth, the sea, and everything that is in them.
- Jeremiah 51:17All idolaters will prove to be stupid and ignorant. Every goldsmith will be disgraced by the idol he made. For the image he forges is merely a sham. There is no breath in any of those idols.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 2:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5What iniquity have your fathers found in me - Have they ever discovered any thing cruel, unjust, oppressive in my laws? Any thing unkind or tyrannical in my government? Why then have they become idolaters?Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 5The Israelites worshiped worthless idols, so delusions controlled their lives.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 55. iniquity--wrong done to them (Is 5:4; Mi 6:3; compare De 32:4). walked after vanity--contrasted with "walkest after me in the wilderness" (Jr 2:2): then I was their guide in the barren desert; now they take idols as their guides. vanity ... vain--An idol is not only vain (impotent and empty), but vanity itself. Its worshippers acquire its character, becoming vain as it is (De 7:26; Psa 115:8). A people's character never rises above that of its gods…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 2:5
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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Commentaries