Jeremiah 2:3

Jeremiah 2:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest. All who ate of it incurred guilt; disaster came upon them, declares the Lord."
• New King James Version (NKJV)Israel was holiness to the Lord, The firstfruits of His increase. All that devour him will offend; Disaster will come upon them,” says the Lord.’ ”
• New Living Translation (NLT)In those days Israel was holy to the Lord, the first of his children. All who harmed his people were declared guilty, and disaster fell on them. I, the Lord, have spoken!”

Context of Jeremiah 2:3

1The word of the Lord came to me: 2“Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: “This is what the Lord says: “ ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the wilderness, through a land not sown. Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them,’ ” declares the Lord. 4Hear the word of the Lord, you descendants of Jacob, all you clans of Israel. 5This 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.

Jeremiah 2:3 word by word

קֹ֤דֶשׁ יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ לַיהוָ֔ה רֵאשִׁ֖ית תְּבוּאָת֑וֹ כָּל־אֹכְלָ֣יו יֶאְשָׁ֔מוּ רָעָ֛ה תָּבֹ֥א אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם נְאֻם־יְהוָֽה׃ פRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
• holinessקֹ֫דֶשׁqôdesh · holinessH6944
• unto the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• the firstfruitsרֵאשִׁיתrê'shîyth · first: beginningH7225
• of his increaseתְּבוּאָהtebû'âh · produceH8393
• all that devourאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• him shall offendאָשַׁם'âsham 'âshêm · be guiltyH816
• evilרָעָהra‛ râ‛âh · distress: harmH7451
• shall comeבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• upon them, saithנְאֻםne'ûm · utteranceH5002

Cross-references for Jeremiah 2:3

• Exodus 19:5Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,
• Deuteronomy 7:6For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.
• Deuteronomy 14:2for you are a people holy to the Lord your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the Lord has chosen you to be his treasured possession.
• Deuteronomy 26:19He has declared that he will set you in praise, fame and honor high above all the nations he has made and that you will be a people holy to the Lord your God, as he promised.
• Zechariah 14:20On that day Holy to the Lord will be inscribed on the bells of the horses, and the cooking pots in the Lord’s house will be like the sacred bowls in front of the altar.
• Ephesians 1:4For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
• 1 Peter 2:9But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.
• Exodus 22:29“Do not hold back offerings from your granaries or your vats. “You must give me the firstborn of your sons.
• Exodus 23:16“Celebrate the Festival of Harvest with the firstfruits of the crops you sow in your field. “Celebrate the Festival of Ingathering at the end of the year, when you gather in your crops from the field.
• Numbers 18:12“I give you all the finest olive oil and all the finest new wine and grain they give the Lord as the firstfruits of their harvest.
• Amos 6:1Woe to you who are complacent in Zion, and to you who feel secure on Mount Samaria, you notable men of the foremost nation, to whom the people of Israel come!
• Romans 11:16If the part of the dough offered as firstfruits is holy, then the whole batch is holy; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
• Romans 16:5Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
• James 1:18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
• Revelation 14:4These are those who did not defile themselves with women, for they remained virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They were purchased from among mankind and offered as firstfruits to God and the Lamb.
• Jeremiah 12:14This is what the Lord says: “As for all my wicked neighbors who seize the inheritance I gave my people Israel, I will uproot them from their lands and I will uproot the people of Judah from among them.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 2:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Israel was holiness unto the Lord - Fully consecrated to his service. The first fruits of his increase - They were as wholly the Lord's, as the first fruits were the property of the priests according to the law Numbers 18:13. These the priests alone had a right to devote to their own use. All that devour him shall offend - As they were betrothed to the Lord, they were considered his especial property; they therefore who injured them were considered as…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Render: “Israel” is an offering consecrated to Yahweh, His firstfruits of increase. The firstfruits were God‘s consecrated property, His portion of the whole harvest. Pagan, i. e., unconsecrated, nations must not meddle with Israel, because it is the nation consecrated to God. If they do, they will bring such guilt upon themselves as those incur who eat the first-fruits Leviticus 22:10, Leviticus 22:16.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 3Israel was holy because the Lord chose her to be his special people and show his character (Exodus 19:5–6; Leviticus 19; 22:31–33). the firstfruits of His harvest: Mosaic law required people to give the first part of every harvest to the Lord (Exodus 23:16, 19; 34:22, 26; Leviticus 2:12, 14; 23:10, 17, 20; Numbers 18:12; 28:26; Deuteronomy 18:4; 26:10; Zechariah 14:20). The people who made the covenant with God at Mount Sinai promised their full…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. holiness unto the Lord--that is, was consecrated to the service of Jehovah (Ex 19:5, 6). They thus answered to the motto on their high priest's breastplate, "Holiness to the Lord" (De 7:6; 14:2, 21). first-fruits of his increase--that is, of Jehovah's produce. As the first-fruits of the whole produce of the land were devoted to God (Ex 23:19; Nu 18:12, 13), so Israel was devoted to Him as the first-fruit and representative nation among all nations. So…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 2:3

• First Fruits
• Israel
• Love

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