New International Version
Jeremiah 2:5
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 2:5 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?
- 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?
- New Living Translation (NLT)This is what the Lord says: “What did your ancestors find wrong with me that led them to stray so far from me? They worshiped worthless idols, only to become worthless themselves.
Context of Jeremiah 2:5
3Israel 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. 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. 6They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and ravines, a land of drought and utter darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’ 7I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable.
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 2:31“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’?
- Isaiah 5:3“Now you dwellers in Jerusalem and people of Judah, judge between me and my vineyard.
- Isaiah 43:22“Yet you have not called on me, Jacob, you have not wearied yourselves for me, Israel.
- Micah 6:2“Hear, you mountains, the Lord’s accusation; listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth. For the Lord has a case against his people; he is lodging a charge against Israel.
- Jeremiah 12:2You have planted them, and they have taken root; they grow and bear fruit. You are always on their lips but far from their hearts.
- Isaiah 29:13The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.
- Ezekiel 11:15“Son of man, the people of Jerusalem have said of your fellow exiles and all the other Israelites, ‘They are far away from the Lord; this land was given to us as our possession.’
- Matthew 15:8“ ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.
- Jeremiah 10:8They are all senseless and foolish; they are taught by worthless wooden idols.
- Jeremiah 14:22Do any of the worthless idols of the nations bring rain? Do the skies themselves send down showers? No, it is you, Lord our God. Therefore our hope is in you, for you are the one who does all this.
- Deuteronomy 32:21They made me jealous by what is no god and angered me with their worthless idols. I will make them envious by those who are not a people; I will make them angry by a nation that has no understanding.
- 1 Samuel 12:21Do not turn away after useless idols. They can do you no good, nor can they rescue you, because they are useless.
- 2 Kings 17:15They rejected his decrees and the covenant he had made with their ancestors and the statutes he had warned them to keep. They followed worthless idols and themselves became worthless. They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.”
- Jonah 2:8“Those who cling to worthless idols turn away from God’s love for them.
- Acts 14:15“Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them.
- Jeremiah 51:17“Everyone is senseless and without knowledge; every goldsmith is shamed by his idols. The images he makes are a fraud; they have no breath in them.
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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