Jeremiah 17:2

Jeremiah 17:2 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.
• New International Version (NIV)Even their children remember their altars and Asherah poles beside the spreading trees and on the high hills.
• English Standard Version (ESV)while their children remember their altars and their Asherim, beside every green tree and on the high hills,
• New Living Translation (NLT)Even their children go to worship at their pagan altars and Asherah poles, beneath every green tree and on every high hill.

Context of Jeremiah 17:2

1“The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron; With the point of a diamond it is engraved On the tablet of their heart, And on the horns of your altars, While their children remember Their altars and their wooden images By the green trees on the high hills. 3O My mountain in the field, I will give as plunder your wealth, all your treasures, And your high places of sin within all your borders. 4And you, even yourself, Shall let go of your heritage which I gave you; And I will cause you to serve your enemies In the land which you do not know; For you have kindled a fire in My anger which shall burn forever.”

Jeremiah 17:2 word by word

כִּזְכֹּ֤ר בְּנֵיהֶם֙ מִזְבְּחוֹתָ֔ם וַאֲשֵׁרֵיהֶ֖ם עַל־עֵ֣ץ רַֽעֲנָ֑ן עַ֖ל גְּבָע֥וֹת הַגְּבֹהֽוֹת׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Whilst their childrenבֵּןbên · son: childH1121
• rememberזָכַרzâkar · to rememberH2142
• their altarsמִזְבֵּחַmizbêach · altarH4196
• and their grovesאֲשֵׁרָה'ăshêrâh 'ăshêyrâh · AsherahH842
• by the greenרַעֲנָןra‛ănân · luxuriantH7488
• treesעֵץ‛êts · treeH6086
• upon the highגָּבֹהַּgâbôhha gâbôhha · highH1364
• hillsגִּבְעָהgib‛âh · hillH1389

Cross-references for Jeremiah 17:2

• Jeremiah 7:18The children gather wood, the fathers kindle the fire, and the women knead dough, to make cakes for the queen of heaven; and they pour out drink offerings to other gods, that they may provoke Me to anger.
• Hosea 4:13They offer sacrifices on the mountaintops, And burn incense on the hills, Under oaks, poplars, and terebinths, Because their shade is good. Therefore your daughters commit harlotry, And your brides commit adultery.
• Jeremiah 2:20“For of old I have broken your yoke and burst your bonds; And you said, ‘I will not transgress,’ When on every high hill and under every green tree You lay down, playing the harlot.
• Judges 3:7So the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord. They forgot the Lord their God, and served the Baals and Asherahs.
• 2 Chronicles 24:18Therefore they left the house of the Lord God of their fathers, and served wooden images and idols; and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem because of their trespass.
• 2 Chronicles 33:3For he rebuilt the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down; he raised up altars for the Baals, and made wooden images; and he worshiped all the host of heaven and served them.
• Psalms 78:58For they provoked Him to anger with their high places, And moved Him to jealousy with their carved images.
• Isaiah 1:29For they shall be ashamed of the terebinth trees Which you have desired; And you shall be embarrassed because of the gardens Which you have chosen.
• Isaiah 17:8He will not look to the altars, The work of his hands; He will not respect what his fingers have made, Nor the wooden images nor the incense altars.
• Ezekiel 20:28When I brought them into the land concerning which I had raised My hand in an oath to give them, and they saw all the high hills and all the thick trees, there they offered their sacrifices and provoked Me with their offerings. There they also sent up their sweet aroma and poured out their drink offerings.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 17:2

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 2Whilst their children remember - Even the rising generation have their imagination stocked with idol images, and their memories with the frantic rites and ceremonies which they saw their parents observe in this abominable worship.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 2While their children remember their altars - Perhaps an allusion to their sacrifices of children to Moloch. Present perhaps at some such blood-stained rite, its horrors would be engraven forever upon the memory. Groves - “Asherahs,” i. e., wooden images of Astarte (see Exodus 34:13 note).Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2People cut Asherah poles from trees and placed them near altars for Baal, the Canaanite storm god. Asherah was the Canaanite goddess of fertility, representing the moist ground that helped crops grow. People performed ritual sex near these altars to encourage rain, seed sprouting, and plant growth. A tree near an altar could also symbolize this fertility goddess. The people of Judah were so morally corrupt that parents encouraged their children to join…Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-27The the Septuagint omits the first four verses, but other Greek versions have them. 1. The first of the four clauses relates to the third, the second to the fourth, by alternate parallelism. The sense is: They are as keen after idols as if their propensity was "graven with an iron pen (Job 19:24) on their hearts," or as if it were sanctioned by a law "inscribed with a diamond point" on their altars. The names of their gods used to be written on "the horns…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 17:2

• Example
• Groves
• Idolatry
• Influence
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning

In the dictionaries

• Discontinue
• Hallow
• Hatch
• Salt
• Sit
• Asherah
• Color; Colors

Commentaries on Jeremiah 17

• 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