New Living Translation
Jeremiah 2:11
11Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols!
Jeremiah 2:11 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.
- New International Version (NIV)Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Has a nation changed its gods, Which are not gods? But My people have changed their Glory For what does not profit.
Context of Jeremiah 2:11
9Therefore, I will bring my case against you,” says the Lord. “I will even bring charges against your children’s children in the years to come. 10“Go west and look in the land of Cyprus; go east and search through the land of Kedar. Has anyone ever heard of anything as strange as this? Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones, even though they are not gods at all? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols! 12The heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay,” says the Lord. 13“For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me— the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!
Read all of Jeremiah 2Jeremiah 2:11 word by word
הַהֵימִ֥יר גּוֹי֙ אֱלֹהִ֔ים וְהֵ֖מָּה לֹ֣א אֱלֹהִ֑ים וְעַמִּ֛י הֵמִ֥יר כְּבוֹד֖וֹ בְּל֥וֹא יוֹעִֽיל׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 2:11
- Jeremiah 2:5This 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.
- Micah 4:5Though the nations around us follow their idols, we will follow the Lord our God forever and ever.
- 1 Peter 1:18For you know that God paid a ransom to save you from the empty life you inherited from your ancestors. And it was not paid with mere gold or silver, which lose their value.
- Jeremiah 16:20Can people make their own gods? These are not real gods at all!”
- Psalms 115:4Their idols are merely things of silver and gold, shaped by human hands.
- Isaiah 37:19And they have thrown the gods of these nations into the fire and burned them. But of course the Assyrians could destroy them! They were not gods at all—only idols of wood and stone shaped by human hands.
- 1 Corinthians 8:4So, what about eating meat that has been offered to idols? Well, we all know that an idol is not really a god and that there is only one God.
- Jeremiah 2:8The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who taught my word ignored me, the rulers turned against me, and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal, wasting their time on worthless idols.
- Deuteronomy 33:29How blessed you are, O Israel! Who else is like you, a people saved by the Lord? He is your protecting shield and your triumphant sword! Your enemies will cringe before you, and you will stomp on their backs!”
- Psalms 3:3But you, O Lord, are a shield around me; you are my glory, the one who holds my head high.
- Psalms 106:20They traded their glorious God for a statue of a grass-eating bull.
- Romans 1:23And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 2:11
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 11A nation - A Gentile nation, in strong antithesis to people, the appellation of Israel. Their glory - Though the worship of the one true God is a nation‘s greatest glory, yet it is irksome because it puts a constraint on human passions. That which doth not profit - Israel had exchanged the prosperity which was God‘s reward of obedience for the calamities which resulted from idol-worship.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 9-13Verses 9-13 Before God punishes sinners, he pleads with them, to bring them to repentance. He pleads with us, what we should plead with ourselves. Be afraid to think of the wrath and curse which will be the portion of those who throw themselves out of God's grace and favour. Grace in Christ is compared to water from a fountain, it being cooling and refreshing, cleansing and making fruitful: to living water, because it quickens dead sinners, revives…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 11No pagan nation exchanged its gods for those of another nation. Even though pagan nations generally worshiped the same nature deities (using different names), each nation stayed loyal to its own gods. This highlights Israel's disloyalty.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1111. glory--Jehovah, the glory of Israel (Psa 106:20; Ro 1:23). The Shekinah, or cloud resting on the sanctuary, was the symbol of "the glory of the Lord" (1Ki 8:11; compare Ro 9:4). The golden calf was intended as an image of the true God (compare Ex 32:4, 5), yet it is called an "idol" (Ac 7:41). It (like Roman Catholic images) was a violation of the second commandment, as the heathen multiplying of gods is a violation of the first. not profit--(Jr 2:8).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 2:11
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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