New Living Translation
Jeremiah 2:36
36First here, then there— you flit from one ally to another asking for help. But your new friends in Egypt will let you down, just as Assyria did before.
Jeremiah 2:36 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
- New International Version (NIV)Why do you go about so much, changing your ways? You will be disappointed by Egypt as you were by Assyria.
- English Standard Version (ESV)How much you go about, changing your way! You shall be put to shame by Egypt as you were put to shame by Assyria.
- New King James Version (NKJV)Why do you gad about so much to change your way? Also you shall be ashamed of Egypt as you were ashamed of Assyria.
Context of Jeremiah 2:36
34Your clothing is stained with the blood of the innocent and the poor, though you didn’t catch them breaking into your houses! 35And yet you say, ‘I have done nothing wrong. Surely God isn’t angry with me!’ But now I will punish you severely because you claim you have not sinned. First here, then there— you flit from one ally to another asking for help. But your new friends in Egypt will let you down, just as Assyria did before. 37In despair, you will be led into exile with your hands on your heads, for the Lord has rejected the nations you trust. They will not help you at all.
Read all of Jeremiah 2Jeremiah 2:36 word by word
מַה־תֵּזְלִ֥י מְאֹ֖ד לְשַׁנּ֣וֹת אֶת־דַּרְכֵּ֑ךְ גַּ֤ם מִמִּצְרַ֙יִם֙ תֵּב֔וֹשִׁי כַּאֲשֶׁר־בֹּ֖שְׁתְּ מֵאַשּֽׁוּר׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 2:36
- Jeremiah 2:18“What have you gained by your alliances with Egypt and your covenants with Assyria? What good to you are the streams of the Nile or the waters of the Euphrates River?
- Jeremiah 31:22How long will you wander, my wayward daughter? For the Lord will cause something new to happen— Israel will embrace her God.”
- Hosea 5:13“When Israel and Judah saw how sick they were, Israel turned to Assyria— to the great king there— but he could neither help nor cure them.
- Hosea 7:11“The people of Israel have become like silly, witless doves, first calling to Egypt, then flying to Assyria for help.
- Hosea 12:1The people of Israel feed on the wind; they chase after the east wind all day long. They pile up lies and violence; they are making an alliance with Assyria while sending olive oil to buy support from Egypt.
- Jeremiah 37:7“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: The king of Judah sent you to ask me what is going to happen. Tell him, ‘Pharaoh’s army is about to return to Egypt, though he came here to help you.
- Isaiah 20:5Then the Philistines will be thrown into panic, for they counted on the power of Ethiopia and boasted of their allies in Egypt!
- Isaiah 30:1“What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,” says the Lord. “You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins.
- Isaiah 31:1What sorrow awaits those who look to Egypt for help, trusting their horses, chariots, and charioteers and depending on the strength of human armies instead of looking to the Lord, the Holy One of Israel.
- Lamentations 4:17We looked in vain for our allies to come and save us, but we were looking to nations that could not help us.
- Lamentations 5:6We submitted to Egypt and Assyria to get enough food to survive.
- Ezekiel 29:7When Israel leaned on you, you splintered and broke and stabbed her in the armpit. When she put her weight on you, you collapsed, and her legs gave way.
- 2 Chronicles 28:16At that time King Ahaz of Judah asked the king of Assyria for help.
- Hosea 10:6This idol will be carted away to Assyria, a gift to the great king there. Ephraim will be ridiculed and Israel will be shamed, because its people have trusted in this idol.
- Hosea 14:3Assyria cannot save us, nor can our warhorses. Never again will we say to the idols we have made, ‘You are our gods.’ No, in you alone do the orphans find mercy.”
Commentaries on Jeremiah 2:36
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 36Why gaddest thou about - When they had departed from the Lord, they sought foreign alliances for support. The Assyrians 2 Chronicles 28:13-21; but they injured instead of helping them. The Egyptians: but in this they were utterly disappointed, and were ashamed of their confidence. See Jeremiah 37:7-8; (note), for the fulfillment of this prediction.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 36To change thy way - The rival parties at Jerusalem looked one to Assyria, the other to Egypt, for safety. As one or other for the time prevailed, the nation “changed its way,” sending its embassies now eastward to Nineveh, now westward to Memphis. Thou also - literally, also of Egypt “shalt thou be ashamed.” This was literally fulfilled by the failure of the attempt to raise the siege of Jerusalem Jeremiah 37:5.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 29-37Verses 29-37 The nation had not been wrought upon by the judgements of God, but sought to justify themselves. The world is, to those who make it their home and their portion, a wilderness and a land of darkness; but those who dwell in God, have the lines fallen to them in pleasant places. Here is the language of presumptuous sinners. The Jews had long thrown off serious thoughts of God. How many days of our lives pass without suitable remembrance of him!…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 36Judah, in its unfaithfulness to the Lord, chose unreliable allies. The leaders sought political help from neighbors like Egypt, which was as false a friend as Assyria had been a century earlier.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 3636. gaddest--runnest to and fro, now seeking help from Assyria (2Ch 28:16-21), now from Egypt (Jr 37:7, 8; Is 30:3).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 2:36
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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