Jeremiah 2:23

Jeremiah 2:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
• New International Version (NIV)“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals’? See how you behaved in the valley; consider what you have done. You are a swift she-camel running here and there,
• English Standard Version (ESV)How can you say, 'I am not unclean, I have not gone after the Baals'? Look at your way in the valley; know what you have done— a restless young camel running here and there,
• New King James Version (NKJV)“How can you say, ‘I am not polluted, I have not gone after the Baals’? See your way in the valley; Know what you have done: You are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways,

Context of Jeremiah 2:23

21Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine to me? 22For though thou shalt wash thee with lye, and take thee much soap, yet thy iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD. How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways; 24A wild donkey used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her. 25Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.

Jeremiah 2:23 word by word

אֵ֣יךְ תֹּאמְרִ֞י לֹ֣א נִטְמֵ֗אתִי אַחֲרֵ֤י הַבְּעָלִים֙ לֹ֣א הָלַ֔כְתִּי רְאִ֤י דַרְכֵּךְ֙ בַּגַּ֔יְא דְּעִ֖י מֶ֣ה עָשִׂ֑ית בִּכְרָ֥ה קַלָּ֖ה מְשָׂרֶ֥כֶת דְּרָכֶֽיהָ׃Read the interlinear

• sayאָמַר'âmar · to sayH559
• pollutedטָמֵאţâmê' · to defileH2930
• goneהָלַךְhâlak · to go: followH1980
• afterאַחַר'achar · afterH310
• Baalimבַּעַלba‛al · BaalH1168
• seeרָאָהrâ'âh · to see: seeH7200
• wayדֶּ֫רֶךְderek · way: journeyH1870
• valleyגַּיְאgay' gay · valleyH1516
• knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
• doneעָשָׂה‛âώâh · to make: doH6213
• swiftקַלqal · swiftH7031
• dromedaryבִּכְרָהbikrâh · young camelH1072
• traversingשָׂרַךְώârak · to twistH8308

Cross-references for Jeremiah 2:23

• Jeremiah 2:34Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.
• Genesis 3:12And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I ate.
• 1 Samuel 15:13And Samuel came to Saul: and Saul said to him, Blessed be thou of the LORD: I have performed the commandment of the LORD.
• Psalms 36:2For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity is found to be hateful.
• Proverbs 28:13He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but he who confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.
• Proverbs 30:12There is a generation that are pure in their own eyes, and yet are not washed from their filthiness.
• Luke 10:29But he, wishing to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
• Romans 3:19Now we know that whatever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
• 1 John 1:8If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
• Revelation 3:17Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
• Jeremiah 3:2Lift up thy eyes to the high places, and see where thou hast not been lain with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy harlotry and with thy wickedness.
• Psalms 50:21These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.
• Ezekiel 16:1Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
• Ezekiel 23:1The word of the LORD came again to me, saying,
• Jeremiah 7:31And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart.
• Isaiah 57:5Inflaming yourselves with idols under every green tree, slaying the children in the valleys under the clefts of the rocks?

Commentaries on Jeremiah 2:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23See thy way in the valley - The valley of Hinnom, where they offered their own children to Moloch, an idol of the Ammonites. A swift dromedary traversing her ways - Dr. Blayney translates, "A fleet dromedary that hath taken to company with her." Dr. Dahler rather paraphrases, thus: - Semblable a une dromedaire en chaleur, Qui court d'une tote a l'autre. "Like to a dromedary in her desire for the male, Which runs hither and thither." This is an energetic…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23In their defense of themselves (compare Jeremiah 2:35), the people probably appealed to the maintenance of the daily sacrifice, and the Mosaic ritual: and even more confidently perhaps to Josiah‘s splendid restoration of the temple, and to the suppression of the open worship of Baal. All such pleas availed little as long as the rites of Moloch were still privately practiced. Thy way in the valley - i. e., of Hinnom (see 2 Kings 23:10 note). From the time…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-28Verses 20-28 Notwithstanding all their advantages, Israel had become like the wild vine that bears poisonous fruit. Men are often as much under the power of their unbridled desires and their sinful lusts, as the brute beasts. But the Lord here warns them not to weary themselves in pursuits which could only bring distress and misery. As we must not despair of the mercy of God, but believe that to be sufficient for the pardon of our sins, so neither must we…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23The people denied being Baal worshipers (compare Jeremiah 2:25). Archaeologists have found small plaques depicting Asherah, a female goddess, and a male god resembling Baal. However, the inscriptions on these plaques bear the name of the Lord (Yahweh). Sometimes, Baal worship was disguised as worship of Israel's God.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. (Pr 30:12). Baalim--plural, to express manifold excellency: compare Elohim. see--consider. the valley--namely, of Hinnom, or Tophet, south and east of Jerusalem: rendered infamous by the human sacrifices to Moloch in it (compare Jr 19:2, 6, 13, 14; 32:35; see on Is 30:33). thou art--omit. The substantive that follows in this verse (and also that in Jr 2:24) is in apposition with the preceding "thou." dromedary--rather, a "young she-camel."…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 2:23

• Baal
• Camel
• Church
• Confidence
• Self-Righteousness
• Wicked (People)

In the dictionaries

• Attire
• Baal
• Bitter
• Camel
• Cry
• Degenerate
• Dromedary
• 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