Jeremiah 2:2
Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
Jeremiah 2:2 in other translations
| BSB | “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem that this is what the LORD says: ‘I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed Me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. |
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| WEB | “Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘The LORD says, “I remember for you the kindness of your youth, your love as a bride, how you went after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. |
| ASV | Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. |
| YLT | ‘Go, and thou hast called in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus said Jehovah: I have remembered for thee The kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, Thy going after Me in a wilderness, in a land not sown. |
| DARBY | Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. |
| BBE | Go and say in the ears of Jerusalem, The Lord says, I still keep the memory of your kind heart when you were young, and your love when you became my bride; how you went after me in the waste of sand, in an unplanted land. |
| Webster | Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thy espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown. |
What does Jeremiah 2:2 mean?
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
Jr 2:1-37. Expostulation with the Jews, Reminding Them of Their Former Devotedness, and God's Consequent Favor, and a Denunciation of God's Coming Judgments for Their Idolatry.
Probably in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah (Jr 1:2; compare Jr 3:6, "also ... in ... days of Josiah"). The warning not to rely as they did on Egypt (Jr 2:18), was in accordance with Josiah's policy, who took part with Assyria and Babylon against Egypt (2Ki 23:29). Jeremiah, doubtless, supported the reformation begun by Josiah, in the previous year (the twelfth of his reign), and fully carried out in the eighteenth. 2. cry--proclaim. Jerusalem--the headquarters and center of their idolatry; therefore addressed first. thee--rather, "I remember in regard to thee" [Henderson]; "for thee" [Maurer]. kindness of thy youth--not so much Israel's kindness towards God, as the kindness which Israel experienced from God in their early history (compare Eze 16:8, 22, 60; 23:3, 8, 19; Ho 2:15). For Israel from the first showed perversity rather than kindness towards God (compare Ex 14:11, 12; 15:24; 32:1-7, &c.). The greater were God's favors to them from the first, the fouler was their ingratitude in forsaking Him (Jr 2:3, 5, &c.). espousals--the intervals between Israel's betrothal to God at the exodus from Egypt, and the formal execution of the marriage contract at Sinai. Ewald takes the "kindness" and "love" to be Israel's towards God at first (Ex 19:8; 24:3; 35:20-29; 36:5; Jos 24:16-17). But compare De 32:16, 17; Eze 16:5, 6, 15, 22 ("days of thy youth") implies that the love here meant was on God's side, not Israel's. thou wentest after me in ... wilderness--the next act of God's love, His leading them in the desert without needing any strange god, such as they since worshipped, to help Him (De 2:7; 32:12). Jr 2:6 shows it is God's "leading" of them, not their following after God in the wilderness, which is implied.Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain
Adam Clarke's Commentary
Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 2:1-8
God expostulates with his people. (Jr 2:1-8) Their revolt beyond example. (Jr 2:9-13) Guilt the cause of sufferings. (Jr 2:14-19) The sins of Judah. (Jr 2:20-28) Their false confidence. (Jr 2:29-37) Verses 1-8 Those who begin well, but do not persevere, will justly be upbraided with their hopeful and promising beginnings. Those who desert religion, commonly oppose it more than those who never knew it. For this they…
Jeremiah 2:2 in the original Hebrew
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Cross references for Jeremiah 2:2
- Ezekiel 16:60
Nevertheless I will remember my covenant with thee in the days of thy youth, and I will establish unto thee an everlasting covenant.
- Ezekiel 16:8
Now when I passed by thee, and looked upon thee, behold, thy time was the time of love; and I spread my skirt over thee, and covered thy nakedness: yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a covenant with thee, saith the Lord God, and thou becamest mine.
- Jeremiah 11:6
Then the Lord said unto me, Proclaim all these words in the cities of Judah, and in the streets of Jerusalem, saying, Hear ye the words of this covenant, and do them.
- Deuteronomy 2:7
For the Lord thy God hath blessed thee in all the works of thy hand: he knoweth thy walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the Lord thy God hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.
- Isaiah 63:7-14
I will mention the lovingkindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his lovingkindnesses. For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them. …
- Jeremiah 7:2
Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all ye of Judah, that enter in at these gates to worship the Lord.
- Hosea 2:15
And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope: and she shall sing there, as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.
- Jeremiah 2:6
Neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?
- Nehemiah 9:12-21
Moreover thou leddest them in the day by a cloudy pillar; and in the night by a pillar of fire, to give them light in the way wherein they should go. Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: And madest known unto them thy holy sabbath, and commandedst them precepts, statutes, and laws, by the hand of Moses thy servant: And gavest them bread from heaven for their hunger, and broughtest forth water for them out of the rock for their thirst, and promisedst them that they should go in to possess the land which thou hadst sworn to give them. …
- Deuteronomy 8:2
And thou shalt remember all the way which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.
- Exodus 14:31-15:20
And Israel saw that great work which the Lord did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the Lord, and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses. Then sang Moses and the children of Israel this song unto the Lord, and spake, saying, I will sing unto the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously: the horse and his rider hath he thrown into the sea. The Lord is my strength and song, and he is become my salvation: he is my God, and I will prepare him an habitation; my father’s God, and I will exalt him. The Lord is a man of war: the Lord is his name. …
- Exodus 24:3-8
And Moses came and told the people all the words of the Lord, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the Lord hath said will we do. And Moses wrote all the words of the Lord, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel. And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the Lord. And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar. …
Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
7:2; 11:6; 19:2; Pr 1:20; 8:1-4; Isa 58:1; Ho 8:1; Jon 1:2; Mt 11:15
Lu 12:13
thee. or, for thy sake. the kindness.
Ex 14:31; 15:1-20; Eze 16:8,22,60; 23:3,8,19; Ho 2:15
thine espousals.
Ex 24:3-8; So 3:11; Ex 16:8
when.
6; De 2:7; 8:2,15,16; Ne 9:12-21; Isa 63:7-14
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain
Context
- Jeremiah 2:1
Moreover the word of the Lord came to me, saying,
- Jeremiah 2:2
Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the Lord; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.
- Jeremiah 2:3
Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord.
Jeremiah 2:2 in other languages
| Spanish Reina-Valera 1909 | Anda, y clama á los oídos de Jerusalem, diciendo: Así dice Jehová: Heme acordado de ti, de la misericordia de tu mocedad, del amor de tu desposorio, cuando andabas en pos de mí en el desierto, en tierra no sembrada. |
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| French Bible J.N. Darby 1885 | Va, et crie aux oreilles de Jérusalem, disant: Ainsi dit l’ Éternel: Je me souviens de toi, de la grâce de ta jeunesse, de l’amour de tes fiançailles, quand tu marchais après moi dans le désert, dans un pays non semé. |
| German Elberfelder 1871 | Geh und rufe vor den Ohren Jerusalems und sprich: So spricht Jehova: Ich habe dir gedacht die Zuneigung deiner Jugend, die Liebe deines Brautstandes, dein Wandeln hinter mir her in der Wüste, im unbesäten Lande. |
| Latin Clementine Vulgate | Vade, et clama in auribus Jerusalem, dicens: Hæc dicit Dominus: Recordatus sum tui, miserans adolescentiam tuam, et caritatem desponsationis tuæ, quando secuta es me in deserto, in terra quæ non seminatur. |