Jeremiah 2 · Verse 22

Jeremiah 2:22

For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God.
Jeremiah 2:22, King James Version

Jeremiah 2:22 in other translations

BSBAlthough you wash with lye and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before Me,” declares the Lord GOD.
WEBFor though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, yet your iniquity is marked before me,” says the Lord GOD.
ASVFor though thou wash thee with lye, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord Jehovah.
YLTBut though thou dost wash with nitre, And dost multiply to thyself soap, Marked is thine iniquity before Me, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah.
DARBYFor though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much potash, thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord Jehovah.
BBEFor even if you are washed with soda and take much soap, still your evil-doing is marked before me, says the Lord God.
WebsterFor though thou shalt wash thee with niter, and take thee much soap, yet thy iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord GOD.

What does Jeremiah 2:22 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
22. nitre--not what is now so called, namely, saltpeter; but the natron of Egypt, a mineral alkali, an incrustation at the bottom of the lakes, after the summer heat has evaporated the water: used for washing (compare Job 9:30; Pr 25:20). soap--potash, the carbonate of which is obtained impure from burning different plants, especially the kali of Egypt and Arabia. Mixed with oil it was used for washing. marked--deeply ingrained, indelibly marked; the Hebrew, catham, being equivalent to cathab. Others translate, "is treasured up," from the Arabic. Maurer from a Syriac root, "is polluted."

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 22 For though thou wash thee with nitre - It should be rendered natar or natron, a substance totally different from our nitre. It comes from the root נתר nathar, to dissolve, loosen, because a solution of it in water is abstersive, taking out spots, etc., from clothes. It is still used in the east for the purpose of washing. If vinegar be poured on it, Dr. Shaw says, a strong effervescence is the immediate consequence, which illustrates Pro 25:20 : "The singing of songs to a heavy heart is like vinegar upon natron;" that is, there is no affinity between them; opposition and strife are occasioned by any attempt to unite them. Thine iniquity is marked before me - No washing will take out thy spots; the marks of thy idolatry and corruption are too deeply rooted to be extracted by any human means.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 2:20-28

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…

Read the full comment on Jeremiah 2:20-28 →

Jeremiah 2:22 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

כִּ֤יkithatH3588
אִם\־'im-thoughH518
תְּכַבְּסִי֙te.kha.be.Siyou will washH3526
בַּנֶּ֔תֶרba.Ne.terwith <the> sodaH5427
וְתַרְבִּי\־ve.tar.bi-so you may increaseH7235
לָ֖ךְlakhfor <the> yourself
בֹּרִ֑יתbo.RitsoapH1287
נִכְתָּ֤םnikh.Tam[is] stainedH3799
עֲוֹנֵךְ֙'a.vo.neKhiniquity yourH5771
לְפָנַ֔יle.fa.Nai<to> before meH6440
נְאֻ֖םne.'Um[the] utterance ofH5002
אֲדֹנָ֥י'a.do.Nai[the] LordH136
יְהוִֽה\׃Yah.wehYahwehH3069

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Jeremiah 2:22

  • Jeremiah 17:1

    The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart, and upon the horns of your altars;

  • Job 14:17

    My transgression is sealed up in a bag, and thou sewest up mine iniquity.

  • Hosea 13:12

    The iniquity of Ephraim is bound up; his sin is hid.

  • Psalms 130:3

    If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?

  • Job 9:30-31

    If I wash myself with snow water, and make my hands never so clean; Yet shalt thou plunge me in the ditch, and mine own clothes shall abhor me.

  • Jeremiah 16:17

    For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes.

  • Psalms 90:8

    Thou hast set our iniquities before thee, our secret sins in the light of thy countenance.

  • Deuteronomy 32:34

    Is not this laid up in store with me, and sealed up among my treasures?

  • Amos 8:7

    The Lord hath sworn by the excellency of Jacob, Surely I will never forget any of their works.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
For though.
Job 9:30,31
yet thine iniquity.
16:17; 17:1; De 32:34; Job 14:17; Ps 90:8; 130:3; Ho 13:12; Am 8:7

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Jeremiah 2:21

    Yet I had planted thee a noble vine, wholly a right seed: how then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a strange vine unto me?

  • Jeremiah 2:22

    For though thou wash thee with nitre, and take thee much soap, yet thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God.

  • Jeremiah 2:23

    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;

Read all of Jeremiah 2

Jeremiah 2:22 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909		Aunque te laves con lejía, y amontones jabón sobre ti, tu pecado está sellado delante de mí, dijo el Señor Jehová.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885		Quand tu te laverais avec du nitre, et que tu emploierais beaucoup de potasse, ton iniquité reste marquée devant moi, dit le Seigneur, l’ Éternel.
German
Elberfelder 1871		Ja, wenn du dich mit Natron wüschest und viel Laugensalz nähmest: schmutzig bleibt deine Ungerechtigkeit vor mir, spricht der Herr, Jehova.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate		Si laveris te nitro, et multiplicaveris tibi herbam borith, maculata es in iniquitate tua coram me, dicit Dominus Deus.