Jeremiah 3 · Verse 2

Jeremiah 3:2

Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.
Jeremiah 3:2, King James Version

Jeremiah 3:2 in other translations

BSB“Lift up your eyes to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been violated? You sat beside the highways waiting for your lovers, like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your prostitution and wickedness.
WEB“Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see! Where have you not been lain with? You have sat waiting for them by the road, as an Arabian in the wilderness. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and with your wickedness.
ASVLift up thine eyes unto the bare heights, and see; where hast thou not been lain with? By the ways hast thou sat for them, as an Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.
YLTLift thine eyes to the high places, and see, Where hast thou not been lain with? On the ways thou hast sat for them, As an Arab in a wilderness, And thou defilest the land, By thy fornications, and by thy wickedness.
DARBYLift up thine eyes unto the heights and see, where hast thou not been lain with? In the ways hast thou sat for them, as an Arab in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy fornications and with thy wickedness.
BBELet your eyes be lifted up to the open hilltops, and see; where have you not been taken by your lovers? You have been seated waiting for them by the wayside like an Arabian in the waste land; you have made the land unclean with your loose ways and your evil-doing.
WebsterLift 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 acts of lewdness, and with thy wickedness.

What does Jeremiah 3:2 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
2. high places--the scene of idolatries which were spiritual adulteries. In ... ways ... sat for them--watching for lovers like a prostitute (Ge 38:14, 21; Pr 7:12; 23:28; Eze 16:24, 25), and like an Arab who lies in wait for travellers. The Arabs of the desert, east and south of Palestine, are still notorious as robbers.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 2 As the Arabian in the wilderness - They were as fully intent on the practice of their idolatry as the Arab in the desert is in lying in wait to plunder the caravans. Where they have not cover to lie in ambush, they scatter themselves about, and run hither and thither, raising themselves up on their saddles to see if they can discover, by smoke, dust, or other token, the approach of any travelers.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 3:1-5

Exhortations to repentance. (Jr 3:1-5) Judah more guilty than Israel. (Jr 3:6-11) But pardon is promised. (Jr 3:12-20) The children of Israel express their sorrow and repentance. (Jr 3:21-25) Verses 1-5 In repentance, it is good to think upon the sins of which we have been guilty, and the places and companies where they have been committed. How gently the Lord had corrected them! In receiving penitents, he is God…

Read the full comment on Jeremiah 3:1-5 →

Jeremiah 3:2 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.

שְׂאִֽי\־se.'i-lift upH5375
עֵינַ֨יִךְ'ei.Na.yikheyes yourH5869
עַל\־'al-onH5921
שְׁפָיִ֜םshe.fa.Yimbare heightsH8205
וּרְאִ֗יu.re.'Iand seeH7200
אֵיפֹה֙'ei.Fohwhere?H375
לֹ֣אlo'notH3808
שֻׁכַּ֔בְתְּshu.kab.tehave you been lain withH7901
עַל\־'al-atH5921
דְּרָכִים֙de.ra.KhimroadsH1870
יָשַׁ֣בְתְּya.Shavtyou satH3427
לָהֶ֔םla.Hemfor <the> them
כַּעֲרָבִ֖יka.'a.ra.Vilike an ArabH6163
בַּמִּדְבָּ֑רba.mid.Barin the wildernessH4057
וַתַּחֲנִ֣יפִיva.ta.cha.Ni.fiand you have pollutedH2610
אֶ֔רֶץ'E.retz[the] landH776
בִּזְנוּתַ֖יִךְbiz.nu.Ta.yikhby prostitution yourH2184
וּבְרָעָתֵֽךְ\׃u.ve.ra.'a.Tekhand by wickedness yourH7451

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

Cross references for Jeremiah 3:2

  • Ezekiel 16:24-25

    That thou hast also built unto thee an eminent place, and hast made thee an high place in every street. Thou hast built thy high place at every head of the way, and hast made thy beauty to be abhorred, and hast opened thy feet to every one that passed by, and multiplied thy whoredoms.

  • Genesis 38:14

    And she put her widow’s garments off from her, and covered her with a vail, and wrapped herself, and sat in an open place, which is by the way to Timnath; for she saw that Shelah was grown, and she was not given unto him to wife.

  • Jeremiah 2:7

    And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.

  • Ezekiel 8:4-6

    And, behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, according to the vision that I saw in the plain. Then said he unto me, Son of man, lift up thine eyes now the way toward the north. So I lifted up mine eyes the way toward the north, and behold northward at the gate of the altar this image of jealousy in the entry. He said furthermore unto me, Son of man, seest thou what they do? even the great abominations that the house of Israel committeth here, that I should go far off from my sanctuary? but turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations.

  • Jeremiah 2:20

    For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.

  • Deuteronomy 12:2

    Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree:

  • Jeremiah 3:1

    They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the Lord.

  • Proverbs 23:28

    She also lieth in wait as for a prey, and increaseth the transgressors among men.

  • 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;

  • 1 Kings 11:3

    And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart.

  • Luke 16:23

    And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.

  • Proverbs 7:11

    (She is loud and stubborn; her feet abide not in her house:

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Lift.
2:23; Eze 8:4-6; Lu 16:23
unto.
2:20; De 12:2; 1Ki 11:3; 2Ki 23:13; Eze 16:16,24,25; 20:28
In the.
Ge 38:14; Pr 7:11; 23:28; Eze 16:24,25
thou hast.
1,9; 2:7

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

Context

  • Jeremiah 3:1

    They say, If a man put away his wife, and she go from him, and become another man’s, shall he return unto her again? shall not that land be greatly polluted? but thou hast played the harlot with many lovers; yet return again to me, saith the Lord.

  • Jeremiah 3:2

    Lift up thine eyes unto the high places, and see where thou hast not been lien with. In the ways hast thou sat for them, as the Arabian in the wilderness; and thou hast polluted the land with thy whoredoms and with thy wickedness.

  • Jeremiah 3:3

    Therefore the showers have been withholden, and there hath been no latter rain; and thou hadst a whore’s forehead, thou refusedst to be ashamed.

Read all of Jeremiah 3

Jeremiah 3:2 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Alza tus ojos á los altos, y ve en qué lugar no te hayas publicado: para ellos te sentabas en los caminos, como Arabe en el desierto; y con tus fornicaciones y con tu malicia has contaminado la tierra.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Lève tes yeux vers les hauteurs, et regarde! Où ne t’es-tu pas abandonnée? Tu t’es assise sur les chemins pour eux, comme un Arabe dans le désert, et tu as souillé le pays par tes prostitutions et par ton iniquité.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Hebe deine Augen auf zu den kahlen Höhen und sieh! wo bist du nicht geschändet worden? An den Wegen saßest du für sie, wie ein Araber in der Wüste; und du hast das Land entweiht durch deine Hurerei und durch deine Bosheit.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Leva oculos tuos in directum, et vide ubi non prostrata sis. In viis sedebas, exspectans eos quasi latro in solitudine: et polluisti terram in fornicationibus tuis, et in malitiis tuis.