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1–3. Early mutual relations between Jehovah and Israel. 4–13. Israel's falling away from Jehovah. 14–26. Only God's judgment will open Israel's eyes to the depth of her fall, 29–37. but now Israel still longs for fellowship with foreign nations and gods. Jer.2:1. And the word of the Lord came to me: Jer.2:2. Go and cry in the ears of the daughter of Jerusalem: Thus says the Lord: I remember the friendship of your youth, your love when you were a bride, when you followed Me into the wilderness, into the land that was not sown. Jer.2:3. Israel was the holiness of the Lord, the firstfruits of His fruits; all who ate it were condemned, disaster befell them, says the Lord. The prophet's speech begins with a reminder to Israel of the love with which Israel once treated Jehovah. For this love, the Lord always protected Israel from enemies. “In the ears of the daughter of Jerusalem” – more correctly from the Hebrew: “before the ears of Jerusalem.” This inscription appears to be in conflict with the content of the next speech, where the prophet speaks about the relationship of all Israel to God, and not about Jerusalem alone. But we must take into account that the kingdom of Judah and Jerusalem remained at that time the only representatives of Israel in Palestine: the 10 northern tribes of Israel were already in Assyrian captivity. In these two verses, conveniently divided into four stanzas, the prophet establishes, so to speak, the starting point for his subsequent denunciatory sermon. Here it is Jeremiah who recalls the good old days when Israel, upon leaving Egypt, had for Jehovah the same deep and tender love that a bride usually has and displays for her groom. The people of Israel with full confidence went from Egypt, according to Jehovah's instructions (Exodus 4.31), into the impassable desert, without fear of any difficulties and hardships that awaited them here. Jeremiah speaks about this on behalf of God, and then immediately on his own behalf asserts that God, on his part, rewarded Israel for this love. Israel was in the eyes of God the holy thing of the Lord, that is, a sacrifice or thing or person dedicated to God (cf. Exodus 19.6) or the firstfruits of the harvest, which, according to the law, belonged to Jehovah (Exodus 23.19). Therefore, everyone who took this shrine or the firstfruits of Jehovah for themselves incurred the wrath of God (Lev. 22:10, 15). It is clear that the prophet is speaking here about the pagans, who were really, strictly punished by Jehovah when they wanted to “devour Israel” (Hab 3.14). Jeremiah 2:4–13. In contrast to this remembrance of Israel's merits, which God always revealed, the prophet depicts Israel's unfaithfulness to God. As if having discovered something bad in their God, Israel, from the time of the judges, turned to other gods, forgetting how the Lord led him through the terrible desert to beautiful Palestine. The leaders of the people not only did not care about correcting him, but confused him even more. Through this, Israel showed itself to be more ungrateful towards Jehovah than the pagans, who do not even betray their insignificant gods. Jer.2:4. Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob and all the generations of the house of Israel! The Prophet is speaking here to all of Israel. “House of Jacob” - “tribes of the house of Israel” are synonymous expressions to designate the people of Israel in general (cf. Ezekiel 20.5). Jer.2:5. Thus says the Lord: What iniquity did your fathers find in Me, that they departed from Me and followed vanity and became futile? “What untruth” - more precisely from the Hebrew: in what respect did your fathers find Me deceitful? - “They went after vanity,” that is, they gave themselves up to idolatry. Idols are called vain because they are powerless, dead, in contrast to Jehovah, that is, the truly Existent. - “We got fussy.” Having begun to worship idols, the Israelites themselves became empty and insignificant people, living with unrealistic hopes. – The question that begins in this verse ends in verse 6. Jer.2:6. and they did not say: “Where is the Lord, who brought us out of the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a desert and uninhabited land, through a dry land, through the land of the shadow of death, where no one walked and where no man dwelt?” The Israelites did not seek Jehovah, having settled in the Promised Land, did not show any love or gratitude towards Him, and forgot that only thanks to Him alone they passed safely through the terrible Arabian desert that separated Egypt from Palestine. – “The land is empty and uninhabited” – from Hebrew. more precisely: a country full of steppes and pits. The Arabian desert occasionally only has oases with trees and springs. In general, it is a dry and hot steppe, in which, moreover, there are many gaps and potholes that make traveling through it extremely difficult - “The Land of the Shadow of Death.” This is the name of the desert, of course, metaphorically. The prophet indicates by this that the traveler who found himself in the desert fell into the horror that a person usually feels in the face of impending death. - “No one walked” is a hyperbolic expression, indicating the difficulty of traveling through this desert. Jer.2:7. And I brought you into a fruitful land, so that you might eat its fruits and its goodness; But you entered and defiled My land, and made My heritage an abomination. Jer.2:8. The priests did not say, “Where is the Lord?” and the teachers of the law did not know Me, and the shepherds fell away from Me, and the prophets prophesied in the name of Baal and walked after those who do not help. Although the Lord gave the Jews a beautiful, fertile land, they grossly insulted Him by worshiping false gods in this land that belonged to Him. In this way they desecrated the promised land itself. The chief culprits of this corruption of the people were the priests; they are also teachers of the people (cf. Hos 4.4–10; Hos 6.9; Hos 10.5; Is 28.7 and Mic 3.11). “Shepherds” are not only kings, but rulers of the people in general. - "Prophets". Here we specifically mean the prophets of Samaria (cf. Jer 23.10). – “Baal” is a general designation for idols (cf. Jer 12.16; Jer 23.27 and Zeph 1.4). Jer.2:9. Therefore I will plead with you again, says the Lord, and with your sons’ sons I will plead. Since Israel’s apostasy from God has not ended, the Lord promises to “go to court” with His people in the future, that is, the Lord will, mainly through the prophet Jeremiah, show Israel its guilt before God, and also punish the Jews in order to awaken in them repentance for their apostasy with these punishments. Jer.2:10. For go to the islands of Chittim and look, and send to Kidar and scout diligently, and consider: was there anything like this there? Jer.2:11. Has any people changed their gods, although they are not gods? but My people exchanged their glory for something that does not help. Israel, an apostate from their God the Benefactor, stands much lower than the pagan peoples who firmly cling to their ancient religion, although it does not give them such real consolations and benefits as the religion of Jehovah gave and gives to the Jews. – “Isles of Hittim” – more correctly: the islands of Kittim, i.e. the island of Cyprus, where the city of Kition, founded by the Phoenicians (now Larnaca), was located. In addition, here the prophet undoubtedly means all the lands lying to the west of Palestine. Compare Isa 23.1, 12. “Kedar” are the inhabitants of the desert lying between Petraea and Babylon, the descendants of Ishmael (cf. Isaiah 21:16 et seq.), and here, of course, the inhabitants of the lands lying generally to the east of Palestine. – The “Glory” of the Jews is the same as the God of the Jews showing His great glory over the people. Here is a figure of metonymy. – Many historians talk about the adherence of pagans to their religions. Jer.2:12. Marvel at this, O heavens, and tremble and be horrified, says the Lord. Jer.2:13. For My people have committed two evils: They have abandoned Me, the fountain of living waters, and have hewed out for themselves broken cisterns that cannot hold water. Calling the heavens, which cannot but be amazed at Israel’s ingratitude to Jehovah, as a witness to the gravity of the crime committed by Israel, the prophet on behalf of God says that Israel abandoned God - this source of living, the purest spring water, and dug for itself a reservoir for rainwater, and even a reservoir that is not lined inside with strong hewn stones and therefore does not retain the water flowing into it. It is clear that by these bad cisterns or reservoirs that do not fulfill their purpose we must understand the pagan religions to which Israel clung, abandoning faith in the true God. Jeremiah 2:14–28. Judging by the present state in which Israel is, one would think that Israel is not the firstborn son of God, but a slave or a member of the household of people; he became a prey, a plaything of the nations. But this is exactly what should have happened. Israel is being punished by this for its apostasy from God, which continues throughout its historical life and which brought nothing but grief and shame to it. Israel, with some kind of frenzy, was carried away by serving foreign gods and entered into alliances with the Assyrians and the Egyptians. Jer.2:14. Is Israel a slave? or is he a household member? why did he become a prey? Only slaves or children born in the Master’s house from slave parents had no rights and were subjected to such punishments as Israel is currently subjected to, having completely submitted to the enemies and become their prey. The Prophet is obviously speaking here of the northern ten-tribe kingdom, which at that time was conquered by the Assyrians and whose inhabitants were taken captive to Assyria. Jer.2:15. The young lions roared at him, raised their voices, and made his land desolate; its cities were burned, without inhabitants. The “young lions” that devastated the country of Israel were, of course, the Assyrians, who rushed like lions upon their prey (cf. Is 5.29) and devastated the entire country of Israel. Jer.2:16. And the sons of Memphis and Taphna have eaten up your crown. "The sons of Memphis and Taphne" are Egyptians. Memphis - in Egyptian men-nofer - good refuge - the famous main city of lower Egypt; its remains lie near the village of Mit Rahen, south of Cairo. Taphne is Daphne, 16 Roman miles southwest of Pelusium. This was a fortress built by Psammetichus I to repel attacks from the Arabians and Syrians, dominating the Nile, which was the only route from Egypt to Asia. - “They ate your crown” - more precisely from the Hebrew: they cut or are cutting your hair bald. This cutting is a symbol of humiliation and sadness (Jer 47.5; Jer 48.37; Is 3.17). The prophet here probably means the defeat and death of the Judah king Josiah in the battle with the Egyptian king Necho (2 Kings 23.29). Jer.2:17. Have you not done this to yourself by forsaking the Lord your God at the time when He was guiding you? Here is indicated the cause of Israel's misfortunes - its apostasy from Jehovah. The words: “at the time when He guided you” are recognized by the newest critics as an insertion, as violating the size of the prophet’s poetic speech. LXX doesn't have them either. Jer.2:18. And now why do you go to Egypt to drink water from the Nile? and why do you go to Assyria to drink water from its river? Both Jewish kingdoms sought help for themselves - one in Egypt, the other in Assyria, forgetting that they had a faithful and reliable Protector - Jehovah. “Drink water” - seek help, support. The image taken here by the prophet is explained by the fact that water in sultry Palestine is especially necessary for a weary traveler. Nile in Hebrew Schichor – dark, black. This is what the Jews called the Nile because during the flood it was completely clouded with black silt. – “River” is Euphrates, which especially deserves the name river (cf. Gen 31.21). Jer.2:19. Your wickedness will punish you, and your apostasy will expose you; Therefore, know and consider how bad and bitter it is that you have forsaken the Lord your God and My fear is not in you, says the Lord God of hosts. Jer.2:20. For long ago I broke your yoke, I broke your bonds, and you said, “I will not serve idols,” and yet on every high hill and under every branching tree you committed fornication. The Lord promises to punish Israel for its wickedness, for its apostasy from Jehovah. “You Israel, like a disobedient work animal, have long since broken the yoke (which his master, Jehovah, put on him), tore your bonds and said to Jehovah, “I will not serve You,” but under every tree you have played the harlot.” – This is how the newest translators read verse 20, in accordance with the meaning of the LXX text. Our Synodal Russian translation attributes the breaking of the yoke to Jehovah, seeing here the idea of ​​​​bringing Israel out of slavery in Egypt. - “Committed fornication” - that is, he performed service to the pagan gods (Jer 3.6,13; Jer 13.26), which mostly took place in shady groves (Hos 4.18). Jer.2:21. I planted you like a noble vine, the purest seed; How did you turn into a wild branch of someone else’s vine with Me? Israel was planted by Jehovah in Palestine as a noble vine - according to Heb. sorek (cf. Is 5.2). How did it turn into an unusable wild vine, that is, lose all its sweetness, all its taste? Jer.2:22. Therefore, even though you wash your face with soap and use a lot of lye on yourself, your wickedness is marked before Me, says the Lord God. The people of Israel cannot atone for their sin, which changed their entire spiritual being, before God. "Soap" - in Hebrew. neter is a mineral alkaline salt that was used instead of soap for washing. "Lye" - in Hebrew. borit – a substance of plant origin (cf. Proverbs 25.20). Jer.2:23. How can you say: “I have not defiled myself, I have not followed Baal?” Look at your behavior in the valley, know what you were doing, a frisky camel prowling along your paths? Jer.2:24. A wild donkey accustomed to the desert, swallowing air in the passion of her soul, who can hold back? All who seek her will not grow weary: in her month they will find her. Jer.2:25. Do not let your feet wear out your shoes, and do not let your throat languish with thirst. But you said: “Don’t hope, no! for I love strangers and will follow after them.” Like the lustful she-camel and the wild ass, Israel sought to satiate its passion for pagan religious orgies. The prophet recalls here those vile festivals that were held in honor of Molech or Baal in the valley of the sons of Hinnom near Jerusalem (cf. Jer 7.31; 2 Kings 23.10). To the ironic advice - to take pity on your shoes and not let your throat dry up from the unbridled pursuit of pleasure, Israel replies that all admonitions are in vain: he is unable to overcome passions for foreign gods in himself. Jer.2:26. Just as a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the house of Israel has disgraced itself: they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets, Jer.2:27. saying to the tree, “You are my father,” and to the stone, “You gave birth to me”; for they turned their backs to Me, and not their faces; and during their disaster they will say: “Rise and save us!” Jer.2:28. Where are your gods that you made for yourself? - let them stand up if they can save you in your time of distress; for as many cities as you have, so many gods do you have, O Judas. Here the prophet compares the people of Israel to a thief who was caught in the act and who has no way to justify himself. The Israelites should feel the same shame in the face of the disasters coming upon them. They will turn in vain to their idols, whom they have taught everywhere - they will not help them! – “Tree” is a wooden pillar in honor of the goddess Asherah. “Stone” is a stone pillar in honor of Baal (Hosea 3.4; Hosea 10.13). The Jews addressed them with respectful names: father, mother, forgetting that they had one father - Jehovah (Deut. 32.6). Jeremiah 2:29–37. God continues to rebuke Israel for its apostasy and its wickedness, and especially for the fact that, having stained its hands with blood, it does not recognize its guilt. At the same time, Israel is pointed out that its hope for help from Egypt is completely unfounded. Jer.2:29. Why should you compete with Me? “You have all [acted wickedly and] sinned against Me, says the Lord. God says that Israel is not able to find anything in its defense and therefore, of course - this is the thought of the prophet - must humbly bear the punishment assigned to it (On metrical grounds, the words of the 29th verse: “all of you have acted wickedly”, taken in the Russian synodal translation from the LXX, must be recognized as authentic). Jer.2:30. In vain did I strike your children: they did not accept admonition; Your sword has devoured your prophets like a destroying lion [and you were not afraid]. No plagues of God turned Israel to the path of repentance. Many children of Israel perished at the hands of the enemies sent against Israel by Jehovah, many of the prophets of Israel were devoured by “your sword” - an unnecessary expression, since we are talking about “your prophets”, that is, those pleasing to you, sinners, and not about the true messengers of Jehovah), but Israel - such is the idea of ​​​​this verse - did not turn to Jehovah. Jeremiah has in mind here, perhaps, the beating of the 450 prophets of Baal by the hand of the prophet Elijah (1 Kings 18.40). – The last words of the 30th article, enclosed in parentheses in the Russian translation, are taken from the LXX translation: they represent an incorrect translation of the Hebrew. expression hador-attem, correctly rendered at the beginning of the 31st Art. expression: "Oh, kind!" . Jer.2:31. Oh, kind! Hear ye the word of the Lord: Am I a desolation to Israel? Was I a land of darkness? Why do My people say: “We are our own masters; we will no longer come to You"? The prophet invites Israel to heed the Lord's rebuke. The Lord wonders why Israel is dissatisfied with Him, their constant benefactor and protector? - “O, kind”, i.e., oh, people! Perhaps the prophet meant here by this designation of Israel (hador) to humiliate it, to show that it no longer deserves the name of the chosen people (haam). – “Wilderness” is a place full of all sorts of dangers – see the explanation of verse 6. – “The Land of Darkness” – where nothing is visible – see in the same place. The prophet wants to indicate by this that God always cared about His people and explained everything that needed to be explained to them through the high priests and prophets. Jer.2:32. Does a maiden forget her jewelry and a bride her outfit? but My people have forgotten Me; the days are without number. It is unnatural for a Jewish maiden to appear on the street without her jewelry, and for a bride to appear without her veil (according to other translations: without a belt). It seems equally unnatural for Israel to forget its God for such a long time. Jer.2:33. How skillfully you direct your paths to win love! and for this reason you adapted your ways even to crimes. Israel, seeking the love of foreign gods, knew how to act very cunningly. “And even for that” is a more correct translation: for the sake of this, you know how to subtly change your bad ways. The Prophet wants to say by this that Israel directed all its attention to how to leave Jehovah for foreign gods. Jer.2:34. Even on the hems of your clothes there is the blood of poor, innocent people whom you did not find during the break-in, and, despite all this, Jer.2:35. you say: “since I am innocent, surely His anger will turn away from me.” Behold, I will sue you because you say, “I have not sinned.” Israel - the prophet here means the kingdom of Judah - shed a lot of innocent blood, traces of which are even on the hems of his clothes. Nevertheless, at the present time - the prophet speaks of the calm times of the reign of Josiah - Israel considers itself innocent in the face of God and calms itself with the thought that the wrath of God will not befall it at all. For this self-righteousness, for this unrepentance, God will judge Israel. - “I didn’t catch you during the break-in.” According to the Law of Moses, a thief whom the owner of the house found breaking into the house at night could be killed, and this did not entail any liability (Exodus 22.2). - “I have not sinned.” The prophet depicts Israel as a woman, probably referring to the usual idea of ​​the prophets that the people of Israel are the wife of Jehovah (Hosea 2.2). Jer.2:36. Why do you wander around so much, changing your path? You will also be put to shame by Egypt, just as you were put to shame by Assyria; Jer.2:37. and you will leave it with your hands on your head, because the Lord has rejected your hopes, and you will not prosper with them. The prophet passes here to the time of King Joachim, who ascended to the Jewish throne thanks to the Egyptian Pharaoh Necho. Egyptian help is not reliable. The Israeli ambassadors will leave Egypt with their hands on their heads as a sign of sadness and despair (2 Samuel 13.19). It is obvious that the prophet here predicts the weakening of Egypt, which followed the defeat that Nebuchadnezzar inflicted on Pharaoh Necho at Carhamish. Special notes. The first speeches of the prophet (II-VI chapters) belong to the time of King Josiah and were said, probably, after the prophet was called to his ministry, when gross manifestations of idolatry in Jerusalem had already been destroyed, but the religious reform had not yet been fully carried out. The prophet considers the people and their leaders as still standing under the wrath of God, which they brought upon themselves by their long-term apostasy from Jehovah. – Criticism suspects the authenticity of Art. 4–13. Chapter II on the basis of the too preachy tone of this section and the too harsh denunciations contained in it. But this section is quite consistent in form and content with other sections of the book. Jeremiah. – Ch. II st. 2–12 are read as parimia on October 26, in memory of the earthquake that occurred in Constantinople. You might be interested in: