Jeremiah 2:20

The Lord Expresses His Exasperation at Judah’s Persistent Idolatry

2:20 “Indeed, ¹  long ago you threw off my authority

and refused to be subject to me. ² 

You said, ‘I will not serve you.’ ³ 

Instead, you gave yourself to other gods on every high hill

and under every green tree,

like a prostitute sprawls out before her lovers. ⁴ 

Jeremiah 3:6

3:6 When Josiah was king of Judah, the Lord said to me, “Jeremiah, you have no doubt seen what wayward Israel has done. ⁵  You have seen how she went up to every high hill and under every green tree to give herself like a prostitute to other gods. ⁶ 

Jeremiah 51:58

51:58 This is what the Lord who rules over all ⁷  says,

“Babylon’s thick wall ⁸  will be completely demolished. ⁹ 

Her high gates will be set on fire.

The peoples strive for what does not satisfy. ¹⁰ 

The nations grow weary trying to get what will be destroyed.” ¹¹ 

[2:20]  ¹ tn Or “For.” The Hebrew particle (כִּי, ki) here introduces the evidence that they had no respect for him.

[2:20]  ² tn Heb “you broke your yoke…tore off your yoke ropes.” The metaphor is that of a recalcitrant ox or heifer which has broken free from its master.

[2:20]  ³ tc The MT of this verse has two examples of the old second feminine singular perfect, שָׁבַרְתִּי (shavarti) and נִתַּקְתִּי (nittaqti), which the Masoretes mistook for first singulars leading to the proposal to read אֶעֱבוֹר (’e’evor, “I will not transgress”) for אֶעֱבֹד (’e’evod, “I will not serve”). The latter understanding of the forms is accepted in KJV but rejected by almost all modern English versions as being less appropriate to the context than the reading accepted in the translation given here.

[2:20]  ⁴ tn Heb “you sprawled as a prostitute on….” The translation reflects the meaning of the metaphor.

[3:6]  ⁵ tn “Have you seen…” The question is rhetorical and expects a positive answer.

[3:6]  ⁶ tn Heb “she played the prostitute there.” This is a metaphor for Israel’s worship; she gave herself to the worship of other gods like a prostitute gives herself to her lovers. There seems no clear way to completely spell out the metaphor in the translation.

[51:58]  ⁹ sn See the note at Jer 2:19.

[51:58]  ¹⁰ tn The text has the plural “walls,” but many Hebrew mss read the singular “wall,” which is also supported by the ancient Greek version. The modifying adjective “thick” is singular as well.

[51:58]  ¹¹ tn The infinitive absolute emphasizes the following finite verb. Another option is to translate, “will certainly be demolished.”

[51:58]  ¹² tn Heb “for what is empty.”

[51:58]  ¹³ tn Heb “and the nations for fire, and they grow weary.”