Jeremiah 2:4-8
Expanded Bible
4 Hear the word of the Lord, ·family [L house] of Jacob,
all you ·family groups [L clans of the house] of Israel.
5 This is what the Lord says:
“·I was fair to your ancestors,
so why did they turn away from me? [L What wrong did your ancestors/fathers find in me
that they removed themselves from me?]
Your ·ancestors [fathers] ·worshiped [L went after] ·useless idols [worthless/meaningless things]
and became ·useless [worthless; meaningless] themselves.
6 Your ·ancestors [fathers] didn’t say,
‘Where is the Lord who brought us out of Egypt?
He led us through the ·desert [wilderness],
through a ·dry [barren] and ·rocky [broken] land,
through a dangerous [parched] and dark land.
He led us where no one ·travels [passes through] or lives.’
7 I brought you into a ·fertile land [orchard; land of plenty]
so you could eat its fruit and produce.
But you came and made my land unclean [C in a ritual sense];
you made ·it [L my inheritance] a ·hateful place [abomination].
8 The priests didn’t ask,
‘Where is the Lord?’
The people who ·know [handle; deal with] the ·teachings [laws; instructions; L Torah] didn’t know me.
The ·leaders [L shepherds] turned against me.
The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal [Deut. 13:1–5]
and ·worshiped useless idols [L went after unprofitable things].
Jeremiah 2:4-8
New American Standard Bible
4 Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 This is what the Lord says:
“(A)What injustice did your fathers find in Me,
That they went far from Me,
And walked after (B)emptiness and became empty?
6 They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord
Who (C)brought us up out of the land of Egypt,
Who (D)led us through the wilderness,
Through a land of deserts and of pits,
Through a land of drought and of [a]deep darkness,
Through a land that no one crossed
And where no person lived?’
7 I brought you into the (E)fruitful land
To eat its fruit and its good things.
But you came and (F)defiled My land,
And you made My inheritance an abomination.
8 The (G)priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’
And those who handle the Law (H)did not know Me;
The [b]rulers also revolted against Me,
And the (I)prophets prophesied by Baal
And walked after (J)things that were of no benefit.
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 2:6 Or the shadow of death
- Jeremiah 2:8 Lit shepherds
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.
