Jeremiah 2:20

Translations

Modern

“For long ago you broke your yoke and tore off your chains, saying, ‘I will not serve!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down as a prostitute.

Traditional

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.

Literal

“For from long ago I have broken your yoke, and torn off your bonds. And you said, I will not serve!’ For on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down as a prostitute.

Latin

A sæculo confregisti jugum meum: rupisti vincula mea, et dixisti: Non serviam. In omni enim colle sublimi, et sub omni ligno frondoso, tu prosternebaris meretrix.

Original

Hebrew

English

“For long ago you broke your yoke and tore off your chains, saying, ‘I will not serve!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down as a prostitute.

Notes

Jeremiah 2:20–21

long ago: Lessons from Israel's history about the Israelites' rescue from slavery in Egypt had little impact. The people of Israel refused to serve God (Exodus 19:8; 34:15; Leviticus 26:13; Deuteronomy 12:2; Joshua 24:16; Judges 10:16; Isaiah 57:5, 7).
you lay down as a prostitute: This metaphor was fitting for the Israelites bowing to idols. Their defiant words matched their rebellious actions. They often worshiped fertility gods, hoping for good crops and green pastures. Their rituals were pointless because the Lord planted the Israelites in Canaan and creates life and fertility.

Jeremiah 2:14–22

This review of Israel's history highlights the foolishness, violence, arrogance, and hopelessness of abandoning the true God to worship false pagan gods.

Theme notes and profiles

God’s New Covenant The Broken Covenant

Events

Prophecies of Jeremiahc. 628 BC

Related verses

Deuteronomy 12:2
Destroy completely all the places where the nations you are dispossessing have served their gods—atop the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.
Leviticus 26:13
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians. I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk in uprightness.
Jeremiah 17:2
Even their children remember their altars and Asherah poles by the green trees and on the high hills.
Jeremiah 30:8
On that day, declares the LORD of Hosts, I will break the yoke off their necks and tear off their bonds, and no longer will strangers enslave them.
Isaiah 1:21
See how the faithful city has become a harlot! She once was full of justice; righteousness resided within her, but now only murderers!
Hosea 3:3
Then I said to her, “You must live with me for many days; you must not be promiscuous or belong to another, and I will do the same for you.”
Exodus 24:3
When Moses came and told the people all the words and ordinances of the LORD, they all responded with one voice: “All the words that the LORD has spoken, we will do.”
Deuteronomy 4:34
Or has any god tried to take as his own a nation out of another nation—by trials, signs, wonders, and war, by a strong hand and an outstretched arm, and by great terrors—as the LORD your God did for you in Egypt, before your eyes?
Ezekiel 16:28
Then you prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, because you were not yet satisfied. Even after that, you were still not satisfied.
Ezekiel 16:15–16
But because of your fame, you trusted in your beauty and played the harlot. You lavished your favors on everyone who passed by, and your beauty was theirs for the asking.
Deuteronomy 15:15
Remember that you were slaves in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; that is why I am giving you this command today.
Ezekiel 20:28
When I brought them into the land that I swore to give them and they saw any high hill or leafy tree, there they offered their sacrifices, presented offerings that provoked Me, sent up their fragrant incense, and poured out their drink offerings.

Glossary

Book of Jeremiah Courts and Trials Green Jeremiah (Person) Priests and Levites Prostitute, Prostitution Sexual Immorality Yoke

Topics

Church: Backslidden Idolatry: Objects of, Worshipped: On High Places Idolatry: Objects of, Worshipped: Under Trees Yoke: Figurative

Jeremiah 2:20

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