Jeremiah 2:20
in Jeremiah 2“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.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bonds; and thou saidst, I will not serve; for upon every high hill and under every green tree thou didst bow thyself, playing the harlot.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Jeremiah 2
Commentary
4 notes on this verse(Verse 20.) You have broken my yoke from the age (or your own) and shattered my chains (or yours); and you said, 'I will not serve.' For on every high hill and under every leafy tree, you lay as a prostitute (or were spread out in fornication) there. This is spoken as if to a prostitute, Israel, who has broken the marriage covenant and said, 'I will not serve.' It is understood to mean the Lord, or husband. But on every high hill and under every leafy tree, she has prostrated herself to idolatry.
This site's exposition
For of old time I have broken thy yoke
on Jeremiah 2:20-25
The broken yoke and burst bands were meant as liberty, and Israel answered, I will not transgress, before turning to worship on every high hill and under every green tree, the standing formula for Canaanite fertility worship the book repeats through its opening chapters. The noble vine planted wholly a right seed becomes a degenerate plant of a strange vine, and no washing removes the stain, thine iniquity is marked before me, saith the Lord God, however much nitre and soap is used. The imagery turns to animals in heat, a wild ass that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure, whom none need pursue since she seeks the encounter herself, the bench reading the figure as addiction rather than plain sin, a craving that outruns its own shame.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Tree - Under these shades idolaters thought there lay some hidden deity. Wanderest - The word properly signifies, making hast from one tree to another, or from one idol to another. Playing - Committing idolatry, which is a spiritual harlotry, chap. iii, 1, 2.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Of old time I have broken thy yoke - It is thought by able critics that the verbs should be read in the second person singular, Thou hast broken thy yoke, Thou hast burst thy bonds; and thus the Septuagint, συνετριψας τον ζυγον σου, “thou hast broken thy yoke.” And the Vulgate, Confregisti jugum meum, rupisti, vincula mea; “Thou hast broken my yoke; thou hast burst my bonds;” and so the Arabic.
The words behind it
21 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כִּ֣י | ki | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מֵעוֹלָ֞ם | meolam | from long ago | H5769 → | 438 times |
| שָׁבַ֣רְתִּי | shavarti | I broke off | H7665 → | 147 times |
| עֻלֵּ֗ךְ | ʾulekh | yoke your | H5923 → | 40 times |
| נִתַּ֙קְתִּי֙ | nitakti | I tore off | H5423 → | 27 times |
| מוֹסְרֹתַ֔יִךְ | mosrotayikh | fetters your | H4147 → | 11 times |
| וַתֹּאמְרִ֖י | vatomri | and you said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אֶעֱב֑וֹר | ʾeevod | I will transgress | H5674 → | 556 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| עַֽל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| גִּבְעָ֞ה | givah | hill | H1389 → | 68 times |
| גְּבֹהָ֗ה | gevohah | high | H1364 → | 41 times |
| וְתַ֙חַת֙ | vetachat | and under | H8478 → | 505 times |
| כָּל־ | kol- | every | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עֵ֣ץ | ʾetz | tree | H6086 → | 328 times |
| רַעֲנָ֔ן | raanan | luxuriant | H7488 → | 20 times |
| אַ֖תְּ | ʾat | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| צֹעָ֥ה | tzoah | [have been] lying down | H6808 → | 5 times |
| זֹנָֽה׃ | zonah | a prostitute | H2181 → | 94 times |
כִּ֣יthat
kiH3588 →4482 times
מֵעוֹלָ֞םfrom long ago
meolamH5769 →438 times
שָׁבַ֣רְתִּיI broke off
shavartiH7665 →147 times
עֻלֵּ֗ךְyoke your
ʾulekhH5923 →40 times
נִתַּ֙קְתִּי֙I tore off
nitaktiH5423 →27 times
מוֹסְרֹתַ֔יִךְfetters your
mosrotayikhH4147 →11 times
וַתֹּאמְרִ֖יand you said
vatomriH559 →5305 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אֶעֱב֑וֹרI will transgress
ʾeevodH5674 →556 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
עַֽל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
גִּבְעָ֞הhill
givahH1389 →68 times
גְּבֹהָ֗הhigh
gevohahH1364 →41 times
וְתַ֙חַת֙and under
vetachatH8478 →505 times
כָּל־every
kol-H3605 →5413 times
עֵ֣ץtree
ʾetzH6086 →328 times
רַעֲנָ֔ןluxuriant
raananH7488 →20 times
אַ֖תְּyou
ʾatH859 →1094 times
צֹעָ֥ה[have been] lying down
tzoahH6808 →5 times
זֹנָֽה׃a prostitute
zonahH2181 →94 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Leviticus 26:13I 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…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 34:27
The trees of the field will give their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; My flock will be secure in their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 116:16
Truly, O LORD, I am Your servant; I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant; You have broken my bonds.
- Exodus 20:2
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- 1 Corinthians 6:19–20
Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own;
- Leviticus 25:38
I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Canaan and to be your God.
- Ezekiel 34:27
Through
Jeremiah 30:8On 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.
it leads to
- Nahum 1:13
For I will now break their yoke from your neck and tear away your shackles.”
- Nahum 1:13
Through
Deuteronomy 12:2Destroy 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.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 7:5
Instead, this is what you are to do to them: tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, cut down their Asherah poles, and burn their idols in the fire.
- 2 Kings 16:4
And he sacrificed and burned incense on the high places, on the hills, and under every green tree.
- Deuteronomy 7:5
Where this verse is studied
No study on the site is anchored to this verse yet.
Also on Jeremiah 2: 3 studies that walk through this chapter ▾
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament.