Jeremiah 2:28
in Jeremiah 2But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up in your time of trouble and save you if they can; for your gods are as numerous as your cities, O Judah.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.
KJV
But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.
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This verse in Jeremiah 2
Commentary
4 notes on this verse(Verse 28.) Where are your gods, whom you made for yourself? Let them arise and deliver you in the time of your affliction. It is a shameless request to seek help from one whom you have despised in times of peace. And it should be read with the emotion of rebuke: Let your gods deliver you, whom you made for yourself. So that when God, the Creator of mankind, becomes a man, man may make a god, and the necessity may prove what power those whom you worshiped with confidence before possess.
This site's exposition
As the thief is ashamed when he is found
on Jeremiah 2:26-28
The nation's shame is compared to a thief caught in the act, spreading from the house of Israel to its kings, princes, priests and prophets alike, every rank sharing one embarrassment. Idolatry is described in its plainest terms, saying to a stock, thou art my father, and to a stone, thou hast brought me forth, wood and rock addressed as parents while the true Father is ignored until trouble comes. The Lord's answer is to let the false gods be tested, where are thy gods that thou hast made thee, let them arise if they can save thee, a challenge as many times over as Judah's own cities, since each town had made its own.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
on Jeremiah 2:26-28
As the thief is ashamed when, notwithstanding all his arts and tricks to conceal his theft, he is found, and brought to punishment, so are the house of Israel ashamed, not with a penitent shame for the sin they had been guilty of, but with a penal shame for the disappointment they met with in that sin.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
According to the number of thy cities are thy gods - Among heathen nations every city had its tutelary deity. Judah, far sunk in idolatry, had adopted this custom. The Church of Rome has refined it a little: every city has its tutelary saint, and this saint has a procession and worship peculiar to himself. So here; not much of the old idolatry is lost.
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאַיֵּ֤ה | veaiyeh | and where? | H346 → | 45 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙ | ʾeloheikha | [are] gods your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | which | H834 → | 5497 times |
| עָשִׂ֣יתָ | ʾasita | you made | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| לָּ֔ךְ | lakh | for <the> yourself | ||
| יָק֕וּמוּ | yakumu | let them arise | H6965 → | 628 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | if | H518 → | 1069 times |
| יוֹשִׁיע֖וּךָ | yoshiukha | they will save you | H3467 → | 206 times |
| בְּעֵ֣ת | beet | at [the] time of | H6256 → | 296 times |
| רָעָתֶ֑ךָ | raatekha | calamity your | H7451 → | 662 times |
| כִּ֚י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מִסְפַּ֣ר | mispar | [the] number of | H4557 → | 134 times |
| עָרֶ֔יךָ | ʾareikha | cities your | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הָי֥וּ | hayu | they are | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָ | ʾeloheikha | gods your | H430 → | 2601 times |
| יְהוּדָֽה׃ ס | yehudah | O Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
וְאַיֵּ֤הand where?
veaiyehH346 →45 times
אֱלֹהֶ֙יךָ֙[are] gods your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhich
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
עָשִׂ֣יתָyou made
ʾasitaH6213 →2628 times
לָּ֔ךְfor <the> yourself
lakh
יָק֕וּמוּlet them arise
yakumuH6965 →628 times
אִם־if
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
יוֹשִׁיע֖וּךָthey will save you
yoshiukhaH3467 →206 times
בְּעֵ֣תat [the] time of
beetH6256 →296 times
רָעָתֶ֑ךָcalamity your
raatekhaH7451 →662 times
כִּ֚יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
מִסְפַּ֣ר[the] number of
misparH4557 →134 times
עָרֶ֔יךָcities your
ʾareikhaH5892 →1090 times
הָי֥וּthey are
hayuH1961 →3559 times
אֱלֹהֶ֖יךָgods your
ʾeloheikhaH430 →2601 times
יְהוּדָֽה׃ סO Judah
yehudahH3063 →819 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
Isaiah 45:20Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 10:5
Like scarecrows in a cucumber patch, their idols cannot speak. They must be carried because they cannot walk. Do not fear them, for they can do no harm, and neither can they do any…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 46:1
Bel crouches; Nebo cowers. Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle. The images you carry are burdensome, a load to the weary animal.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 44:17–20
From the rest he makes a god, his graven image. He bows down to it and worships; he prays to it and says, “Save me, for you are my god.”
- Isaiah 43:9
All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. Who among them can declare this, and proclaim to us the former things? Let them present their witnesses to vindicate them, so that others may…
- Jeremiah 10:5
Through
Isaiah 46:7They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not…
it leads to
- Isaiah 45:20
Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.
- Isaiah 45:20
Through
Judges 10:14Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you in your time of trouble.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 32:37–38
He will say: “Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,
- 2 Kings 3:13
Elisha, however, said to the king of Israel, “What have we to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and of your mother!” “No,” replied the king of Israel, “for…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 32:37–38
Through
Deuteronomy 32:37He will say: “Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,
it leads to
- Judges 10:14
Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you in your time of trouble.”
- Judges 10:14
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
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.