Jeremiah 2:4
in Jeremiah 2Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all you families of the house of Israel.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Hear ye the word of Jehovah, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel:
KJV
Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel:
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This verse in Jeremiah 2
Commentary
4 notes on this verse(Verses 4, 5.) Hear the word of the Lord, house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord: What did your fathers find in me of iniquity, that they went far from me, and went after vanity, and became vain? This meaning is also testified by another prophet: O my people, what have I done to you, and how have I been a burden to you? Answer me: for I brought you out of the land of Egypt, and delivered you from the house of slaves (Micah 6:3-4).
This site's exposition
Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob
on Jeremiah 2:4-8
The charge is a question, “What fault did your fathers find in Me”. Israel never asked where the LORD was, and in the fertile land it defiled His land. Every office failed together, as the priests did not ask, the leaders rebelled and “The prophets prophesied by Baal”.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Hear ye the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. The Lord, by the prophet, having observed his great kindness to this people, what they were unto him, and what a regard he had for them, proceeds to upbraid them with their ingratitude, and requires an attention to what he was about to say; all are called upon, because, all were guilty. This respects the two tribes of Judah and Benjamin, and the several families in them. The ten tribes had been long carried captive.
); it is exhibited in the name of God against all the families of the house of Israel, for they can none of them plead, Not guilty. (1.) He challenges them to produce any instance of his being unjust and unkind to them.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שִׁמְע֥וּ | shimu | hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| דְבַר־ | devar- | [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| בֵּ֣ית | beit | O house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יַעֲקֹ֑ב | yaako | Jacob | H3290 → | 350 times |
| וְכָֽל־ | vekhol | and all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| מִשְׁפְּח֖וֹת | mishpechot | [the] clans of | H4940 → | 303 times |
| בֵּ֥ית | beit | [the] house of | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
שִׁמְע֥וּhear
shimuH8085 →1159 times
דְבַר־[the] word of
devar-H1697 →1440 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
בֵּ֣יתO house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יַעֲקֹ֑בJacob
yaakoH3290 →350 times
וְכָֽל־and all
vekholH3605 →5413 times
מִשְׁפְּח֖וֹת[the] clans of
mishpechotH4940 →303 times
בֵּ֥ית[the] house of
beitH1004 →2046 times
יִשְׂרָאֵֽל׃Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 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
Micah 6:1Hear now what the LORD says: “Arise, plead your case before the mountains, and let the hills hear your voice.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 22:29
O land, land, land, hear the word of the LORD!
- Deuteronomy 32:1
Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth.
- Micah 1:2
Hear, O peoples, all of you; listen, O earth, and everyone in it! May the Lord GOD bear witness against you, the Lord from His holy temple.
- Ezekiel 36:1
“And you, son of man, prophesy to the mountains of Israel and say: O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the LORD.
- Psalms 50:4
He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that He may judge His people:
- Jeremiah 22:29
Through
Jeremiah 5:21“Hear this, O foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear.
it leads to
- Ezekiel 12:2
“Son of man, you are living in a rebellious house. They have eyes to see but do not see, and ears to hear but do not hear, for they are a rebellious house.
- Acts 28:26
‘Go to this people and say, “You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”
- Isaiah 6:9–10
And He replied: “Go and tell this people, ‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
- Ezekiel 12:2
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
On this verse
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About Jeremiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.