Jeremiah 2:8
in Jeremiah 2The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ The experts in the law no longer knew Me, and the leaders rebelled against Me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
The priests said not, Where is Jehovah? and they that handle the law knew me not: the rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
KJV
The priests said not, Where is the Lord? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
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This verse in Jeremiah 2
Commentary
11 notes on this verseA commentator
Gregory of NazianzusIN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS, ORATION 2:67-68 · Written before 390.
Jeremiah was known before he was formed, and sanctified from the womb. … He longs for water over his head and a fountain of tears for his eyes that he may adequately weep for Israel. No less does he lament the depravity of its rulers. God speaks to him to rebuke the priests: "The priests did not say, 'Where is the Lord?' Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers transgressed against me."
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”.
This site's exposition
The experts in the law no longer knew Me
The experts in the law are those who handle it, whose office was to draw out its meaning. The leaders are literally the shepherds, Jeremiah's word for kings at 23:1 to 4. They knew the text and lost its Author.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
God has also entrusted a deposit to us: the brothers' way of life. While laboring on their behalf, we look forward to future rewards, lest this be said of us as well, "Let this people go," and lest, if we forsake the traditions of our …
(Verse 8.) The priests did not say, 'Where is the Lord?' and those who held my Law did not know me, and the shepherds transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied in Baal and followed idols. After so many benefits, they turned the privileges of dignity into contempt, so that the priests would not seek the Lord, so that the teachers of the Law would ignore him whom they should teach, and the shepherds (or rather, preachers) would become transgressors through negligence, and the prophets who dispute among the people would not speak to God, but to idols, and would worship their own creations. But we must use words against the masters of our order, who devour the people of God like bread, and by their evil deeds do not invoke the Lord.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
They - They that should have taught others, knew as little as they, or regarded as little, who are said here to handle the law, the priests and Levites, who were the ordinary teachers of the law. Pastors - Either teachers, or kings and princes. Prophets - They that should have taught the people the true worship of God, were themselves worshippers of Baal.
The priests said not, where is the Lord?....
Baal's prophets joined with Baal's priests, and walked after the things which do not profit, that is, after the idols which can be no way helpful to their worshippers. See how the best characters are usurped, and the best offices liable to corruption; and wonder not at the sin and ruin of a people when the blind are leaders of the blind.
3 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
They had priests that handled the law, read it, and expounded it to them; that was part of their business, Deut. xxxiii. They had pastors, to guide them and take care of their affairs, magistrates and judges; they had prophets to consult God for them and to make known his mind to them.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
They that handle the law - ותפשי vethophe shey, they that draw out the law; they whose office it is to explain it, draw out its spiritual meanings, and show to what its testimonies refer. The pastors also - Kings, political and civil rulers. Prophesied by Baal - Became his prophets, and were inspired with the words of lying spirits.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The guilt of this idolatry is ascribed to the four ruling classes: (a) The accusation brought against the priests is indifference. (b) “They that handle the law” belonged also to the priestly class Deu 33:10. Their offence was that “they knew not God.” Compare Mic 3:11. (c) The third class are “the pastors” or shepherds, that is the temporal rulers. Their crime is disobedience. (d) The fourth class are “the prophets.” It was their business to press the moral and spiritual truths of the law home to the hearts of the people: but they drew their inspiration from Baal, the Sun-god. Upon the corruption of the prophetic order at this time, see the Jer 14:13 note. Things that do not profit - Here idols, which are not merely unreal, but injurious. See 1Sa 12:21; Isa 44:9.
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַכֹּהֲנִ֗ים | hakohanim | the priests | H3548 → | 750 times |
| לֹ֤א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אָֽמְרוּ֙ | ʾameru | they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַיֵּ֣ה | ʾaiyeh | where? | H346 → | 45 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | [is] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְתֹפְשֵׂ֤י | vetofesei | and [those who] handled | H8610 → | 65 times |
| הַתּוֹרָה֙ | hatorah | <of> the law | H8451 → | 219 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יְדָע֔וּנִי | yedauni | they knew me | H3045 → | 945 times |
| וְהָרֹעִ֖ים | veharoim | and the shepherds | H7462 → | 177 times |
| פָּ֣שְׁעוּ | pasheu | they rebelled | H6586 → | 41 times |
| בִ֑י | vi | against <the> me | ||
| וְהַנְּבִיאִים֙ | vehaneviim | and the prophets | H5030 → | 314 times |
| נִבְּא֣וּ | nibeu | they prophesied | H5012 → | 115 times |
| בַבַּ֔עַל | vabaal | by <the> Baal | H1168 → | 82 times |
| וְאַחֲרֵ֥י | veacharei | and after | H310 → | 715 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | [things which] not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יוֹעִ֖לוּ | yoilu | they profited | H3276 → | 23 times |
| הָלָֽכוּ׃ | halakhu | they walked | H1980 → | 1546 times |
הַכֹּהֲנִ֗יםthe priests
hakohanimH3548 →750 times
לֹ֤אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אָֽמְרוּ֙they said
ʾameruH559 →5305 times
אַיֵּ֣הwhere?
ʾaiyehH346 →45 times
יְהוָ֔ה[is] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְתֹפְשֵׂ֤יand [those who] handled
vetofeseiH8610 →65 times
הַתּוֹרָה֙<of> the law
hatorahH8451 →219 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
יְדָע֔וּנִיthey knew me
yedauniH3045 →945 times
וְהָרֹעִ֖יםand the shepherds
veharoimH7462 →177 times
פָּ֣שְׁעוּthey rebelled
pasheuH6586 →41 times
בִ֑יagainst <the> me
vi
וְהַנְּבִיאִים֙and the prophets
vehaneviimH5030 →314 times
נִבְּא֣וּthey prophesied
nibeuH5012 →115 times
בַבַּ֔עַלby <the> Baal
vabaalH1168 →82 times
וְאַחֲרֵ֥יand after
veachareiH310 →715 times
לֹֽא־[things which] not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
יוֹעִ֖לוּthey profited
yoiluH3276 →23 times
הָלָֽכוּ׃they walked
halakhuH1980 →1546 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
Hosea 4:6My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge. Because you have rejected knowledge, I will also reject you as My priests. Since you have forgotten the law of your God, I will also forget…
it leads to
- Isaiah 5:13
Therefore My people will go into exile for their lack of understanding; their dignitaries are starving and their masses are parched with thirst.
- Proverbs 19:2
Even zeal is no good without knowledge, and he who hurries his footsteps misses the mark.
- Hosea 6:6
For I desire mercy, not sacrifice, and the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
- 2 Corinthians 4:3–6
And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.
- Hosea 4:1
Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God…
- Isaiah 5:13
Through
2 Corinthians 4:2Instead, we have renounced secret and shameful ways. We do not practice deceit, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by open proclamation of the truth, we commend ourselves to…
it leads to
- 2 Corinthians 2:17
For we are not like so many others, who peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as men sent from God.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:3–5
For our appeal does not arise from deceit or ulterior motives or trickery.
- 2 Corinthians 5:11
Therefore, since we know what it means to fear the Lord, we try to persuade men. What we are is clear to God, and I hope it is clear to your conscience as well.
- 2 Corinthians 2:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Gregory of Nazianzus, IN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS, ORATION 2:67-68; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Oresiesis-Heru-sa Ast, THE TESTAMENT OF HORSIESI 11.