Jeremiah 2:23
in Jeremiah 2“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals’? Look at your behavior in the valley; acknowledge what you have done. You are a swift young she-camel galloping here and there,
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
How canst thou say, I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
KJV
How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;
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This verse in Jeremiah 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 23) How can you say, 'I am not defiled; I have not gone after the Baals'? Look at your way in the valley; know what you have done - a restless young camel running here and there, (valley in Hebrew is called Ge, which is translated as 'multitude' in our language, and can be referred to as the tomb of the multitude). In vain you have made your plea; you have all the signs of guilt, yet you deny having worshipped the idols of the Baals (below, in verse 19).
This site's exposition
For long ago you broke your yoke
on Jeremiah 2:20-25
Israel broke its yoke and said “I will not serve!”, then lay down “on every high hill and under every green tree”. The “choice vine from the very best seed” became a rotten, wild vine. Israel is a wild donkey “sniffing the wind in the heat of her desire”.
This site's exposition
I have not run after the Baals
Josiah's reform had ended open Baal worship, and the people pointed to it in their defence. The valley is the Valley of Hinnom, where Josiah defiled the altar of child sacrifice at 2 Kings 23:10. The rites went on there in private.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
How canst thou say, I am not polluted,....
"It is imprinted deeply and stained before me;" so some read it. "Though thou endeavour to wash it out, as murderers to get the stain of the blood of the person slain out of their clothes, yet it will never be got out." God's eye is upon it, and we are sure that his judgment is according to truth.
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
In their defense of themselves (compare Jer 2:35), the people probably appealed to the maintenance of the daily sacrifice, and the Mosaic ritual: and even more confidently perhaps to Josiah’s splendid restoration of the temple, and to the suppression of the open worship of Baal. All such pleas availed little as long as the rites of Moloch were still privately practiced. Thy way in the valley - i. e., of Hinnom (see 2Ki 23:10 note).
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Baalim--plural, to express manifold excellency: compare Elohim. see--consider. the valley--namely, of Hinnom, or Tophet, south and east of Jerusalem: rendered infamous by the human sacrifices to Moloch in it (compare Jer 19:2, 6, 13, 14;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
See thy way in the valley - The valley of Hinnom, where they offered their own children to Moloch, an idol of the Ammonites. A swift dromedary traversing her ways - Dr. Blayney translates, “A fleet dromedary that hath taken to company with her.” Dr. Dahler rather paraphrases, thus: - Semblable a une dromedaire en chaleur, Qui court d’une tote a l’autre. “Like to a dromedary in her desire for the male, Which runs hither and thither.” This is an energetic comparison; and shows the unbridled attachment of those bad people to idolatry, and the abominable practices by which it was usually accompanied.
The words behind it
18 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֵ֣יךְ | ʾeikh | how? | H349 → | 82 times |
| תֹּאמְרִ֞י | tomri | will you say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נִטְמֵ֗אתִי | nitmeti | I have made myself unclean | H2930 → | 162 times |
| אַחֲרֵ֤י | ʾacharei | after | H310 → | 715 times |
| הַבְּעָלִים֙ | habealim | the Baals | H1168 → | 82 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| הָלַ֔כְתִּי | halakhti | I have walked | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| רְאִ֤י | rei | consider | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| דַרְכֵּךְ֙ | darkekh | conduct your | H1870 → | 707 times |
| בַּגַּ֔יְא | bagay' | in the valley | H1516 → | 59 times |
| דְּעִ֖י | dei | recognize | H3045 → | 945 times |
| מֶ֣ה | meh | what? | H4100 → | 752 times |
| עָשִׂ֑ית | ʾasit | have you done | H6213 → | 2628 times |
| בִּכְרָ֥ה | bikhrah | a young camel | H1072 → | |
| קַלָּ֖ה | kalah | swift | H7031 → | |
| מְשָׂרֶ֥כֶת | mesarekhet | entwining | H8308 → | |
| דְּרָכֶֽיהָ׃ | derakheiha | paths its | H1870 → | 707 times |
אֵ֣יךְhow?
ʾeikhH349 →82 times
תֹּאמְרִ֞יwill you say
tomriH559 →5305 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
נִטְמֵ֗אתִיI have made myself unclean
nitmetiH2930 →162 times
אַחֲרֵ֤יafter
ʾachareiH310 →715 times
הַבְּעָלִים֙the Baals
habealimH1168 →82 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
הָלַ֔כְתִּיI have walked
halakhtiH1980 →1546 times
רְאִ֤יconsider
reiH7200 →1300 times
דַרְכֵּךְ֙conduct your
darkekhH1870 →707 times
בַּגַּ֔יְאin the valley
bagay'H1516 →59 times
דְּעִ֖יrecognize
deiH3045 →945 times
מֶ֣הwhat?
mehH4100 →752 times
עָשִׂ֑יתhave you done
ʾasitH6213 →2628 times
בִּכְרָ֥הa young camel
bikhrahH1072 →
קַלָּ֖הswift
kalahH7031 →
מְשָׂרֶ֥כֶתentwining
mesarekhetH8308 →
דְּרָכֶֽיהָ׃paths its
derakheihaH1870 →707 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
Proverbs 30:12There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes and yet unwashed of their filth.
it leads to
- Luke 18:11
The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like the other men—swindlers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector.
- 2 Timothy 3:5
having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!
- Proverbs 16:2
All a man’s ways are pure in his own eyes, but his motives are weighed out by the LORD.
- Luke 18:11
Through
Psalms 50:21You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face.
it leads to
- Romans 2:4–5
Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?
- Proverbs 29:1
A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.
- Isaiah 57:11
Whom have you dreaded and feared, so that you lied and failed to remember Me or take this to heart? Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear…
- Psalms 94:7–11
They say, “The LORD does not see; the God of Jacob pays no heed.”
- Ecclesiastes 12:14
For God will bring every deed into judgment, along with every hidden thing, whether good or evil.
- Romans 2:4–5
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; 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.