Jeremiah 2:27
in Jeremiah 2say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their backs to Me and not their faces, yet in the time of trouble they beg, ‘Rise up and save us!’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
who say to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face; but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.
KJV
Saying to a stock, Thou art my father; and to a stone, Thou hast brought me forth: for they have turned their back unto me, and not their face: but in the time of their trouble they will say, Arise, and save us.
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This verse in Jeremiah 2
Commentary
12 notes on this verseHow is a person wise who looks not for his Maker but says to a stone, "You are my father"? Who says to the devil as the Manichaean does, "You are the author of my being"? How is Arius wise, who prefers an imperfect and inferior creator to one who is a true and perfect one? How can Marcion or Eunomius be wise, who prefer to have an evil rather than a good God? And how can one be wise who does not fear his God? For "the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."
This site's exposition
As the thief is ashamed when he is caught
on Jeremiah 2:26-28
The nation's shame is a thief's shame when he is caught. They call a tree “my father”, and they turn to the LORD only “in the time of trouble”. The LORD sends them back to their own gods, which are “as numerous as your cities, O Judah”.
This site's exposition
say to a tree
Stone is feminine in Hebrew, so the pair of idols stands as father and mother. Isaiah 44:17 shows the same prayer, a man bowing to a block of wood and asking it to save him. In trouble the cry turns to the LORD.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
(Verse 26, 27.) Just as a thief is ashamed when he is caught, so were the people of Israel and their kings, leaders, priests, and prophets ashamed. Even though the faces of thieves are shameless and bold, they are still embarrassed when caught in the act. And so, when Israel says to a piece of wood, 'You are my father,' and to a stone, 'You have given birth to me,' they are calling their own creations their parents, and they are ashamed when caught in their idolatry.
It is adultery, if you abandon the ecclesiastical and true knowledge and the opinion about God, and consent to false and incompatible opinion, either by deifying any created object or by making an idol of anything that does not exist, so as to overstep, or rather step away from, knowledge.… For this reason, the noble apostle calls one of the kinds of fornication, idolatry. In following the prophet says, "My people have committed fornication with wood and stone. They have said to the wood, 'you are my father' and to the stone, 'you have begotten me.' "
With unspeakable mercy, God deigned to be called the Father of humankind. He is in heaven, they on earth. He is the eternal Maker. They are made in time. He holds the earth in the hollow of his hand. They are like grasshoppers on the earth. Yet people forsook their heavenly Father and said to wood, "you are my father, and to the stone, you have begotten me." And for this reason, I think, the psalmist says to humankind, "Forget your own people as well, and your father's house."
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Brought me forth - Or begotten me; so is the word used, Gen. iv, 18. This denotes the sottish stupidity of this people, to take a lifeless stock or stone to be their maker, and to give the honour of God unto them, Isaiah xliv, 17.
When these were first made the objects of worship they were supposed to be animated by some celestial power or spirit; but by degrees the thought of this was lost, and so vain did idolaters become in their imagination, even the princes and priests themselves, that the very idol, though made of wood and stone, was supposed to be their father, and adored accordingly.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
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.
Saying to a stock,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
“Stone” being feminine in Hebrew is here represented as the mother. Arise, and save us - Whether it be idolatry or infidelity, it satisfies only in tranquil and prosperous times. No sooner does trouble come, than the deep conviction of the existence of a God, which is the witness for Him in our heart, resumes its authority, and man prays.
Thou art my father - By thee we have been produced, and by thee we are sustained. This was the property of the true God; for he is the Author and Supporter of being. How deeply fallen and brutishly ignorant must they be when they could attribute this to the stock of a tree!
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֹמְרִ֨ים | ʾomerim | [who] say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| לָעֵ֜ץ | laetz | to <the> wood | H6086 → | 328 times |
| אָ֣בִי | ʾavi | [are] father my | H1 → | 1212 times |
| אַ֗תָּה | ʾatah | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| וְלָאֶ֙בֶן֙ | velaeven | and to <the> stone | H68 → | 273 times |
| אַ֣תְּ | ʾat | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| יְלִדְתָּ֔נוּ | yelidtinu | you gave birth to us | H3205 → | 496 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| פָנ֥וּ | fanu | they have turned | H6437 → | 135 times |
| אֵלַ֛י | ʾelai | to me | H413 → | 5510 times |
| עֹ֖רֶף | ʾoref | a back | H6203 → | 33 times |
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| פָנִ֑ים | fanim | a face | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| וּבְעֵ֤ת | uveet | and at [the] time of | H6256 → | 296 times |
| רָֽעָתָם֙ | raatam | calamity their | H7451 → | 662 times |
| יֹֽאמְר֔וּ | yomeru | they will say | H559 → | 5305 times |
| ק֖וּמָה | kumah | arise ! | H6965 → | 628 times |
| וְהוֹשִׁיעֵֽנוּ׃ | vehoshienu | and save us | H3467 → | 206 times |
אֹמְרִ֨ים[who] say
ʾomerimH559 →5305 times
לָעֵ֜ץto <the> wood
laetzH6086 →328 times
אָ֣בִי[are] father my
ʾaviH1 →1212 times
אַ֗תָּהyou
ʾatahH859 →1094 times
וְלָאֶ֙בֶן֙and to <the> stone
velaevenH68 →273 times
אַ֣תְּyou
ʾatH859 →1094 times
יְלִדְתָּ֔נוּyou gave birth to us
yelidtinuH3205 →496 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
פָנ֥וּthey have turned
fanuH6437 →135 times
אֵלַ֛יto me
ʾelaiH413 →5510 times
עֹ֖רֶףa back
ʾorefH6203 →33 times
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
פָנִ֑יםa face
fanimH6440 →2123 times
וּבְעֵ֤תand at [the] time of
uveetH6256 →296 times
רָֽעָתָם֙calamity their
raatamH7451 →662 times
יֹֽאמְר֔וּthey will say
yomeruH559 →5305 times
ק֖וּמָהarise !
kumahH6965 →628 times
וְהוֹשִׁיעֵֽנוּ׃and save us
vehoshienuH3467 →206 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 5:15Then I will return to My place until they admit their guilt and seek My face; in their affliction they will earnestly seek Me.”
it leads to
- Psalms 50:15
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 26:16
O LORD, they sought You in their distress; when You disciplined them, they poured out a quiet prayer.
- Jeremiah 29:12–14
Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.
- Deuteronomy 4:29–31
But if from there you will seek the LORD your God, you will find Him if you seek Him with all your heart and with all your soul.
- Psalms 78:34
When He slew them, they would seek Him; they repented and searched for God.
- Psalms 50:15
Through
Hosea 7:14They do not cry out to Me from their hearts when they wail upon their beds. They slash themselves for grain and new wine, but turn away from Me.
it leads to
- Job 35:9–10
Men cry out under great oppression; they plead for relief from the arm of the mighty.
- James 4:3
And when you do ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may squander it on your pleasures.
- Jeremiah 3:10
Yet in spite of all this, her unfaithful sister Judah did not return to Me with all her heart, but only in pretense,” declares the LORD.
- Job 35:9–10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on 10 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); Ambrose of Milan, On the Duties of the Clergy 1.25.117; Clement of Alexandria, The Stromata Book 6; Cyril of Jerusalem, Catechetical Lecture 7:12; 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 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.