Jeremiah 2:3
in Jeremiah 2Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of His harvest. All who devoured her found themselves guilty; disaster came upon them,’” declares the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Israel was holiness unto Jehovah, the first-fruits of his increase: all that devour him shall be held guilty; evil shall come upon them, saith Jehovah.
KJV
Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord.
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This verse in Jeremiah 2
Commentary
8 notes on this verse(Verse 3.) Holy is Israel to the Lord, the first fruits of his harvest: all who devour him shall be guilty; evil shall come upon them, says the Lord. When Israel speaks of the first fruits of the Lord's harvest, it shows that the people are gathered from the nations after the first fruits; according to what is written in another place: Remember your congregation, whom you have possessed from the beginning (Psalm 73:2). However, the first fruits are always owed to the priests, not to the enemies.
This site's exposition
Now the word of the LORD came to me
on Jeremiah 2:1-3
The case opens with a memory: “I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed Me in the wilderness”. Israel was “the firstfruits of His harvest”, so whoever devoured her was guilty, and the charges of the chapter are measured against this first love.
This site's exposition
the firstfruits of His harvest
The firstfruits belonged to God, and anyone outside a priest's family who ate them bore guilt under Leviticus 22:10 to 16. Nations that fed on Israel took what was His. Egypt, Amalek and Midian each paid for it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Devour - All that were injurious to him. Offend - Were liable to punishment. Evil - Evil was inflicted on them from the Lord, as upon the Egyptians, Amalekites, Midianites, Canaanites.
Israel was holiness unto the Lord,....
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Render: “Israel” is an offering consecrated to Yahweh, His firstfruits of increase. The firstfruits were God’s consecrated property, His portion of the whole harvest. Pagan, i. e., unconsecrated, nations must not meddle with Israel, because it is the nation consecrated to God. If they do, they will bring such guilt upon themselves as those incur who eat the first-fruits Lev 22:10, Lev 22:16.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
holiness unto the Lord--that is, was consecrated to the service of Jehovah (Ex 19:5, 6). They thus answered to the motto on their high priest's breastplate, "Holiness to the Lord" (De 7:6; 14:2, 21). first-fruits of his increase--that is, of Jehovah's produce.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
Israel was holiness unto the Lord - Fully consecrated to his service. The first fruits of his increase - They were as wholly the Lord’s, as the first fruits were the property of the priests according to the law Num 18:13. These the priests alone had a right to devote to their own use. All that devour him shall offend - As they were betrothed to the Lord, they were considered his especial property; they therefore who injured them were considered as laying violent hands on the property of God. They who persecute God’s children have a grievous burden to bear, an awful account to give.
The words behind it
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| קֹ֤דֶשׁ | kodesh | [was] a holy thing | H6944 → | 469 times |
| יִשְׂרָאֵל֙ | yisrael | Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| לַיהוָ֔ה | layahweh | to Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| רֵאשִׁ֖ית | reshit | [the] beginning of | H7225 → | 51 times |
| תְּבוּאָת֑וֹ | tevuato | produce his | H8393 → | |
| כָּל־ | kol- | all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| אֹכְלָ֣יו | ʾokhelav | [those who] devour it | H398 → | 810 times |
| יֶאְשָׁ֔מוּ | ye'shamu | they will be held guilty | H816 → | |
| רָעָ֛ה | raah | calamity | H7451 → | 662 times |
| תָּבֹ֥א | tavo' | it will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| אֲלֵיהֶ֖ם | ʾaleihem | to them | H413 → | 5510 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ פ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
קֹ֤דֶשׁ[was] a holy thing
kodeshH6944 →469 times
יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel
yisraelH3478 →2507 times
לַיהוָ֔הto Yahweh
layahwehH3068 →6520 times
רֵאשִׁ֖ית[the] beginning of
reshitH7225 →51 times
תְּבוּאָת֑וֹproduce his
tevuatoH8393 →
כָּל־all
kol-H3605 →5413 times
אֹכְלָ֣יו[those who] devour it
ʾokhelavH398 →810 times
יֶאְשָׁ֔מוּthey will be held guilty
ye'shamuH816 →
רָעָ֛הcalamity
raahH7451 →662 times
תָּבֹ֥אit will come
tavo'H935 →2568 times
אֲלֵיהֶ֖םto them
ʾaleihemH413 →5510 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָֽה׃ פYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
James 1:18He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.
it leads to
- Romans 8:29–31
For those God foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brothers.
- 1 Peter 1:23
For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
- John 3:3–5
Jesus replied, “Truly, truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.”
- John 1:13
children born not of blood, nor of the desire or will of man, but born of God.
- 1 Peter 1:3
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
- Romans 8:29–31
Through
Isaiah 41:11Behold, all who rage against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will be reduced to nothing and will perish.
it leads to
- Exodus 23:22
But if you will listen carefully to his voice and do everything I say, I will be an enemy to your enemies and a foe to your foes.
- Isaiah 45:24
Surely they will say of Me, ‘In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’” All who rage against Him will come to Him and be put to shame.
- Exodus 23:22
Through
Revelation 14:4These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been redeemed from among men as firstfruits to God and…
it leads to
- James 1:18
He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- James 1:18
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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; 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.