Jeremiah 2:31
in Jeremiah 2You people of this generation, consider the word of the LORD: “Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to You no more’?
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? or a land of thick darkness? wherefore say my people, We are broken loose; we will come no more unto thee?
KJV
O generation, see ye the word of the Lord. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee?
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This verse in Jeremiah 2
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verse 31.) See the word of the Lord: Am I become a wilderness to Israel, or a barren land? Why then said my people, We are gone, we will come no more at you? LXX: Hear the word of the Lord: thus says the Lord: Am I become a wilderness to Israel, or a land full of darkness? Why do my people say, We will not serve, we will not come to you? And Moses saw the voice of God (Exod. XXXIII), and John the Apostle says that he has seen and touched the word of God (I John I).
This site's exposition
Why do you bring a case against Me
on Jeremiah 2:29-32
The LORD turns the plea back, “You have all rebelled against Me”, and says correction has failed, since their sons “accepted no discipline”. A maiden does not forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding sash, yet “My people have forgotten Me for days without number”.
This site's exposition
We are free to roam
The people's reply claims the right to roam at will, away from the God who led them through the wilderness of verse 6. Dense darkness is one compound word in Hebrew, read as the darkness of Yah, the deepest dark there is. The reply is a boast.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
At the beginning of what has been read, the Lord says concerning Israel that he did not become a "wilderness" to him, nor "a parched land." Who then, coming to this passage, would not inquire, examining the intention of what is written? Grant that God did not become a wilderness in Israel, that he did not become in Israel a parched land: has the Lord then become a wilderness to Israel today, or is he now to him a parched land? And what of this: when to Israel he was neither a wilderness nor a parched land, was he to the nations a wilderness and a parched land? For if to all he is always not a wilderness, and to all he is always not a parched land, what need was there for it to be said to Israel in particular and by way of exception, "Have I become a wilderness to the house of Israel, or a parched land?" But it is possible to come first to the universal benefactions of God, and then, after his universal benefactions, to the particular ones. To no one is God a wilderness, "making his sun to rise upon the wicked and" — and to no one is he a parched land, "sending rain upon" the just "and the unjust." How is he a wilderness, who makes the day to rise and the night for rest? How is he a wilderness, who makes the earth to bear fruit? How is he a wilderness, who administers each person according to the soul, that it may be rational, that it may take up knowledge, that its faculty of understanding may be trained with respect to the body, that it may have "the organs of perception" in vigor? Therefore, as regards the universal account, God is a wilderness to no one. But as regards the particular account, I come to the affairs of Israel and say: he was neither a wilderness nor a parched land, when in Egypt he was working the signs and the wonders for the people. […]
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
O generation, see ye the word of the Lord,.... Take notice of it, consider it; or, hear it, as the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions.
O generation - O ye men of this generation. See - You shall see the thing with your eyes, because your ears are shut against it. A wilderness - Have I been like the wilderness of Arabia, have not I accommodated you with all necessaries?
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Or, “O generation” that ye are! An exclamation Of indignation at their hardened resistance to God. A land of darkness - This word is written in Hebrew with two accents, as being a compound, signifying not merely darkness, but the darkness of Yahweh, i. e., very great darkness. We are lords - Others render it: We rove about, wander about at our will, go where we like.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
On the contrary, Jehovah was a never-failing source of supply for all Israel's wants in the wilderness, and afterwards in Canaan. darkness--literally, "darkness of Jehovah," the strongest Hebrew term for "darkness; the densest darkness"; compare "land of the shadow of death" (Jer 2:6). We are lords--that is, We are our own masters. We will worship what gods we like (Ps 12:4;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? - Have I ever withheld from you any of the blessings necessary for your support? A land of darkness - Have you, since you passed through the wilderness, and came out of the darkness of Egypt, ever been brought into similar circumstances? You have had food and all the necessaries of life for your bodies; and my ordinances and word to enlighten and cheer your souls. I have neither been a wilderness nor a land of darkness to you. We are lords - We wish to be our own masters; we will neither brook religious nor civil restraint; we will regard no laws, human or Divine. It was this disposition that caused them to fall in so fully with the whole system of idolatry.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַדּ֗וֹר | hador | O generation | H1755 → | 167 times |
| אַתֶּם֙ | ʾatem | you | H859 → | 1094 times |
| רְא֣וּ | reu | consider | H7200 → | 1300 times |
| דְבַר־ | devar- | [the] word of | H1697 → | 1440 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הֲמִדְבָּ֤ר | hamidbar | ¿ a wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| הָיִ֙יתִי֙ | hayiti | have I been | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל | leyisrael | to Israel | H3478 → | 2507 times |
| אִ֛ם | ʾim | or? | H518 → | 1069 times |
| אֶ֥רֶץ | ʾeretz | a land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מַאְפֵּ֖לְיָ֑ה | ma'peleyah | darkness | H3991 → | |
| מַדּ֜וּעַ | madua' | why? | H4069 → | 72 times |
| אָמְר֤וּ | ʾameru | have they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| עַמִּי֙ | ʾami | people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| רַ֔דְנוּ | radnu | we have roamed | H7300 → | |
| לֽוֹא־ | lo'- | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| נָב֥וֹא | navo' | we will come | H935 → | 2568 times |
| ע֖וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| אֵלֶֽיךָ׃ | ʾeleikha | to you | H413 → | 5510 times |
הַדּ֗וֹרO generation
hadorH1755 →167 times
אַתֶּם֙you
ʾatemH859 →1094 times
רְא֣וּconsider
reuH7200 →1300 times
דְבַר־[the] word of
devar-H1697 →1440 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הֲמִדְבָּ֤ר¿ a wilderness
hamidbarH4057 →270 times
הָיִ֙יתִי֙have I been
hayitiH1961 →3559 times
לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔לto Israel
leyisraelH3478 →2507 times
אִ֛םor?
ʾimH518 →1069 times
אֶ֥רֶץa land of
ʾeretzH776 →2504 times
מַאְפֵּ֖לְיָ֑הdarkness
ma'peleyahH3991 →
מַדּ֜וּעַwhy?
madua'H4069 →72 times
אָמְר֤וּhave they said
ʾameruH559 →5305 times
עַמִּי֙people my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 times
רַ֔דְנוּwe have roamed
radnuH7300 →
לֽוֹא־not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
נָב֥וֹאwe will come
navo'H935 →2568 times
ע֖וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
אֵלֶֽיךָ׃to you
ʾeleikhaH413 →5510 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 30:9Otherwise, I may have too much and deny You, saying, ‘Who is the LORD?’ Or I may become poor and steal, profaning the name of my God.
it leads to
- Hosea 13:6
When they had pasture, they became satisfied; when they were satisfied, their hearts became proud, and as a result they forgot Me.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Deuteronomy 31:20
When I have brought them into the land that I swore to give their fathers, a land flowing with milk and honey, they will eat their fill and prosper. Then they will turn to…
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Ezekiel 16:49–50
Now this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed, and complacent; they did not help the poor and needy.
- Deuteronomy 8:10–14
When you eat and are satisfied, you are to bless the LORD your God for the good land that He has given you.
- Deuteronomy 32:15
But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.
- Hosea 13:6
Through
Deuteronomy 32:15But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked—becoming fat, bloated, and gorged. He abandoned the God who made him and scorned the Rock of his salvation.
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 33:5
So the LORD became King in Jeshurun when the leaders of the people gathered, when the tribes of Israel came together.
- Acts 28:27
For this people’s heart has grown callous; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts,…
- Deuteronomy 33:5
Through
2 Chronicles 31:10and Azariah, the chief priest of the household of Zadok, answered him, “Since the people began to bring their contributions into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat and there…
it leads to
- Malachi 3:10
Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house. Test Me in this,” says the LORD of Hosts. “See if I will not open the windows of…
- Malachi 3:10
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 on the Old Testament; 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 (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Origen of Alexandria, HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH 3.