Jeremiah 2:6
in Jeremiah 2They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and pits, a land of drought and darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Neither said they, Where is Jehovah that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought and of the shadow of death, through a land that none passed through, and where no man dwelt?
KJV
Neither said they, Where is the Lord that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?
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This verse in Jeremiah 2
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(Verse 6) And they did not say, Where is the Lord who led us up out of the land of Egypt, who led us through the desert, through an uninhabited and impassable land, through a land of thirst and the shadow of death, through a land in which no man walks, nor does any man dwell. For son of man, they interpreted as the seventy sons of man; and for the shadow of death, it was added from Theodotion, the shadow of death.
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
a land of drought and darkness
The Hebrew word behind darkness is tsalmaveth, deep shadow, the word of Psalm 23:4. No company of six hundred thousand men could live off such a land. Every meal on that road came from the LORD.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Neither said they, where is the Lord?....
Though they were trained up in an observance of him as their God, and had been often told that he brought them out of the land of Egypt, to be a people peculiar to himself, yet they never asked after him nor desired the knowledge of his ways. Secondly, The priests said not, Where is the Lord?
It was a land abandoned by all mankind, as yielding neither road nor rest. It was no thoroughfare, for no man passed through it --no settlement, for no man dwelt there. For God will teach his people to tread untrodden paths, to dwell alone, and to be singular.
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Through the wilderness - Egypt was the house of their bondage: the desert through which they passed after they came out of Egypt, was a place where the means of life were not to be found; where no one family could subsist, much less a company of 600, 000 men. God mentions these things to show that it was by the bounty of an especial providence that they were fed and preserved alive. Previously to this, it was a land through which no man passed, and in which no man dwelt.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
When they would not say, Where is Jehovah, &c., God Himself at last said it for them (compare see on Jer 2:2). deserts . . . pits--The desert between Mount Sinai and Palestine abounds in chasms and pits, in which beasts of burden often sink down to the knees. "Shadow of death" refers to the darkness of the caverns amidst the rocky precipices (De 8:15;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Modern researches have shown that this description applies only to limited portions of the route of the Israelites through the Sinaitic peninsula.
The words behind it
26 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְלֹ֣א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אָמְר֔וּ | ʾameru | they said | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אַיֵּ֣ה | ʾaiyeh | where? | H346 → | 45 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | [is] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| הַמַּעֲלֶ֥ה | hamaaleh | who brought up | H5927 → | 890 times |
| אֹתָ֖נוּ | ʾotanu | <obj.> us | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מֵאֶ֣רֶץ | meeretz | from [the] land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מִצְרָ֑יִם | mitzrayim | Egypt | H4714 → | 641 times |
| הַמּוֹלִ֨יךְ | hamolikh | who led | H1980 → | 1546 times |
| אֹתָ֜נוּ | ʾotanu | <obj.> us | H853 → | 10935 times |
| בַּמִּדְבָּ֗ר | bamidbar | in the wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| בְּאֶ֨רֶץ | beeretz | in a land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| עֲרָבָ֤ה | ʾaravah | desert plain | H6160 → | 61 times |
| וְשׁוּחָה֙ | veshuchah | and pit | H7745 → | 5 times |
| בְּאֶ֙רֶץ֙ | beeretz | in a land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| צִיָּ֣ה | tziyah | dry | H6723 → | 16 times |
| וְצַלְמָ֔וֶת | vetzalmavet | and deep darkness | H6757 → | |
| בְּאֶ֗רֶץ | beeretz | in a land | H776 → | 2504 times |
| לֹֽא־ | lo'- | [which] not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| עָ֤בַר | ʾavar | he has passed | H5674 → | 556 times |
| בָּהּ֙ | bah | in <the> it | ||
| אִ֔ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יָשַׁ֥ב | yashav | he has dwelt | H3427 → | 1079 times |
| אָדָ֖ם | ʾadam | anyone | H120 → | 551 times |
| שָֽׁם׃ | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
וְלֹ֣אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
אָמְר֔וּthey said
ʾameruH559 →5305 times
אַיֵּ֣הwhere?
ʾaiyehH346 →45 times
יְהוָ֔ה[is] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
הַמַּעֲלֶ֥הwho brought up
hamaalehH5927 →890 times
אֹתָ֖נוּ<obj.> us
ʾotanuH853 →10935 times
מֵאֶ֣רֶץfrom [the] land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
מִצְרָ֑יִםEgypt
mitzrayimH4714 →641 times
הַמּוֹלִ֨יךְwho led
hamolikhH1980 →1546 times
אֹתָ֜נוּ<obj.> us
ʾotanuH853 →10935 times
בַּמִּדְבָּ֗רin the wilderness
bamidbarH4057 →270 times
בְּאֶ֨רֶץin a land of
beeretzH776 →2504 times
עֲרָבָ֤הdesert plain
ʾaravahH6160 →61 times
וְשׁוּחָה֙and pit
veshuchahH7745 →5 times
בְּאֶ֙רֶץ֙in a land
beeretzH776 →2504 times
צִיָּ֣הdry
tziyahH6723 →16 times
וְצַלְמָ֔וֶתand deep darkness
vetzalmavetH6757 →
בְּאֶ֗רֶץin a land
beeretzH776 →2504 times
לֹֽא־[which] not
lo'-H3808 →5168 times
עָ֤בַרhe has passed
ʾavarH5674 →556 times
בָּהּ֙in <the> it
bah
אִ֔ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יָשַׁ֥בhe has dwelt
yashavH3427 →1079 times
אָדָ֖םanyone
ʾadamH120 →551 times
שָֽׁם׃there
shamH8033 →834 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 13:4Yet I am the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt; you know no God but Me, for there is no Savior besides Me.
it leads to
- Isaiah 45:21–22
Speak up and present your case—yes, let them take counsel together. Who foretold this long ago? Who announced it from ancient times? Was it not I, the LORD? There is no other God but…
- Exodus 20:2–3
“I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.
- Hosea 12:9
But I am the LORD your God ever since the land of Egypt. I will again make you dwell in tents, as in the days of the appointed feast.
- Isaiah 43:10–13
“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may consider and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me no god was formed,…
- Isaiah 43:3
For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; I give Egypt for your ransom, Cush and Seba in your place.
- Isaiah 45:21–22
Through
Deuteronomy 32:10He found him in a desert land, in a barren, howling wilderness; He surrounded him, He instructed him, He guarded him as the apple of His eye.
it leads to
- Zechariah 2:8
For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “After His Glory has sent Me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye—
- Psalms 17:8
Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings
- Hosea 13:5
I knew you in the wilderness, in the land of drought.
- Zechariah 2:8
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
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 Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.