Jeremiah 3:9 BSB — MannaFest

Jeremiah 3:9

Indifferent to her own infidelity, Israel had defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that the land was polluted, and she committed adultery with stones and with stocks.

KJV

And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.

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Commentary

4 voices

Origen of Alexandria

HOMILIES ON JEREMIAH 4 (253)

"And the faithless Judah did not fear, and she went and played the harlot herself also." Israel having played the harlot first, Judah too played the harlot afterward. "And her fornication became as nothing, and she committed adultery with wood and stone." Whenever we sin, we do nothing else than, becoming stony-hearted, commit adultery with "the stone." Whenever we sin and play the harlot "beneath every leafy tree," we too commit adultery with "the wood." "And the faithless Judah did not turn to me with her whole heart, but in falsehood."

The record, by era

The Church Fathers1 voice

Gregory of Nazianzus

ON THE WORDS OF THE GOSPEL, 'WHEN JESUS HAD FINISHED THESE SAYINGS,' ORATION 37:19 (390)

It is not only bodily sin that is called fornication and adultery, but any sin you have committed, and especially transgression against that which is divine. Perhaps you ask how we can prove this. "They prostituted themselves," it says "with things they made." Don't you see an impudent act of fornication? And again, "They committed adultery with pieces of wood." Don't you see a kind of adulterous religion? Do not then commit spiritual adultery, while keeping your bodies chaste.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Albert Barnes

1798–1870

Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)

Lightness - Others render as in the margin. Defiled - Rather, profaned. The land especially consecrated to Yahweh’s service was treated by Judah as a common land.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown

1802–1910

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)

English Version, however, may be explained to refer to Israel. lightness--"infamy." [EWALD]. MAURER not so well takes it from the Hebrew root, "voice," "fame."

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

11 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
וְהָיָה֙	ve.ha.Yah	and it was	H1961 →
מִקֹּ֣ל	mi.Kol	from [the] lightness of	H6963 →
זְנוּתָ֔הּ	ze.nu.Tah	prostitution her	H2184 →
וַתֶּחֱנַ֖ף	va.te.che.Naf	and it was polluted	H2610 →
אֶת־	'et-	<obj.>	H853 →
הָאָ֑רֶץ	ha.'A.retz	the land	H776 →
וַתִּנְאַ֥ף	va.tin.'Af	and she committed adultery	H5003 →
אֶת־	'et-	<obj.>	H853 →
הָאֶ֖בֶן	ha.'E.ven	<the> stone	H68 →
וְאֶת־	ve.'Et	and <obj.>	H853 →
הָעֵֽץ׃	ha.'Etz	<the> wood	H6086 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Jeremiah 2:7
I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and bounty, but you came and defiled My land, and made My inheritance detestable.
leads to
- Deuteronomy 8:7–9
  For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks and fountains and springs that flow through the valleys and hills;
- Jeremiah 16:18
  And I will first repay them double their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land with the carcasses of their detestable idols, and they have filled My inheritance with their abominations.”
- Numbers 13:27
  And they gave this account to Moses: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and indeed, it is flowing with milk and honey. Here is some of its fruit!
Through
Habakkuk 2:19
Woe to him who says to wood, ‘Awake!’ or to silent stone, ‘Arise!’ Can it give guidance? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, yet there is no breath in it at all.”
leads to
- Psalms 135:17
  they have ears, but cannot hear; nor is there breath in their mouths.
- Jeremiah 10:4
  They adorn it with silver and gold and fasten it with hammer and nails, so that it will not totter.
Through
Jeremiah 2:27
say 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…
leads to
- Isaiah 26:16
  O LORD, they sought You in their distress; when You disciplined them, they poured out a quiet prayer.
Through
Jeremiah 3:2
“Lift up your eyes to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been violated? You sat beside the highways waiting for your lovers, like a nomad in the…
leads to
- Jeremiah 2:20
  “For long ago you broke your yoke and tore off your chains, saying, ‘I will not serve!’ Indeed, on every high hill and under every green tree you lay down as a prostitute.
- Ezekiel 16:24–25
  you built yourself a mound and made yourself a lofty shrine in every public square.

Featured studies on this passage

Gustave Dore, Babylon Fallen (Revelation 18) — the city left in ruins

Walks through Jeremiah 3

The Harlot

Open the study →

About Jeremiah

The Prophet Jeremiah — Gustave Doré, Doré's English Bible (1866), public domain

Jeremiah: the study guide →Read chapter 3 →The featured study →

Continue: Jeremiah 3 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Jeremiah

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Jeremiah