Jeremiah 2:20

For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.

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Word by word — the Hebrew

Word	Hebrew	Strong’s	Meaning
time	מֵעוֹלָ֞ם me.'o.Lam	H5769	properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular absolute
broken	שָׁבַ֣רְתִּי sha.Var.ti	H7665	to burst (literally or figuratively) · verb, qal perfect, 2nd person feminine singular
yoke	עֻלֵּ֗ךְ 'u.Lekh	H5923	a yoke (as imposed on the neck) · noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
burst	נִתַּ֙קְתִּי֙ ni.Tak.ti	H5423	to tear off · verb, piel perfect, 2nd person feminine singular
bands	מוֹסְרֹתַ֔יִךְ mos.ro.Ta.yikh	H4147	properly · noun, common feminine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 2nd person feminine singular
saidst	וַתֹּאמְרִ֖י va.tom.Ri	H559	to say (used with great latitude) · conjunction + verb, qal sequential imperfect, 2nd person feminine singular
transgress	אֶעֱב֑וֹר 'e.'e.vod	H5674	to cross over · verb, qal imperfect, 1st person common singular
high	גְּבֹהָ֗ה ge.vo.Hah	H1364	elevated (or elated) · adjective, feminine singular absolute
hill	גִּבְעָ֞ה giv.'Ah	H1389	a hillock · noun, common feminine singular absolute
green	רַעֲנָ֔ן ra.'a.Nan	H7488	verdant · adjective, masculine singular absolute
tree	עֵ֣ץ 'etz	H6086	a tree (from its firmness) · noun, common masculine singular absolute
wanderest	צֹעָ֥ה tzo.'Ah	H6808	to tip over (for the purpose of spilling or pouring out) · verb, qal active participle, feminine singular absolute
harlot	זֹנָֽה zo.Nah	H2181	to commit adultery (usually of the female · verb, qal active participle, feminine singular absolute

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).

Cross-references

Deuteronomy 12:2 Ye shall utterly destroy all the places, wherein the nations which ye shall possess served their gods, upon the high mountains, and upon the…
Leviticus 26:13 I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, that ye should not be their bondmen; and I have broken the bands o…
Jeremiah 17:2 Whilst their children remember their altars and their groves by the green trees upon the high hills.
Isaiah 1:21 How is the faithful city become an harlot! it was full of judgment; righteousness lodged in it; but now murderers.
Jeremiah 30:8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and…
Hosea 3:3 And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I als…
Exodus 3:8 And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unt…
Exodus 19:8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto th…

Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 2:20-28

In these verses the prophet goes on with his charge against this backsliding people. Observe here, I. The sin itself that he charges them with - idolatry, that great provocation which they were so notoriously guilty of. 1. They frequented the places of idol-worship (Jer 2:20): "Upon every high hill and under every green tree, in the high places and the groves, such as the heathen had a foolish fondness and veneration for, thou wanderest, first to one and then to another, like one unsettled, and still uneasy and unsatisfied; but in all playing the harlot," worshipping false gods, which is spiritual whoredom, and was commonly accompanied with corporal whoredom too. Note, Those that leave God w…

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Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Jeremiah 2:20

I--the Hebrew should be pointed as the second person feminine, a form common in Jeremiah: "Thou hast broken," &c. So the Septuagint, and the sense requires it. thy yoke . . . bands--the yoke and bands which I laid on thee, My laws (Jer 5:5). transgress--so the Keri, and many manuscripts read. But the Septuagint and most authorities read, "I will not serve," that is, obey. The sense of English Version is, "I broke thy yoke (in Egypt)," &c., "and (at that time) thou saidst, I will not transgress; whereas thou hast (since then) wandered (from Me)" (Exo 19:8). hill . . . green tree--the scene of idolatries (Deu 12:2; Isa 57:5, Isa 57:7). wanderest--rather, "thou hast bowed down thyself"…

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John Gill on Jeremiah 2:20

For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands,.... The yoke of the people, as the Targum expresses it, that was upon their necks, and the bands in which they were bound by them; referring to the deliverance of them of old from Egyptian bondage by the hands of Moses, and out of their several captivities among their neighbours by the means of the judges, and in their time; though the Vulgate Latin version renders it, "of old thou hast broken my yoke, and burst my bands"; or "thy yoke", and "thy bands", as the Septuagint and Arabic versions; the yoke of the law that the Lord put upon them, and the bands of statutes and ordinances which he enjoined them; but the former sense is bes…

The Church Fathers

(Verse 20.) You have broken my yoke from the age (or your own) and shattered my chains (or yours); and you said, 'I will not serve.' For on every high hill and under every leafy tree, you lay as a prostitute (or were spread out in fornication) there. This is spoken as if to a prostitute, Israel, who has broken the marriage covenant and said, 'I will not serve.' It is understood to mean the Lord, or husband. But on every high hill and under every leafy tree, she has prostrated herself to idolatry. For pleasant and lofty places are always dedicated to idols. This can also be said of those who, originally Christians and educated in sacred Scriptures, afterwards, desiring secular literature, which is signified by the hills, and pleasant eloquence (according to Al. in pleasant eloquence) which is displayed in leafy trees, prostrate themselves before demons, who under the pretense of knowledge and lofty wisdom, pollute the souls of believers and trip up the feet of anyone passing by.
— Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah

The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).

Dictionary and topics

Fornication — In every form of it was sternly condemned by the Mosaic law (Lev. 21:9; 19:29; Deut. 22:20, 21, 23-29; 23:18; Ex. 22:16). (See ADULTERY.) But this word is more frequently used in a symbolical than in…
Idolatry · Objects of, worshipped: On high places — Objects of, worshipped: On high places
Yoke · FIGURATIVE — FIGURATIVE

Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).

Jeremiah 2:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 2:20-28

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Jeremiah 2:20

John Gill on Jeremiah 2:20

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

Jeremiah 2:20

Word by word — the Hebrew

Cross-references

Commentary

Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 2:20-28

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown on Jeremiah 2:20

John Gill on Jeremiah 2:20

The Church Fathers

Dictionary and topics

John Calvin on Jeremiah 2:20

Keil & Delitzsch on Jeremiah 2:20-25

Tyndale Open Study Notes on Jeremiah 2:20-21

Rashi on Jeremiah 2:20