Jeremiah 2:25 — meaning, Hebrew and Greek word study, commentary
Jeremiah 2:25
Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.
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 32:16 They provoked him to jealousy with strange gods, with abominations provoked they him to anger.
Jeremiah 3:13 Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under ev…
Jeremiah 18:12 And they said, There is no hope: but we will walk after our own devices, and we will every one do the imagination of his evil heart.
Romans 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Deuteronomy 28:48 Therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the LORD shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of…
Deuteronomy 29:19-20 And it come to pass, when he heareth the words of this curse, that he bless himself in his heart, saying, I shall have peace, though I walk…
2 Chronicles 28:22 And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the LORD: this is that king Ahaz.
Isaiah 2:6 Therefore thou hast forsaken thy people the house of Jacob, because they be replenished from the east, and are soothsayers like the Philisti…
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…
Withhold, &c.--that is, abstain from incontinence; figuratively for idolatry [HOUBIGANT].
unshod, &c.--do not run so violently in pursuing lovers, as to wear out thy shoes: do not "thirst" so incontinently after sexual intercourse. HITZIG thinks the reference is to penances performed barefoot to idols, and the thirst occasioned by loud and continued invocations to them.
no hope-- (Jer 18:12; Isa 57:10). "It is hopeless," that is, I am desperately resolved to go on in my own course.
strangers--that is, laying aside the metaphor, "strange gods" (Jer 3:13; Deu 32:16).
John Gill on Jeremiah 2:25
Withhold thy foot from being unshod,.... That it may not be unshod, be naked and bare. The sense is, either, as some, do not take long journeys into foreign countries for help, as into Assyria and Egypt, whither they used to go barefoot; or wore out their shoes by their long journeys, and so returned without; or refrain from idolatry, as Jarchi interprets it, that thou mayest not go naked into captivity; or this is an euphemism, as others think, forbidding adulterous actions, showing the naked foot, the putting off of the shoes, in order to lie upon the bed, and prostitute herself to her lovers; and is to be understood of idolatry:
and thy throat from thirst; after wine, which excites lust;…
Nothing makes God as angry as when people from despair of better things cling to those that are worse. Indeed, this despair in itself is a sign of unbelief. One who despairs of salvation can have no expectation of a judgment to come. For if he dreaded such, he would by doing works prepare to meet his Judge. Let us hear what God says through Jeremiah: "Withhold your foot from a rough way and your throat from thirst," and again, "shall they fall, and not arise? Shall he turn away, and not return?"
(Verse 25.) Keep your foot from nakedness, and your throat from thirst. And you said, I have despaired, I will not do it. I have loved strangers, and will follow after them. LXX: Turn your foot away from the rough path, and your throat from thirst. She said, I will act boldly because I have loved strangers, and I will follow after them. They who will celebrate the Passover are commanded to have shoes on their feet (Exodus 12). And the Apostle (Ephesians 6) preaches to have feet shod ready for the Gospel: lest while they walk through the solitude of this world, they be exposed to venomous creatures, which are to be trodden upon and crushed by the Gospel foot. We prevent our throat from being thirsty, when we fulfill the commandments of the Savior saying: Whoever is thirsty, let him come to me and drink (John 7:37). By this despair of evil, she denied that she would do what the Lord commanded, and she explained the reason, saying: I have loved strangers, and I will follow them, thinking that by this impudent confession she could avoid sins. Furthermore, next to the road of sinners there is a rough path, which is turned into a smooth path by the Lord. Let anyone who follows heretics be noted for the praise of this verse; for he said, I have despaired, whether I act boldly in evil, and I will be strengthened in my error. However, it is necessary for someone who follows a different doctrine from the Church to love those who are different and to follow their footsteps, whether they are demons or the leaders of heretics who are alienated from God.
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
Alliance And Society With The Enemies Of God · The wicked are prone to — The wicked are prone to
Company · EVIL — EVIL
Despair · Leads to: Continuing in sin — Leads to: Continuing in sin
Despondency · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Impenitence · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Shoes · Illustrative: (Taken off,) of an ignominious and servile condition — Illustrative: (Taken off,) of an ignominious and servile condition
Sin · The wicked: Led by despair to continue in — The wicked: Led by despair to continue in
Temptation · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
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).
John Calvin on Jeremiah 2:25
Jeremiah 2:25
25. Withhold thy foot from being unshod, and thy throat from thirst: but thou saidst, There is no hope: no; for I have loved strangers, and after them will I go.
25. Prohibe pedem tuum a discalceare (hoc est, ne discalceeris) et guttur tuum a siti (quanquam alii existimant esse nomen substantivum ychph, et mihi placet; ita vertendum erit, Prohibe pedem tuum a discalceatione et guttur tuum a siti;) et dixisti, Acturm est; non, quia dilexi alienos, et post illos ambulabo.
The words of the Prophet, as they are concise, may appear at the first view obscure: but his meaning is simply this, -- that the insane people could by no means be reformed, however much God might try to che…
All along Israel has been refractory; it cannot and will not cease from idolatry. Jer 2:20. "For of old time thou hast broken thy yoke, torn off thy bands; and hast said: I will not serve; but upon every high hill, and under every green tree, thou stretchedst thyself as a harlot. Jer 2:21. And I have planted thee a noble vine, all of genuine stock: and how hast thou changed thyself to me into the bastards of a strange vine? Jer 2:22. Even though thou washedst thee with natron and tookest much soap, filthy remains thy guilt before me, saith the Lord Jahveh. Jer 2:23. How canst thou say, I have not defiled me, after the Baals have I not gone? See thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done…
The Israelites confessed to the Baal worship that they had earlier denied (2:23), thus revealing the true state of their hearts.
Rashi on Jeremiah 2:25
Withhold your foot from going barefoot This your habit, like the wild donkey that loves to wander. My prophets say to you, “Withhold your foot from idolatry lest you go barefoot into exile and withhold your throat from dying of thirst.” but you said concerning the words of the prophets. I despair It is of no concern. I despair of your words. נואש is (nonkalajjr in O.F.) nonchalair in modern French.
