a stealer · noun, common masculine singular absolute
ashamed
כְּבֹ֤שֶׁתke.Vo.shet
H1322
shame (the feeling and the condition · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct
found
יִמָּצֵ֔אyi.ma.Tze'
H4672
properly · verb, niphal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
house
בֵּ֣יתbeit
H1004
a house (in the greatest variation of applications · noun, common masculine singular construct
Israel
יִשְׂרָאֵ֑לYis.ra.'El
H3478
Jisrael · proper noun, a place name
ashamed
יָבֵשׁyâbêsh
H3001
to be ashamed
kings
מַלְכֵיהֶם֙mal.khei.Hem
H4428
a king · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
princes
שָֽׂרֵיהֶ֔םsa.rei.Hem
H8269
a head person (of any rank or class) · noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
priests
וְכֹהֲנֵיהֶ֖םve.kho.ha.nei.Hem
H3548
literally one officiating · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
prophets
וּנְבִיאֵיהֶֽםu.ne.vi.'ei.Hem
H5030
a prophet or (generally) inspired man · conjunction + noun, common masculine plural construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person masculine plural
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
Ezra 9:7 Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day; and for our iniquities have we, our kings, and our priests, be…
Nehemiah 9:32-34 Now therefore, our God, the great, the mighty, and the terrible God, who keepest covenant and mercy, let not all the trouble seem little bef…
Jeremiah 32:32 Because of all the evil of the children of Israel and of the children of Judah, which they have done to provoke me to anger, they, their kin…
Proverbs 6:30-31 Men do not despise a thief, if he steal to satisfy his soul when he is hungry;
Isaiah 1:29 For they shall be ashamed of the oaks which ye have desired, and ye shall be confounded for the gardens that ye have chosen.
Jeremiah 2:36 Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria.
Jeremiah 3:24-25 For shame hath devoured the labour of our fathers from our youth; their flocks and their herds, their sons and their daughters.
Jeremiah 48:27 For was not Israel a derision unto thee? was he found among thieves? for since thou spakest of him, thou skippedst for joy.
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…
is ashamed--is put to shame.
thief-- (Joh 10:1).
Israel--that is, Judah (Jer 2:28).
John Gill on Jeremiah 2:26
As the thief is ashamed when be is found,.... Taken in the fact, or convicted of it; that is, as the Targum explains it, one that has been accounted faithful, and is found a thief; for, otherwise, those who have lost their character, and are notorious for their thefts and robberies, are not ashamed when they are found out, taken, and convicted:
so is the house of Israel ashamed: of their idolatry, or ought to be; or "shall be", as the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions render it; though not now, yet hereafter, sooner or later:
they, their kings, their princes, and their priests and their prophets; all being guilty; kings setting ill examples, and the people following them; the priests…
Jeremiah 2:26
26. As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets,
26. Sicut pudor (vel, probrum) furi, cum deprehensus est, ita pudefacti sunt domus Israel, reges eorum, principes eorum, et sacerdotes eorum et prophetae eorum.
Some render the words in the future tense, "So ashamed shall be the house of Israel," etc.; and they think that the Prophet is speaking here of the punishment which was impending over the people: but I explain the words as they are, -- that the impiety of the people was so gross, that there was no need formally to prove it, as it was so very palpable. Hence the Prop…
The Church Fathers
Against those who, in the greatness of their wickedness, have scorned God's goodness and rejected the Savior, there is decreed wrath and misery.… For those who are in their sins are full of shame. For so it is somewhere said of the Israelites, who violated the law of Moses: Like the shame of a thief when he is caught, so will the children of Israel be ashamed. But those who are in Christ by faith, escaping from the pollutions of sin, are certainly not full of shame but also have that boldness that becomes those who are free.
(Verse 26, 27.) Just as a thief is ashamed when he is caught, so were the people of Israel and their kings, leaders, priests, and prophets ashamed. Even though the faces of thieves are shameless and bold, they are still embarrassed when caught in the act. And so, when Israel says to a piece of wood, 'You are my father,' and to a stone, 'You have given birth to me,' they are calling their own creations their parents, and they are ashamed when caught in their idolatry. And let us not say this about him of the common people: He sets up kings and princes, and priests, and their prophets. Let us use this testimony against our leaders, and against those who are considered leaders in the Church, when they have been caught in shameful sins. They turned their back to me, and not their face. Those who reject the words of God, turn their back against Him and not their face. For when a master gives a command, the sign of obedience is if the servant listens with head lowered. But if they turn their back, it is a sign of contempt; as it is written in another place: And they turned their shoulder, wanting to go away (Zach. VII, 11). So much have they despised my commands, that they did not even want to hear, but showed their arrogance with their body language. And in the time of their affliction they will say: Arise, and deliver us. Those who did not perceive through blessings will perceive through torments that 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
Nitre — (Prov. 25:20; R.V. marg., “soda”), properly “natron,” a substance so called because, rising from the bottom of the Lake Natron in Egypt, it becomes dry and hard in the sun, and is the soda which…
Theft · Shame follows the detection of — Shame follows the detection of
Theft And Thieves · 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).
And yet idolatry brings to the people only disgrace, giving no help in the time of need. Jer 2:26. "As a thief is shamed when he is taken, so is the house of Israel put to shame; they, their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets. Jer 2:27. Because they say to the wood, Thou art my father; and to the stone, Thou hast borne me: for they have turned to me the back and not the face; but in the time of their trouble they say, Arise, and help us. Jer 2:28. Where then are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can help thee in the time of thy trouble; for as many as are thy cities, so many are thy gods, Judah." The thought in Jer 2:26 and Jer 2:27 is this, Isra…
Israel’s leaders felt no shame for the evil they did; any contrition they expressed in the face of God’s punishment stemmed from selfishness, not repentance (Ps 78:34-37).
Rashi on Jeremiah 2:26
when he is found out At the beginning, when he is found to be a thief, and he was presumed to be faithful. In this manner, Jonathan rendered it.
