Israel's Unfaithfulness and Call to Repentance
Jeremiah 2:1-3:5
Jer.2.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ויהי: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,sg
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
Parallels
- Jeremiah 1:4 (verbal): Nearly identical prophetic introductory formula—'the word of the LORD came to me'—introducing God's message to Jeremiah (same prophet, same wording).
- Jeremiah 7:1 (structural): Another Jeremiah occurrence of the prophetic formula ('The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD'), showing the standard structural lead‑in to a prophetic address or oracle in this book.
- Jonah 1:1 (verbal): Uses the same introductory phrase ('Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah...'), illustrating the common prophetic formula across the Twelve and Major Prophets.
- 2 Samuel 7:4 (allusion): 'But that night the word of God came to Nathan...'—a parallel instance where divine revelation is delivered to a prophet/prophet‑figure, functioning as a commissioning or revelation formula outside the prophetic books.
- Ezekiel 2:1 (thematic): While phrased differently, this verse (God addressing 'son of man' and announcing 'I will speak unto thee') performs the same function—divine communication initiating a prophetic commission and message to the prophet.
Alternative generated candidates
- The word of the LORD came to me, saying:
- And the word of the LORD came to me, saying,
Jer.2.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הלך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- וקראת: VERB,qal,perf,2,ms
- באזני: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,cstr
- ירושלם: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- זכרתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,na,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- חסד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נעוריך: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- אהבת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- כלולתיך: NOUN,f,sg,cstr+PRON,2,m,sg
- לכתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs,poss2ms
- אחרי: PREP
- במדבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- לא: PART_NEG
- זרועה: ADJ,ptcp,pas,f,sg
Parallels
- Hosea 2:14-15 (thematic): God speaks of bringing/enticing Israel into the wilderness to renew relationship—echoes Jeremiah’s image of the love/faithfulness of youth and following in the wilderness.
- Hosea 2:19-20 (verbal): Uses betrothal/marriage language (I will betroth you to me forever) paralleling Jeremiah’s ‘love of your betrothal’ and covenantal affection.
- Ezekiel 16:60 (verbal): God explicitly vows to ‘remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth,’ closely mirroring Jeremiah’s ‘I remembered the devotion of your youth’ language.
- Deuteronomy 8:2 (thematic): Reminds Israel of God’s prior leading in the wilderness and life-shaping events there—parallels Jeremiah’s reference to following God ‘in the wilderness, in a land not sown.’
Alternative generated candidates
- Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: I remember your devotion in your youth, the love of your bridal days—how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.’
- “Go, and call in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the LORD: I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride—how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.’”
Jer.2.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- קדש: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ליהוה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,def
- ראשית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תבואתה: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,fs
- כל: DET
- אכליו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,3,ms
- יאשמו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- רעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תבא: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- אליהם: PREP,3,m,pl
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 7:6 (verbal): Declares Israel to be a holy people to the LORD—direct verbal parallel to 'Israel was holy unto the LORD' (קדש ישראל ליהוה).
- Exodus 19:5-6 (allusion): Speaks of Israel's special covenant status ('kingdom of priests, a holy nation')—background for Jeremiah's claim of Israel as God's 'firstfruits' and holy possession.
- Leviticus 23:10 (verbal): Prescribes bringing the 'firstfruits' (ראשית תבואתה) to the LORD—direct cultic parallel to the phrase 'the firstfruits of his increase.'
- Malachi 3:10 (thematic): Connects the duty of bringing tithes/firstfruits to God with covenant fidelity—parallels Jeremiah's emphasis on Israel's intended status as God's devoted 'firstfruits.'
- Amos 3:2 (thematic): States that Israel's special relationship with God brings particular accountability ('you only have I known... therefore will I punish')—echoes Jeremiah's warning that those who 'devour' Israel will incur judgment.
Alternative generated candidates
- Israel was holy to the LORD, the first of his harvest; all who ate of it were held guilty. Evil will come upon them, declares the LORD.
- “Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were guilty—evil shall come upon them,” declares the LORD.
Jer.2.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שמעו: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,pl
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יעקב: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- וכל: CONJ+PRON,indef
- משפחות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 1:10 (verbal): Uses the same opening formula 'Hear the word of the LORD' to summon a corporate audience (here 'rulers of Sodom'), a close verbal parallel in prophetic summons.
- Amos 3:1 (verbal): Begins with an imperative hearing formula—'Hear this word that the LORD has spoken to you, O children of Israel'—addressing Israel and introducing prophetic indictment, similar in function and wording.
- Hosea 5:1 (thematic): Calls priests and the house of Israel to 'hear,' addressing corporate Israel and its leaders before issuing judgment—parallel in audience and prophetic rebuke.
- Deuteronomy 32:1 (thematic): A summons to hear ('Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak') that frames a covenantal proclamation and indictment—an antecedent model for prophetic 'hear' speeches directed at Israel.
Alternative generated candidates
- Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob and all the clans of the house of Israel.
- Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel.
Jer.2.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כה: ADV
- אמר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- מה: PRON,int
- מצאו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אבותיכם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,pl
- בי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- עול: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- רחקו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מעלי: PREP+PRON,3,m,sg
- וילכו: VERB,qal,wayyiqtol,3,m,pl
- אחרי: PREP
- ההבל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ויהבלו: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Jer.2.11 (verbal): Same prophetic context: accuses the people of abandoning the true God for worthless substitutes—'my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit' echoes 'they went after vanity.'
- Jer.2.13 (thematic): Closely related indictment in the same chapter—Israel has 'forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns'—a development of the charge that they have left God and followed emptiness.
- Deut.31.16 (allusion): Mosaic warning that the people would forsake YHWH and follow other gods; Jeremiah echoes this covenantal pattern of apostasy and its unexpectedness to God ('what did your fathers find in me?').
- Isa.1.2-4 (thematic): Isaiah's opening summons similarly accuses Israel of rebelling against and abandoning the Lord—'the ox knows its owner… Israel does not know'—paralleling Jeremiah's charge of turning away to vanity.
- Ps.78.40-41 (thematic): The psalm recalls Israel's recurrent testing and turning from God in the wilderness; like Jeremiah, it reflects on the people's betrayal of God despite his benefits, underscoring the question why they forsook him.
Alternative generated candidates
- Thus says the LORD: What wrong did your fathers find in me, that they went far from me and walked after vanity and became vain?
- Thus says the LORD: What wrong did your fathers find in me, that they went far from me and walked after emptiness and became empty?
Jer.2.6 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ולא: CONJ
- אמרו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- איה: ADV,interr
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- המעלה: VERB,hiphil,ptcp,3,m,sg
- אתנו: PRON,1,pl
- מארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- המוליך: VERB,hiph,ptcp,3,m,sg
- אתנו: PRON,1,pl
- במדבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- ערבה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ושוחה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- ציה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- וצלמות: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- בארץ: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,def
- לא: PART_NEG
- עבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- ישב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- אדם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שם: ADV
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 6:21-22 (verbal): Commands Israel to recount how the LORD brought them out of Egypt—parallels Jeremiah's reproach that the people did not recall God's deliverance.
- Deuteronomy 8:2 (thematic): Calls Israel to 'remember the whole way' the LORD led them through the wilderness—echoes Jeremiah's emphasis on forgetting God's guidance through barren places.
- Isaiah 63:11-12 (verbal): Contains a near-rhetorical question, 'Where is he who brought them up...?' and recalls God's leading through the sea and desert—closely parallels Jeremiah's phrasing and complaint.
- Psalm 106:7-8 (thematic): Laments that the ancestors 'did not remember' God's wonders and deliverance from Egypt—thematises the same failure to acknowledge the LORD who led Israel.
Alternative generated candidates
- And they did not say, ‘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 deep darkness, a land none passed through and no man lived in it?’
- They did not say, ‘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, through a land of drought and deep darkness, a land where no man passes and in which no one dwells?’
Jer.2.7 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואביא: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- אל: NEG
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- הכרמל: NOUN,m,sg,def
- לאכל: INF,qal
- פריה: NOUN,m,sg+PRON,3,f,sg
- וטובה: CONJ+ADJ,f,sg,abs
- ותבאו: VERB,qal,impf,2,m,pl
- ותטמאו: VERB,qal,impf,2,pl
- את: PRT,acc
- ארצי: NOUN,f,sg,abs,1,sg
- ונחלתי: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs,1cs
- שמתם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3,m,pl
- לתועבה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Exodus 3:8 (thematic): God's declaration that he will bring Israel into 'a good and broad land' flowing with milk and honey parallels Jeremiah's claim 'I brought you into the land of plenty' — both stress God as giver of a fruitful inheritance.
- Deuteronomy 8:7-10 (thematic): Description of the Promised Land's streams, crops and fruit and the instruction to enjoy its produce mirrors Jeremiah's 'to eat its fruit and goodness' motif and the expectation of faithful possession.
- Ezekiel 36:17-19 (verbal): Ezekiel speaks of Israel's entering the nations, profaning God's name and defiling the land—language close to Jeremiah's charge that they 'defiled my land' and made God's inheritance an abomination.
- Leviticus 18:24-25 (thematic): The warning that certain practices defile the land and cause it to vomit out its inhabitants echoes Jeremiah's idea that Israel's behavior has made the land detestable before God.
Alternative generated candidates
- I brought you into a land of abundance to eat its fruit and its goodness. Yet when you came you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination.
- I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and its goodness; but when you came you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination.
Jer.2.8 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הכהנים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- לא: PART_NEG
- אמרו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- איה: ADV,interr
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ותפשי: VERB,qal,ptcp,m,pl,abs
- התורה: NOUN,f,sg,def
- לא: PART_NEG
- ידעוני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- והרעים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- פשעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- והנביאים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- נבאו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- בבעל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ואחרי: CONJ
- לא: PART_NEG
- יועלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- הלכו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Hosea 4:6 (thematic): Declares that the people are destroyed for lack of knowledge because the priests and leaders rejected knowledge—parallels Jeremiah's charge that priests and law‑keepers failed to know or acknowledge Yahweh.
- Ezekiel 22:26 (verbal): Speaks of priests violating God's law and prophets pursuing lies and seeing false visions—language and accusations closely mirror Jeremiah's condemnation of priests, Torah‑keepers, and false prophets.
- Micah 3:5-8 (thematic): Condemns prophets who lead by lies and priests who rule for reward rather than justice; like Jeremiah 2:8, links corrupt religious leaders and false prophecy to communal sin.
- Jeremiah 5:31 (verbal): Within Jeremiah itself: explicitly accuses prophets of prophesying lies and priests of ruling without knowledge—reiterates the same critique found in 2:8.
- Ezekiel 13:6-9 (thematic): Denounces false prophets who lead people astray with worthless visions; parallels Jeremiah's charge that prophets 'prophesied by Baal' and led the people after useless things.
Alternative generated candidates
- The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ Those who handled the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal and followed that which profits not.
- The priests asked not, ‘Where is the LORD?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the rulers transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after that which does not profit.
Jer.2.9 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לכן: ADV
- עד: PREP
- אריב: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- אתכם: PRT+PRON,2,m,pl
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- ואת: CONJ
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- בניכם: NOUN,m,pl,const+2mp
- אריב: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
Parallels
- Exodus 34:7 (verbal): Speaks of God 'visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children'—a closely related formulation to God contending with a people and their offspring.
- Numbers 14:18 (verbal): Affirms the LORD 'visits the iniquity of the fathers upon the children'—thematic parallel about punitive consequences reaching subsequent generations.
- Amos 3:2 (thematic): Declares Israel's unique relationship with God followed by the reason God will punish them ('therefore I will punish you'), echoing Jeremiah's motif of divine contention because of covenant breach.
- Jeremiah 5:9 (thematic): Same prophet and theme: God poses the question of punishing and avenging a guilty nation—paralleling Jeremiah 2:9's declaration that the LORD will contend with the people and their children.
- Ezekiel 25:17 (thematic): God's announcement of vengeance and retribution ('I will execute great vengeance') parallels Jeremiah's assertion that the LORD will contend (bring judgment) upon the people and their descendants.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore I will contend with you, declares the LORD, and with your children's children I will contend.
- Therefore I will contend with you, declares the LORD, and with your children’s children I will contend.
Jer.2.10 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- עברו: VERB,qal,imp,2,pl
- איי: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- כתיים: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- וראו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- וקדר: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- שלחו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- והתבוננו: VERB,hithpael,perf,3,mp
- מאד: ADV
- וראו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- הן: PART
- היתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- כזאת: DEM,f,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 41:1 (verbal): Directly addresses the 'islands'/'coastlands' (Heb. יֹשְׁבֵי־אִי) in an oracular summons—parallel verbal strategy of calling distant lands to attention, as in Jer 2:10's 'go to the isles of Kittim.'
- Isaiah 49:1 (structural): Begins with a call to the 'coastlands' and 'peoples from afar' to listen (Heb. אֶיָּלְכָה אִיּוֹת), mirroring Jer 2:10's procedure of appealing to remote nations as witnesses to Israel's condition.
- Isaiah 42:10 (thematic): Commands the islands/coastlands to praise and bear witness to YHWH; thematically related to Jer 2:10's appeal to distant peoples as observers/witnesses to a divine act or reality (here Israel's failure).
- Jonah 1:3 (thematic): Mentions flight toward Tarshish/the western islands—uses the same conceptual geography of 'isles/coastlands' and highlights the prophetic tradition of situating messages in relation to distant maritime lands, echoing Jer 2:10's appeal to far-off regions.
Alternative generated candidates
- Pass over to the coastlands of Kittim and see; send to Kedar and consider carefully; see if ever such a thing has been done.
- Go to the coastlands of Kittim and see; send to Kedar and observe carefully—look, has any such thing happened?
Jer.2.11 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ההימיר: VERB,hifil,perf,3,m,sg
- גוי: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- והמה: PRON,3,m,pl
- לא: PART_NEG
- אלהים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ועמי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs,poss1s
- המיר: VERB,hifil,perf,3,m,sg
- כבודו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+3,m,sg
- בלוא: PREP+PART
- יועיל: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 106:20 (verbal): Uses near-identical language: Israel 'exchanged the glory of God for' an idol, closely echoing Jeremiah's complaint about exchanging God's glory for what does not profit.
- Romans 1:25 (thematic): Paul describes humanity 'exchang[ing] the truth of God for a lie' and worshipping creation rather than the Creator—a New Testament theological parallel to exchanging God's glory for worthless things.
- Isaiah 44:9-20 (thematic): A sustained denunciation of idolatry that stresses the futility and profitlessness of idols, thematically parallel to Jeremiah's charge that the people have traded divine glory for worthless objects.
- Jeremiah 2:13 (structural): Immediate context in the same chapter: God accuses the people of forsaking the 'fountain of living waters' and hewing 'broken cisterns'—another formulation of exchanging God for useless substitutes.
- Deuteronomy 32:21 (allusion): God warns that the people will 'make me jealous with what is no god,' a covenantal precedent for the accusation that Israel has abandoned the true God for false ones.
Alternative generated candidates
- Has a nation changed its gods? Yet they are not gods. My people have exchanged their glory for that which does not profit.
- Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? Yet my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit.
Jer.2.12 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שמו: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,sg
- שמים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- על: PREP
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- ושערו: VERB,qal,impf,3,pl
- חרבו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,3,m
- מאד: ADV
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 1:2 (structural): Same summons to the heavens and earth to hear/witness God's word—parallel opening formula calling the cosmos as witness to God's indictment.
- Joel 2:10 (verbal): Speaks of the earth trembling and the heavens shaking before God's coming—shared motif of cosmic trembling at divine action.
- Haggai 2:6 (thematic): The Lord announces he will 'shake heaven and earth,' echoing the theme of cosmic disturbance as part of divine judgment or intervention.
- Isaiah 34:4 (thematic): Imagery of the heavens and celestial hosts dissolving or being shaken at the Lord's wrath—similar cosmic/deliberative response to divine judgment.
- Habakkuk 3:6 (thematic): Depicts mountains and the earth trembling and cosmic upheaval in the face of the Lord's coming—comparable language of astonishment and desolation.
Alternative generated candidates
- Be appalled, O heavens, at this, and shudder greatly, declares the LORD.
- Be appalled, O heavens, at this, and shudder terribly—declares the LORD.
Jer.2.13 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- שתים: NUM,f,pl,abs
- רעות: ADJ,f,pl,abs
- עשה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- אתי: PRON,1,sg
- עזבו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- מקור: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- מים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- חיים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- לחצב: VERB,qal,inf
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- בארות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- בארת: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- נשברים: VERB,niphal,ptc,pl,m
- אשר: PRON,rel
- לא: PART_NEG
- יכלו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- המים: NOUN,m,pl,def
Parallels
- Psalm 36:9 (verbal): Uses nearly identical imagery: God as the ‘fountain of life’/‘living waters,’ linking divine source of life to the living-water motif in Jeremiah.
- John 4:10-14 (verbal): Jesus offers ‘living water’ that becomes a spring of eternal life—directly echoes and reinterprets the OT motif of God as the fountain of living waters versus inadequate human wells/cisterns.
- Revelation 21:6; 22:1,17 (verbal): Eschatological fulfillment language—‘the water of life,’ ‘fountain’ and the invitation to the thirsty—echoes Jeremiah’s living-water imagery as God’s life-giving source.
- Proverbs 5:15-17 (thematic): Uses cistern/well imagery (‘drink water from your own cistern’); thematically parallels Jeremiah’s carved cisterns motif (human-made cisterns contrasted with the true spring).
- Isaiah 12:3 (thematic): Speaks of drawing water from the ‘wells of salvation,’ employing well/water imagery to signify salvation and joy—thematically resonant with Jeremiah’s contrast between God’s living water and empty cisterns.
Alternative generated candidates
- For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the spring of living waters, and hewed for themselves broken cisterns that can hold no water.
- For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out for themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that hold no water.
Jer.2.14 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- העבד: NOUN,m,sg,def
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אם: CONJ
- יליד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הוא: PRON,3,m,sg
- מדוע: ADV
- היה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לבז: PREP+VERB,qal,inf
Parallels
- Jeremiah 2:3 (structural): Immediate contrast within the same speech: Israel is recalled as God’s treasured, household possession (set apart), which heightens the shock that he has now become spoil/prey in 2:14.
- Isaiah 1:21 (thematic): Both verses lament a dramatic fall from a privileged, faithful status to corruption/defilement — “faithful city” turned harlot parallels Israel’s change from household slave to spoil.
- Ezekiel 16:15-22 (thematic): Ezekiel’s extended image of Jerusalem as a beloved who becomes adulterous and is given over to lovers mirrors Jeremiah’s theme of a once‑cherished people becoming spoil because of unfaithfulness.
- Hosea 2:8-13 (thematic): Hosea depicts Israel’s unfaithfulness and the loss of former protection and honor (being treated as a prize or cast off), echoing Jeremiah’s charge that a once household‑belonging Israel has become prey.
Alternative generated candidates
- Is Israel a servant, a child born to the household? Why then has he become plunder?
- Is Israel a slave, or a houseborn servant? Why then has he become a spoil?
Jer.2.15 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- עליו: PREP,3,m,sg
- ישאגו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- כפרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- נתנו: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- קולם: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,m,pl
- וישיתו: CONJ+VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- ארצו: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,ms
- לשמה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עריו: NOUN,f,pl,cs+3ms
- נצתו: VERB,nip,perf,3,m,pl
- מבלי: PREP
- ישב: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Isaiah 24:1-3 (thematic): Describes the land laid waste and cities desolated so that no one inhabits them—parallel theme of nationwide desolation and abandoned towns.
- Ezekiel 6:6-7 (verbal): Speaks of altars and high places destroyed and towns made desolate; language of sanctuaries and cities being laid waste echoes Jeremiah’s imagery.
- Lamentations 2:6-7 (allusion): Portrays God’s withdrawal from the sanctuary and the giving over of Zion to the enemy, connecting the motif of a forsaken holy place and ruined city.
- Psalm 79:1-5 (thematic): Enemies have entered and defiled the sanctuary, slain in the city and caused mourning—parallels the cry and devastation of towns and the profaning/abandonment of sacred sites.
Alternative generated candidates
- Young lions roared upon him; they uplifted their voice; they made his land a desolation; his cities are burned without inhabitant.
- Young lions roared upon him; they made his land a desolation; his cities are burned up, without inhabitant.
Jer.2.16 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- גם: ADV
- בני: NOUN,m,pl,construct
- נף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ותחפנחס: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ירעוך: VERB,qal,perf,3,pl
- קדקד: NOUN,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 44:1-2 (verbal): Same place-names (Noph/Memphis and Tahpanhes) occur in Jeremiah's address to Jews in Egypt, linking Jer 2:16's mention of those cities to the Egyptian-exile context.
- Jeremiah 43:8-13 (thematic): Jeremiah receives and proclaims an oracle at Tahpanhes about Pharaoh and Nebuchadnezzar; reinforces Tahpanhes as a setting of prophetic judgment against Egypt, resonating with Jer 2:16's depiction of humiliation.
- Isaiah 19:13 (allusion): Isaiah likewise names Noph (Memphis) among Egyptian centers and portrays its leaders' downfall—parallels the identification of Noph as a locus of Egyptian defeat or disgrace.
- Ezekiel 21:26 (verbal): Uses crown/diadem imagery ('take off the crown') in a divine judgment context, echoing the language of a crown being broken or removed as in Jer 2:16.
Alternative generated candidates
- Also the men of Noph and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of your head.
- Also the children of Noph and Tahapanhes have broken the crown of your head.
Jer.2.17 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הלוא: PART
- זאת: DEM,f,sg
- תעשה: VERB,qal,imf,2,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- עזבך: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg+PRON,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- בעת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מוליכך: VERB,hiph,ptc,m,sg+PRON,2,m,sg
- בדרך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 32:15 (verbal): Both passages condemn Israel (Jeshurun) for forsaking the God who cared for and prospered them—abandoning the LORD after he had led/blessed them.
- Hosea 11:7 (thematic): Like Jeremiah 2:17, Hosea laments Israel’s turning away from God despite his prior loving guidance and care.
- Ezekiel 16:6-8 (structural): Ezekiel portrays Jerusalem as rescued/found by God and entered into covenant with him, then becoming unfaithful—paralleling Jeremiah’s theme of abandoning the LORD after he led them on the way.
- Psalm 78:10-11 (thematic): These verses recount Israel’s refusal to walk in God’s ways and their forgetfulness of his deeds—echoing Jeremiah’s charge that they left the LORD despite his guidance.
Alternative generated candidates
- Is this not what you did for yourself—forsaking the LORD your God when he led you on the way?
- Is this not what you did when you forsook the LORD your God, and did not fear me and walked after emptiness?
Jer.2.18 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ועתה: CONJ
- מה: PRON,int
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- לדרך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מצרים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- לשתות: INF,qal
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- שחור: ADJ,m,sg
- ומה: CONJ+PRON,int
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- לדרך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- אשור: NOUN,prop,m,sg
- לשתות: INF,qal
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- נהר: NOUN,m,sg,cons
Parallels
- Hosea 7:11 (verbal): Explicitly links Israel's behavior to 'calling to Egypt' and 'going to Assyria' — same pair of foreign powers criticized in Jeremiah's rhetorical question.
- Isaiah 31:1 (thematic): Pronounces woe on those who 'go down to Egypt for help' and rely on foreign power rather than God, echoing Jeremiah's rebuke of seeking Egypt/Assyria.
- 2 Kings 17:4 (structural): Narrates Hoshea's seeking help from Egypt and the consequent Assyrian response — a historical enactment of the political folly Jeremiah condemns.
- Ezekiel 17:15-16 (allusion): Parable condemning Judah's covenant with Egypt and turning for security to a foreign power, thematically paralleling Jeremiah's rebuke of seeking Egypt/Assyria.
Alternative generated candidates
- And now what have you to do with the way of Egypt to drink the waters of Shihor? Or what have you to do with the way of Assyria to drink the waters of the River?
- And now—what have you to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? Or what have you to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?
Jer.2.19 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- תיסרך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- רעתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+2,m
- ומשבותיך: CONJ+NOUN,f,pl,abs
- תוכחך: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- ודעי: CONJ+VERB,qal,impv,2,f,sg
- וראי: CONJ+VERB,qal,imp,2,f,sg
- כי: CONJ
- רע: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ומר: CONJ+ADJ,m,sg
- עזבך: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- ולא: CONJ
- פחדתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- צבאות: NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 2:13 (verbal): Same chapter reproaches Israel for forsaking Yahweh (’the fountain of living waters’)—continues the theme of abandoning the LORD and the consequences of that apostasy.
- Deuteronomy 31:16-18 (allusion): Deuteronomic warning that Israel will turn to other gods and God will hide His face and abandon them—parallels Jeremiah’s language about forsaking the LORD and suffering for it.
- Leviticus 26:17 (thematic): Levitical curse for disobedience (’I will set my face against you…you shall be defeated’) corresponds to Jeremiah’s idea that Israel’s evil will chastise them for abandoning God.
- Jeremiah 11:11 (thematic): Another Jeremiah oracle announcing disaster because the people have forsaken the LORD—parallels the causation (apostasy → divine punishment) in 2:19.
- Isaiah 1:4 (thematic): Isaiah likewise condemns the people for forsaking the LORD and warns of the dire, bitter consequences—echoes the moral and theological charge of 2:19.
Alternative generated candidates
- Your evil will chasten you; your backslidings will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter to forsake the LORD your God; for I will not show you mercy, declares the LORD of hosts.
- Your wickedness will correct you, and your backsliding will reprove you; know and see that it is evil and bitter for you to forsake the LORD your God—yet I will not be appeased toward you, declares the LORD of hosts.
Jer.2.20 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- מעולם: ADV
- שברתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,common,sg
- עלך: PREP,2,m,sg
- נתקתי: VERB,niphal,perf,1,?,sg
- מוסרתיך: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg+OBJ:2,f,sg
- ותאמרי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- אעבור: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
- כי: CONJ
- על: PREP
- כל: DET
- גבעה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- גבהה: ADJ,f,sg
- ותחת: CONJ+PREP
- כל: DET
- עץ: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- רענן: ADJ,m,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- צעה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- זנה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
Parallels
- Hosea 4:13-14 (verbal): Uses the same cultic/sexual imagery — sacrifices and illicit worship “on the tops of the mountains… under oaks, poplars and terebinths” leading to the people’s daughters ‘playing the harlot,’ closely echoing Jeremiah’s ‘on every high hill… under every green tree.’
- Hosea 2:13 (thematic): God condemns Israel’s idolatrous revelry in high places and under trees and frames it as marital unfaithfulness, a theme parallel to Jeremiah’s depiction of Israel lying with lovers on hills and under green trees.
- Ezekiel 16:16 (verbal): Ezekiel repeats the image of Jerusalem ‘playing the harlot’ on high places and with foreign nations; the language and theme of sexualized idolatry echo Jeremiah’s charge of covenantal infidelity.
- Jeremiah 3:6-9 (structural): Same prophet and courtroom/divorce motif: God treats Israel as an unfaithful wife who ‘went after strangers’ and committed harlotry on the high places — a closely related diagnosis and legal-theological framework.
- Psalm 106:39 (thematic): Summarizes Israel’s corruption by idolatry and sexual immorality — they ‘were defiled by their own deeds’ and turned to whoring and sacrificial rites on high places, reflecting Jeremiah’s portrayal of national apostasy.
Alternative generated candidates
- For long ago I broke your yoke and burst your bonds; and you said, ‘I will not transgress.’ Yet on every high hill and under every green tree you played the harlot.
- For long ago I broke your yoke and burst your bonds; and you said, ‘I will not serve’; for upon every high hill and under every green tree you lay as a harlot.
Jer.2.21 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואנכי: PRON,1,sg
- נטעתיך: VERB,qal,perf,1,?,sg
- שרק: VERB,qal,imperfect,3,m,sg
- כלה: ADV
- זרע: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אמת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- ואיך: CONJ+ADV
- נהפכת: VERB,niphal,perf,2,f,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- סורי: ADJ,m,sg
- הגפן: NOUN,f,sg,def
- נכריה: ADJ,f,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 5:1-7 (thematic): God’s song of the vineyard: Israel is portrayed as a vine/vineyard planted and tended by Yahweh but yielding corruption, echoing Jeremiah’s image of a chosen vine turned degenerate and the theme of divine disappointment and judgment.
- Psalm 80:8-9 (verbal): Speaks of God bringing a vine out of Egypt and planting it; the language of planting and God’s care for Israel as a vine parallels Jeremiah’s 'I planted you' motif and covenantal cultivation.
- Hosea 10:1 (thematic): Israel is described as a luxuriant vine that nonetheless turns to idolatry and moral failure, paralleling Jeremiah’s contrast between the planted/true vine and its corruption into a strange/foreign vine.
- John 15:1 (allusion): Jesus’ 'I am the true vine' and the vine/branch metaphor allude to the OT vine tradition (including Jeremiah’s 'seed of truth'), contrasting true faithfulness with unfruitfulness and exile from the vine.
- Ezekiel 15:1-8 (thematic): Uses the image of a vine rendered useless and set afire as a figure for judgment; parallels Jeremiah’s concern that the planted vine has become ineffectual and subject to divine sanction.
Alternative generated candidates
- I planted you a noble vine, wholly of pure seed. How then have you turned degenerate to me—an alien vine?
- And I planted you a choice vine, wholly of pure seed; how then have you turned to me into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine?
Jer.2.22 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כי: CONJ
- אם: CONJ
- תכבסי: VERB,qal,imf,2,f,sg
- בנתר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ותרבי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- ברית: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- נכתם: VERB,niphal,perf,3,m,sg
- עונך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+2ms
- לפני: PREP
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אדני: NOUN,m,sg,abs,1,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 1:16-18 (thematic): Both deal with cleansing and guilt—Isaiah urges washing and promises forgiveness ('though your sins be like scarlet...'), contrasting Jeremiah's claim that ritual/physical washing cannot remove entrenched guilt.
- Ezekiel 16:9-10 (structural): God's initial act of washing and adorning Jerusalem (bathed, anointed, clothed) echoes the washing imagery in Jeremiah, setting up the contrast between divine care and the city's subsequent unfaithfulness.
- Ezekiel 16:30-43 (thematic): Ezekiel depicts judgment for harlotry despite earlier cleansing/adorning—paralleling Jeremiah's point that external washing does not erase guilt and will not avert punishment.
- Jeremiah 13:23 (thematic): Expresses the inability of the morally corrupt to change their nature ('Can the Ethiopian change his skin?'), resonating with Jeremiah 2:22's claim that washing cannot remove entrenched iniquity.
- Psalm 51:7-10 (thematic): Uses cleansing imagery ('Purge me with hyssop... wash me'), highlighting a theological contrast: personal penitential cleansing vs. Jeremiah's assertion that superficial washing cannot erase persistent covenantal guilt.
Alternative generated candidates
- Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt remains before me, declares the LORD.
- Though you wash yourself with lye and use much soap, the stain of your guilt is before me, declares the LORD.
Jer.2.23 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- איך: ADV
- תאמרי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- נטמאתי: VERB,niphal,perf,1,?,sg
- אחרי: PREP
- הבעלים: NOUN,m,pl,def
- לא: PART_NEG
- הלכתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- ראי: VERB,qal,impv,2,f,sg
- דרכך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- בגיא: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- דעי: VERB,qal,imp,2,f,sg
- מה: PRON,int
- עשית: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- בכרה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- קלה: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,3,f,sg
- משרכת: VERB,piel,ptc,_,f,sg
- דרכיה: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3,f,sg
Parallels
- Ezekiel 16:15 (thematic): Ezekiel accuses Jerusalem of trusting in her beauty and prostituting herself despite God’s care — a sustained metaphor of unfaithfulness and shameless harlotry parallel to Jeremiah’s rebuke.
- Hosea 2:13 (verbal): Hosea condemns Israel’s prostitution 'for the days of the Baals' and promises punishment — directly echoing Jeremiah’s complaint about pursuing the Baalim.
- Jeremiah 3:3 (structural): Within the same book Jeremiah again indicts Israel’s shameless infidelity ('a harlot’s forehead') and its consequences, repeating the theme of denial of guilt and visible apostasy.
- Deuteronomy 32:15 (thematic): Moses’ song portrays Israel as fattened and then abandoning God — a covenantal indictment of forgetfulness and turning to other powers that undergirds Jeremiah’s charge of defilement.
Alternative generated candidates
- How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not gone after Baals’? See your way in the valley; know what you have done—like a wanton heifer easily provoked, following her courses.
- How can you say, ‘I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baals’? See your way in the valley—know what you have done; remember the paths of your steps and the defilement of your harlotry.
Jer.2.24 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- פרה: VERB,qal,impv,2,ms
- למד: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- מדבר: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- באות: PART,qal,part,f,pl
- נפשה: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRONSUF,3,f,sg
- שאפה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- רוח: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- תאנתה: NOUN,f,sg,abs+3fs
- מי: PRON,interr,sg
- ישיבנה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg,OBJ,3,f,sg
- כל: DET
- מבקשיה: VERB,qal,ptc,pres,3,m,pl+3fs
- לא: PART_NEG
- ייעפו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- בחדשה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ימצאונה: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl+3fs
Parallels
- Job 39:5-8 (verbal): Uses the image of the untamed/wild donkey in the wilderness—like Jeremiah’s 'wild ass'—emphasizing untamability and freedom from human control.
- Hosea 2:2-13 (thematic): Portrays Israel as an unfaithful wife seeking lovers and being pursued; parallels Jeremiah’s depiction of Israel’s sexual infidelity and irresistible pursuit by lovers.
- Jeremiah 3:6-10 (structural): Close parallel within Jeremiah: the prophet addresses Israel/Judah as an unfaithful spouse and speaks of adultery and pursuit, repeating and developing the same marriage/harlotry motif.
- Ezekiel 16:15-34 (thematic): Ezekiel’s extended allegory of Jerusalem as a harlot who pursues foreign lovers and cannot be restrained echoes Jeremiah’s imagery of sexual infidelity and relentless pursuit.
- Isaiah 1:21 (thematic): Isaiah’s lament that the faithful city has become a harlot parallels the prophetic theme of communal unfaithfulness—Jerusalem/Israel portrayed as sexually unfaithful to Yahweh.
Alternative generated candidates
- A wild ass accustomed to the wilderness sniffs the wind in her yearning—who can restrain her? All who seek her will not be weary; in the newness they will find her.
- A wild ass accustomed to the wilderness will meet you; she sniffs the wind in her longing—her lovers are all her guests; none will be weary—at the season they will find her.
Jer.2.25 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מנעי: VERB,qal,imp,2,f,sg
- רגלך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+SUFF,2,m,sg
- מיחף: PREP+VERB,qal,ptc,m,sg
- וגרונך: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+SUF,2,f,sg
- מצמאה: VERB,qal,ptc,m,sg
- ותאמרי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- נואש: ADJ,m,sg
- לוא: NEG
- כי: CONJ
- אהבתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,_,sg
- זרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ואחריהם: PREP,3,pl
- אלך: VERB,qal,impf,1,_,sg
Parallels
- Hosea 2:7 (verbal): Uses the same imagery of Israel 'following her lovers' (foreign gods/partners); closely parallels Jeremiah's language about loving 'strangers' and pursuing them.
- Ezekiel 16:15-16 (thematic): Portrays Jerusalem as an unfaithful wife who 'loved' her lovers and became adulterous—echoes Jeremiah's charge of spiritual adultery and love of foreigners/idols.
- Jeremiah 3:6-8 (structural): Continues the same prophetic motif of divine divorce for Israel's unfaithfulness—God's condemnation of the nation for going after other gods ('strangers').
- 1 Kings 11:2-4 (thematic): Historical example of 'loving strangers'—Solomon's attachment to foreign women leads him to follow other gods, illustrating the recurring theme that love of foreigners leads to idolatry.
Alternative generated candidates
- Keep your foot from being unshod and your throat from thirst, yet you said, ‘It is hopeless; I have loved strangers, and after them I will go.’
- Keep your feet from being bare and your throat from thirst—yet you say, ‘I am hopeless; for I have loved foreigners, and after them I will go.’”
Jer.2.26 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- כבשת: NOUN,f,pl,construct
- גנב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- כי: CONJ
- ימצא: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- כן: ADV
- הבישו: VERB,hif,perf,3,m,pl
- בית: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ישראל: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- המה: PRON,3,m,pl
- מלכיהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3mp
- שריהם: NOUN,m,pl,abs,3,m,pl_suf
- וכהניהם: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ונביאיהם: CONJ+NOUN,m,pl,abs
Parallels
- Jeremiah 6:15 (thematic): Direct contrast: Jeremiah 2:26 says a thief (and Israel) is ashamed when exposed; Jeremiah 6:15 emphasizes Israel's lack of shame—they 'were not at all ashamed'—highlighting the prophetic complaint about persistent unrepentance.
- Jeremiah 23:11 (verbal): Similar indictment of religious leaders: both passages accuse priests and prophets (and leaders) of wickedness or shameful behavior, linking the nation's guilt to its official class.
- Micah 3:11 (thematic): Parallels the collective condemnation of rulers, priests, and prophets for corruption and injustice—Micah charges all classes of leadership with failing the people, as Jeremiah does.
- Ezekiel 22:26 (verbal): Ezekiel accuses priests of violating the law and prophets of misleading vision—echoing Jeremiah's charge that Israel's leaders and cultic officials are complicit in the nation's disgrace.
- Hosea 4:6 (thematic): Shows the consequences of priestly and prophetic failure: 'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge,' blaming religious leadership for national ruin, similar to Jeremiah's linking of leaders' guilt with Israel's shame.
Alternative generated candidates
- Like a thief ashamed when he is caught, so the house of Israel and their kings, their princes, their priests, and their prophets are put to shame.
- As a thief is ashamed when he is found, so has the house of Israel been ashamed—its kings, its princes, its priests and its prophets.
Jer.2.27 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- אמרים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- לעץ: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אבי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
- ולאבן: CONJ+PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- ילדתנו: VERB,qal,perf,2,f,sg,obj=1pl
- כי: CONJ
- פנו: VERB,qal,imp,2,m,pl
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- ערף: ADJ,m,sg,abs
- ולא: CONJ
- פנים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ובעת: CONJ+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רעתם: NOUN,f,sg,suff-3mp
- יאמרו: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,pl
- קומה: VERB,qal,impv,2,m,sg
- והושיענו: CONJ+VERB,hif,impv,2,m,sg,obj=1pl
Parallels
- Habakkuk 2:18-19 (verbal): Nearly identical imagery and wording—rebuke of those who say to wood or stone, 'Awake/Arise'—highlighting the futility of addressing idols.
- Isaiah 44:9-20 (thematic): Extended polemic against idol-makers and their mute creations (cutting, carving, praying to wood/stone), paralleling Jeremiah's critique of idolatry and its absurdity.
- Psalm 115:4-8 (thematic): Portrays idols as mute, blind, powerless and those who make them becoming like them—echoes Jeremiah's contrast between powerless idols and the true God.
- Jeremiah 10:3-5 (structural): Within Jeremiah’s own book: describes making and worshiping wooden images and the vanity of such practices, closely paralleling the charge in 2:27.
- Romans 1:23-25 (thematic): Paul's New Testament treatment of idolatry (exchanging God’s glory for images and serving created things) echoes Jeremiah’s condemnation of turning to lifeless idols in distress.
Alternative generated candidates
- They say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their back to me and not their face; in the time of their trouble they will call, ‘Arise and save us!’
- They say to a wooden thing, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You brought me forth’; for they have turned their back to me, not their face. In the time of their trouble they will say, ‘Arise and save us!’
Jer.2.28 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ואיה: ADV,interr
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- אשר: PRON,rel
- עשית: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- יקומו: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,pl
- אם: CONJ
- יושיעוך: VERB,hif,impf,3,m,sg,obj:2ms
- בעת: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs
- רעתך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+2,m
- כי: CONJ
- מספר: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
- עריך: NOUN,f,pl,const
- היו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אלהיך: NOUN,m,sg,prsuf-2ms
- יהודה: NOUN,m,sg,prop
Parallels
- Psalm 115:4-8 (verbal): Directly parallels the challenge to idols: they are made of silver/wood, cannot speak or save — like "let them arise, if they can save you in the time of your calamity."
- Psalm 135:15-18 (thematic): Same theological polemic against idols: they are objects made by hands, unable to act or rescue, reinforcing Jeremiah’s taunt about gods that cannot save Judah.
- Isaiah 46:5-7 (thematic): Isaiah ridicules idols and their makers (they are carried and helpless), echoing Jeremiah’s demand that Judah’s gods ‘arise’ and save if they can.
- Habakkuk 2:18-19 (verbal): Uses rhetorical questions about the profit and power of idols and the taunt 'Let them be ashamed' / 'Let them awake' — closely related imagery to Jeremiah’s provocation to inoperative gods.
- Jeremiah 2:11 (structural): Within the same prophetic speech Jeremiah accuses the people of exchanging the true God for worthless gods; this verse develops that charge by emphasizing the impotence and multiplicity of Judah’s gods.
Alternative generated candidates
- Where are your gods that you made for yourselves? Let them arise if they can save you in the time of your trouble; for according to the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah.
- Where are your gods that you made for yourselves? Let them arise, if they can save you in the time of your trouble; for your gods are as many as your cities, O Judah.
Jer.2.29 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- למה: ADV
- תריבו: VERB,qal,impf,2,pl
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- כלכם: PRON,2,m,pl
- פשעתם: VERB,qal,perf,2,pl
- בי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 1:18-20 (thematic): Both passages present God engaging in a courtroom-like exchange with the people—inviting argument or reasoning yet charging them with guilt and warning of consequences for continued rebellion.
- Psalm 50:16-21 (verbal): God directly rebukes the wicked who continue in sin while appealing to him; similar accusatory tone and the paradox of Israel's protest vs. their transgression (“you have transgressed against me”).
- Jeremiah 3:25 (structural): A proximate Jeremiah passage that echoes the admission/confession motif—the people acknowledge shame and sin against the LORD, closely paralleling the charge of having transgressed.
- Ezekiel 36:22-23 (allusion): God responds to Israel’s sins with an emphasis on their transgressions bringing reproach on his name; like Jer 2:29, it frames Israel’s wrongdoing as an offense directly against the LORD.
- Hosea 5:6-7 (thematic): Hosea depicts Israel’s treachery toward the LORD and the resulting withdrawal/judgment of God—echoing the theme that the people have transgressed against Yahweh and face his repudiation.
Alternative generated candidates
- Why will you contend with me? Your transgressions are against me, declares the LORD.
- Why will you contend with me? You have all transgressed against me, declares the LORD.
Jer.2.30 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לשוא: PREP
- הכיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,NA,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- בניכם: NOUN,m,pl,const+2mp
- מוסר: NOUN,m,sg,const
- לא: PART_NEG
- לקחו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- אכלה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- חרבכם: NOUN,f,sg,suff
- נביאיכם: NOUN,m,pl,suff
- כאריה: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- משחית: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
Parallels
- Jeremiah 5:3 (verbal): Uses very similar language about God striking the people and their refusal to receive correction ('stricken... received no correction'), a near-verbal parallel to Jer 2:30.
- Jeremiah 7:25 (thematic): Both verses emphasize that God repeatedly sent prophets to warn Israel but the people would not listen — the theme of prophetic warnings unheeded.
- Jeremiah 23:1-2 (thematic): Speaks against the shepherds/prophetic leaders who destroy or scatter the flock; echoes the judgment on leaders and the destructive outcome associated with false or failed prophetic leadership.
- Matthew 23:29-31 (allusion): Jesus charges his audience with the same pattern of rejecting and killing prophets ('you build the tombs of the prophets... your fathers killed them'), reflecting the enduring motif of people devouring or destroying God's messengers.
Alternative generated candidates
- In vain I struck your children and chastened them—yet they received no correction. Your sword devoured your prophets like a destroying lion.
- I struck your children—I tried to chastise them, yet there was none to take them by the hand; your sword, your prophets, have consumed them like a devouring lion.
Jer.2.31 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הדור: NOUN,m,sg,def
- אתם: PRON,2,m,pl
- ראו: VERB,qal,impv,2,pl
- דבר: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- המדבר: VERB,qal,ptc,3,m,sg
- הייתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,sg
- לישראל: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אם: CONJ
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מאפליה: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs+3,fs
- מדוע: ADV
- אמרו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- עמי: NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- רדנו: VERB,qal,perf,1,pl
- לוא: NEG
- נבוא: VERB,qal,impf,1,pl
- עוד: ADV
- אליך: PREP+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Jeremiah 2:13 (verbal): Same chapter/theme: God rebukes Israel for forsaking him — “my people” abandoning the Lord as the spring of living waters, a close verbal and thematic link to the complaint that the people refuse to come to God.
- Hosea 4:6 (thematic): ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge…’ — like Jer.2:31 this verse diagnoses Israel’s self-destructive rejection of God and portrays a people turning away from covenant instruction.
- Isaiah 1:2-4 (thematic): God summons heaven and earth to witness Israel’s rebellion: the people are ungrateful and refuse instruction — parallels the charge that the people refuse to come to the Lord and have turned away.
- Ezekiel 20:8 (verbal): God recounts Israel’s rebellion: ‘they rebelled against me and would not listen’ — echoes Jer.2:31’s theme of willful refusal to heed or come to the LORD.
Alternative generated candidates
- O generation, behold the word of the LORD: Was I a wilderness to Israel, a land of darkness? Why then do my people say, ‘We are wide; we will come no more to you’?
- O generation, see the word of the LORD! I have spoken to Israel—have I been a wilderness to them? Why then do my people say, ‘We are lords; we will come no more to you’?
Jer.2.32 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- התשכח: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- בתולה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- עדיה: NOUN,f,pl,abs+3fs
- כלה: ADV
- קשריה: NOUN,m,pl,abs+3fs
- ועמי: CONJ+NOUN,m,sg,abs+1s
- שכחוני: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl,+obj=1s
- ימים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- אין: PART,neg
- מספר: VERB,qal,impf,1,m,sg
Parallels
- Ezekiel 16:10-14 (verbal): Ezekiel describes Jerusalem as a maiden adorned with garments and jewelry given by God—parallel imagery of a virgin/bride and ornaments that underscores Israel's prior covenantal blessing now rejected.
- Hosea 2:5-7 (thematic): Hosea portrays Israel as an unfaithful wife who forgets/abandons her relationship with God; both texts use marital infidelity language to characterize covenantal forgetting and apostasy.
- Jeremiah 3:20 (structural): Within the same prophetic book Jeremiah again uses the marriage metaphor—'I will allure her... she is a treacherous wife'—reiterating the theme of Israel's spiritual unfaithfulness and forgetting God.
- Revelation 2:4-5 (thematic): The charge to the Ephesian church—'you have left your first love'—echoes Jeremiah's accusation that the people have forgotten God, both emphasizing abandonment of a prior devoted relationship with the Lord.
Alternative generated candidates
- Can a young woman forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
- Can a young woman forget her ornaments, or a bride her wedding attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
Jer.2.33 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מה: PRON,int
- תיטבי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- דרכך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- לבקש: PREP+VERB,qal,infc
- אהבה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- לכן: ADV
- גם: ADV
- את: PRT,acc
- הרעות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- למדת: VERB,qal,perf,2,f,sg
- את: PRT,acc
- דרכיך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Jeremiah 3:1-14 (structural): Same prophetic context—Jeremiah expands the theme of Israel’s unfaithfulness and the call to return, treating the ‘seeking love’ motif and Israel’s learned perversity as part of the same indictment.
- Isaiah 1:16-17 (thematic): Contrasts Israel’s sinful practice with the prophetic demand to ‘cease to do evil; learn to do good’—echoing Jeremiah’s charge that they have ‘taught’ their ways to do evil despite seeking favour.
- Hosea 4:12-14 (thematic): Depicts Israel’s spiritual adultery and pursuit of other ‘lovers’ (idols), showing how turning to false love leads to moral corruption—paralleling Jeremiah’s accusation about seeking love while learning wicked ways.
- Ezekiel 16:25-26 (allusion): God’s metaphor of Jerusalem as a harlot who ‘learned’ to play the harlot and adopt abominable practices parallels the language of teaching one’s feet to do evil in the pursuit of illicit ‘love.’
Alternative generated candidates
- How can you say, ‘I am innocent; I have not gone after love’? For you have taught your ways to the wicked.
- Why do you pursue love with your ways? Therefore you have taught your feet to do evil.
Jer.2.34 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- גם: ADV
- בכנפיך: PREP
- נמצאו: VERB,niphal,perf,3,pl
- דם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נפשות: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- אביונים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- נקיים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- לא: PART_NEG
- במחתרת: PREP
- מצאתים: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- כי: CONJ
- על: PREP
- כל: DET
- אלה: DEM,pl,abs
Parallels
- Isaiah 1:15-17 (verbal): Isaiah condemns hands 'full of blood' and calls for justice toward the poor—language and theme parallel Jeremiah's indictment of blood found on the community/garments and failure to protect the vulnerable.
- Proverbs 6:16-17 (verbal): Proverbs lists 'hands that shed innocent blood' as a chief abomination, echoing Jeremiah's charge concerning the blood of the innocent.
- Psalm 106:38 (thematic): Psalm accuses Israel of shedding innocent blood, polluting the land—a thematic parallel stressing communal guilt for violence against the vulnerable.
- Genesis 4:10 (allusion): God hears 'the voice of your brother's blood' (Abel); both passages portray bloodshed as crying out for divine reckoning and justice.
- Jeremiah 22:3 (structural): Another Jeremiah injunction: 'do justice... do no wrong... do not shed innocent blood'—an internal-book parallel that frames the prophet's recurring legal and ethical indictment.
Alternative generated candidates
- In the skirts of your garments I found the blood of the souls of the poor and innocent; you did not hide it—on all sides it is found.
- In the skirts of your garments was found the lifeblood of the poor and needy; you did not find them by stealth—yet on account of all these things,
Jer.2.35 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- ותאמרי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- כי: CONJ
- נקיתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,c,sg
- אך: PART
- שב: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- אפו: NOUN,m,sg,abs,suff3ms
- ממני: PREP,suff,1,m,sg
- הנני: PRT+PRON,1,sg
- נשפט: VERB,nifal,perf,3,m,sg
- אותך: PRON,2,m,sg
- על: PREP
- אמרך: NOUN,m,sg,abs+PRON,2,f,sg
- לא: PART_NEG
- חטאתי: VERB,qal,perf,1,m,sg
Parallels
- Psalm 50:16-21 (thematic): God rebukes those who presume on His silence and claim righteousness while living wickedly—parallel to Jeremiah’s denunciation of Israel’s protest “I have not sinned” and the promise of divine judgment.
- Ezekiel 16:59-63 (thematic): God declares He will enact judgment for Jerusalem’s unfaithfulness and false pretenses, and then restore; echoes Jeremiah’s answer to Israel’s claim of innocence and the pronouncement of judgment.
- Job 31:33-37 (thematic): Job’s emphatic assertions of innocence and his challenge to be judged reflect the motif of a declared or contested innocence before God that appears in Jeremiah 2:35.
- Micah 6:2-3 (structural): The prophet summons a courtroom-style confrontation between God and Israel, answering Israel’s stance before God—similar to Jeremiah’s judicial reply to Israel’s claim of having done no wrong.
Alternative generated candidates
- And you say, ‘I am innocent; surely his anger has turned away from me.’ Behold, I will judge you for the words of your mouth, declares the LORD.
- you say, ‘I am innocent; surely his anger has turned from me.’ Behold, I will judge you because of your saying, ‘I have not sinned.’”
Jer.2.36 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- מה: PRON,int
- תזלי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- מאד: ADV
- לשנות: PREP+NOUN,f,pl,cons
- את: PRT,acc
- דרכך: NOUN,f,sg,abs+PRON,2,m,sg
- גם: ADV
- ממצרים: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- תבושי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- כאשר: CONJ
- בשת: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- מאשור: PREP+NOUN,prop,sg,m
Parallels
- Jeremiah 2:18 (verbal): Same chapter and context — rebuke for turning to Egypt (ממצרים) for help; both verses condemn reliance on Egypt and the disgrace that follows.
- Hosea 11:5 (allusion): Mentions both Egypt and Assyria in the context of Israel’s unfaithfulness and the failure of these powers to save — echoes the pairing of Egypt and Assyria and the resulting shame.
- Isaiah 31:1-3 (thematic): Warns against seeking aid from Egypt and predicts disgrace for those who trust in Egyptian help; parallels Jeremiah’s charge that relying on Egypt/Assyria brings shame.
- Jeremiah 43:11-13 (structural): A later Jeremiah prophecy announcing judgment against those who flee to/settle in Egypt (including defeat and humiliation), continuing the theme that Egypt will not protect Israel and will bring shame.
Alternative generated candidates
- Why change your way so much, you will be ashamed even of Egypt as you were ashamed of Assyria.
- Why change your way so often? You will be ashamed of Egypt as you were ashamed of Assyria.
Jer.2.37 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- גם: ADV
- מאת: PREP
- זה: PRON,dem,m,sg
- תצאי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- וידיך: NOUN,f,sg,suff
- על: PREP
- ראשך: NOUN,m,sg,abs,2,m
- כי: CONJ
- מאס: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
- במבטחיך: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,suff
- ולא: CONJ
- תצליחי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
Parallels
- Isaiah 31:1 (thematic): Condemns reliance on foreign military strength (Egypt/horses) rather than God, paralleling Jeremiah's denunciation of trust in 'your trusted ones' that will fail.
- Jeremiah 17:5 (verbal): Declares the curse on those who trust in man rather than the LORD; directly echoes the theme of God's rejection of human confidences found in Jer 2:37.
- Psalm 20:7 (verbal): Contrasts trust in chariots and horses with trust in Yahweh; parallels Jeremiah's warning that reliance on earthly allies will not succeed.
- Hosea 5:13 (thematic): Describes Israel turning to Assyria (foreign help) in time of trouble and not finding healing—a close analogue to Jeremiah's prediction that trusted allies will be rejected and prove unsuccessful.
Alternative generated candidates
- From this also you shall go forth with your hands on your head; for the LORD has rejected those on whom you relied, and you shall not prosper by them.
- From this place you shall go with your hands on your head, for the LORD has rejected those in whom you trusted, and you shall not prosper by them.
Jer.3.1 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- לאמר: INF,qal,infc
- הן: PART
- ישלח: VERB,qal,impf,3,m,sg
- איש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- את: PRT,acc
- אשתו: NOUN,f,sg,cs+3,m,sg
- והלכה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- מאתו: PREP
- והיתה: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- לאיש: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אחר: PREP
- הישוב: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אליה: PREP+PRON,3,f,sg
- עוד: ADV
- הלוא: PART
- חנוף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- תחנף: VERB,qal,impf,3,f,sg
- הארץ: NOUN,f,sg,def
- ההיא: DEM,f,sg
- ואת: CONJ
- זנית: VERB,qal,perf,2,f,sg
- רעים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- רבים: ADJ,m,pl,abs
- ושוב: CONJ+VERB,qal,imp,2,m,sg
- אלי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- נאם: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- יהוה: NOUN,prop,m,sg,abs
Parallels
- Deuteronomy 24:1-4 (quotation): Law concerning a man divorcing his wife and her remarriage — the legal/phrase background to Jeremiah’s rhetorical question about returning to a divorced wife (echoed imagery and legal tradition).
- Hosea 3:1 (allusion): God commands Hosea to love an adulterous woman as a sign of God’s love for unfaithful Israel — closely parallels Jeremiah’s marriage-harlotry imagery and the call for Israel to return to YHWH.
- Hosea 2:2-7 (thematic): Hosea accuses Israel of whoring after many lovers and predicts rejection/exile, then promises restoration — shares motifs of harlotry, many lovers, land defilement, and call to repent.
- Ezekiel 23:37 (verbal): Ezekiel portrays Jerusalem and Samaria as prostitutes with many lovers, using graphic harlotry language similar to Jeremiah’s charge of playing the harlot with many lovers.
- Malachi 2:14-16 (thematic): Condemnation of marital treachery and divorce as covenant betrayal — resonates with Jeremiah’s use of marital infidelity to depict Israel’s breach of covenant with God.
Alternative generated candidates
- ‘If a man puts away his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man’s, shall he return to her again? Would not that land be utterly unfaithful? Yet you say, “Return to me,” declares the LORD.
- “They say, ‘If a man puts away his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man's, shall he return to her again?’ Would not that land be greatly polluted? Yet you have played the harlot with many lovers—return to me, declares the LORD.
Jer.3.2 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- שאי: VERB,qal,imp,2,f,sg
- עיניך: NOUN,f,pl,abs+2ms
- על: PREP
- שפים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- וראי: CONJ+VERB,qal,imp,2,f,sg
- איפה: ADV
- לא: PART_NEG
- שכבת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- על: PREP
- דרכים: NOUN,f,pl,abs
- ישבת: VERB,qal,perf,3,f,sg
- להם: PREP+PRON,3,m,pl
- כערבי: PREP+NOUN,m,pl,abs
- במדבר: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- ותחניפי: VERB,qal,perf,2,f,sg
- ארץ: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- בזנותיך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,f
- וברעתך: PREP+NOUN,f,sg,abs,2,f
Parallels
- Jeremiah 2:20 (verbal): Same prophetic indictment of Israel as a harlot who wanders on high places and under trees; continues the legal/marital metaphor of unfaithfulness found in Jer 3:2.
- Ezekiel 16:25-26 (thematic): Ezekiel uses the prostitution metaphor to describe Jerusalem's adultery and explicitly charges her with polluting the land through whoredom, echoing the language and accusation in Jer 3:2.
- Ezekiel 23:2-5 (thematic): The two sisters (Samaria and Jerusalem) are portrayed as prostitutes who seek lovers openly; parallels Jer 3:2's image of sitting in the ways/highways to solicit partners and national unfaithfulness.
- Isaiah 1:21 (thematic): Isaiah calls the faithful city a harlot and accuses it of corruption and pollution of the land—similar moral and civic imagery of urban/ national prostitution in Jer 3:2.
- Hosea 4:12-14 (thematic): Hosea repeatedly frames Israel's idolatry and social corruption as whoredom—passages that depict seeking lovers/consulting idols parallel Jer 3:2's charge of sexualized unfaithfulness and land-pollution.
Alternative generated candidates
- Lift up your eyes to the heights and see: where have you not lain with men? By the roads you sat for them like an Arab in the wilderness; and you defiled the land with your harlotry and with your wickedness.
- Lift up your eyes to the heights and see: where have you not lain with them? By the ways you sat for them like an Arab in the wilderness; and you polluted the land with your harlotry and with your wickedness.
Jer.3.3 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- וימנעו: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,pl
- רבבים: NOUN,m,pl,abs
- ומלקוש: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- לוא: NEG
- היה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- ומצח: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אשה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- זונה: NOUN,f,sg,abs
- היה: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לך: PRON,2,m,sg
- מאנת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- הכלם: VERB,qal,inf,NA,NA,NA
Parallels
- Hosea 2:2-13 (thematic): Uses the marriage/whoredom metaphor for Israel's unfaithfulness and describes God’s punitive removal of blessings—paralleling Jeremiah’s image of a brazen harlot and the withholding of showers/latter rain as judgment.
- Ezekiel 16:15-34 (verbal): Ezekiel depicts Jerusalem as an unfaithful wife who 'played the harlot' and became shameless; the vivid prostitution imagery (exposure, brazen conduct) closely echoes Jeremiah’s 'harlot's forehead' motif.
- Ezekiel 23:2-21 (structural): The allegory of the two sisters (Samaria and Jerusalem) charged with prostitution and shamelessness parallels Jeremiah’s address to Jerusalem’s prostitutes and the theme of national infidelity.
- Joel 2:23 (thematic): Speaks of God’s giving of the former and latter rains as blessing; functions as a thematic foil to Jeremiah 3:3, which emphasizes that showers/latter rain have been withheld because of covenant unfaithfulness.
- Jeremiah 2:20-25 (allusion): Earlier in Jeremiah God accuses Israel of abandoning covenant fidelity and pursuing immoral alliances; the same language of defilement and brazen, unrepentant conduct underlies 3:3’s rebuke about a 'harlot’s forehead' and resultant drought.
Alternative generated candidates
- Therefore the showers were withheld, and there was no latter rain; you had the face of a harlot—you refused to be ashamed.
- You had the showers withheld and there was no latter rain; yet you have a harlot’s forehead—you refuse to be ashamed.
Jer.3.4 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הלוא: PART
- מעתה: ADV
- קראת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- לי: PREP+PRON,1,sg
- אבי: NOUN,m,sg,cons
- אלוף: NOUN,m,sg,abs
- נערי: NOUN,m,pl,cons
- אתה: PRON,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Hosea 11:1-4 (thematic): God portrayed as a father who loved, taught, and guided Israel in its youth—parental language of training and leading parallels Israel’s address of God as ‘my father, guide of my youth.’
- Psalm 71:17-18 (verbal): ‘From my youth you have taught me’ echoes the motif of divine guidance in youth found in Jeremiah’s phrase ‘guide (אלוף) of my youth.’
- Malachi 1:6 (thematic): God’s claim ‘If I am a father, where is my honor?’ highlights the covenantal father‑child relationship and Israel’s failure to honor God—contextually parallel to Jeremiah’s recollection that Israel once called God ‘Father.’
- Isaiah 63:16 (verbal): The prophet addresses God as ‘our Father,’ reflecting the same tradition of calling Yahweh ‘Father’ that Jeremiah cites in the reproach of Israel’s faithlessness.
Alternative generated candidates
- Yet you say to me, “My Father,” and call me “the guide of my youth.”
- Will you not then call to me, ‘My Father, you are the guide of my youth’?
Jer.3.5 - Details
Original Text
Morphology
- הינטר: VERB,qal,perf,3,m,sg
- לעולם: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- אם: CONJ
- ישמר: VERB,qal,imprf,3,m,sg
- לנצח: PREP+NOUN,m,sg,abs
- הנה: PART
- דברת: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
- ותעשי: VERB,qal,impf,2,f,sg
- הרעות: NOUN,f,pl,def
- ותוכל: VERB,qal,perf,2,m,sg
Parallels
- Hosea 2:2-3 (thematic): Uses the same adultery/prostitution imagery for Israel's unfaithfulness and calls for confession and judgment—parallel theme of covenant adultery and its consequences.
- Ezekiel 16:15-22 (thematic): Portrays Jerusalem as an unfaithful wife who prostituted herself and was punished—closely parallels Jeremiah's charges of whoredom/backsliding and divine retribution.
- Jeremiah 2:20-23 (verbal): An intra‑Jeremian parallel that uses similar language accusing Israel of whoring and abandoning the covenant; repeats motifs of folly and turning from the LORD.
- Deuteronomy 31:16-18 (thematic): Moses' prediction that Israel will forsake the covenant and provoke God's anger echoes the covenant‑unfaithfulness theme and the inevitability of judgment found in Jeremiah 3:5.
Alternative generated candidates
- Will you keep watch forever? Will you retain this forever? Behold, you have spoken and done wickedness—can you still be secure?
- Shall I hold back forever? Shall I be patient and keep silent? Behold, you have spoken and done evil—can you go on without correction?
The word of the LORD came to me, saying:
Go and proclaim in the ears of Jerusalem: Thus says the LORD— I remember for you the devotion of your youth, the love of your bridal days, when you walked after me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.
Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his increase; all who devoured her shall be guilty—evil shall come upon them, declares the LORD.
Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the LORD: What wrong did your fathers find in me, that they went far from me and walked after futility and became futile?
They 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, through a land of drought and deep darkness, a land no one passed through and where no one lived?’
I brought you into a fruitful land to eat its fruit and goodness; but you came in and defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination.
The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the leaders transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit.
Therefore I will contend with you, declares the LORD, and with your children's children I will contend.
Go to the coastlands of Kittim and see; send to Kedar and observe closely—see if the like has happened.
Has a nation changed its gods, though they are no gods? Yet my people have exchanged their glory for that which cannot help.
Be appalled, O heavens, at this, and shudder greatly, declares the LORD.
For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and dug out for themselves broken cisterns that hold no water.
Is Israel a servant? Is he a son born in the house? Why then has he become a prey?
Young lions have roared upon him—they have roared and made his land a waste; his cities are burned and left without inhabitant.
Yes—also the young men of Noph and Tahpanhes have made bald your crown.
Is this not what you did—forsaking the LORD your God when he led you in the way? Now why go to Egypt to drink water from the Nile? And why go to Assyria to drink water from the river?
Your evil will correct you, and your apostasies will reprove you. Know and see that it is evil and bitter that you have forsaken the LORD your God, and that you have not feared me, declares the LORD of hosts.
For long ago I broke your yoke and burst your bonds; you said, ‘I will not serve,’ and on every high hill and under every leafy tree you lay down as a harlot.
I planted you a choice vine, wholly of true seed; how then have you turned to be the shoot of a foreign vine to me?
For though you wash yourself with lye and increase your soaps, the stain of your guilt is before me, declares the LORD.
How can you say, ‘I am clean, I have not gone after the Baals’? Look at your ways in the valley; know what you have done—you are a swift mare that loves to run her course.
Like a wild heifer of the wilderness, eager in desire—who will restrain her? All who pursue her will be wearied; in the season of her desire they will find her.
Keep your feet from slipping and your throat from thirst; yet you say, ‘It is hopeless—for I loved strangers, and after them I will go.’
They are as a thief who is caught— the house of Israel is put to shame: its kings, princes, priests, and prophets.
They say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ and to a stone, ‘You gave birth to me’; for they turned their backs to me and not their faces. In the time of their trouble they will cry, ‘Arise and save us.’ But where are your gods that you made for yourselves? Let them arise—if they can save you in the time of trouble; for according to the number of your cities are your gods, O Judah.
Why do you contend with me? All of you have transgressed against me, declares the LORD.
In vain I struck your children; they received no chastening. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a destroying lion.
Listen to the word of the LORD, you senseless generation: I was to Israel as a consuming thing—why then do my people say, ‘We are free; we will come no more to you’?
Can a young woman forget her ornaments, a bride her wedding attire? Yet my people have forgotten me days without number.
What right have your ways to seek love? Through them you have taught yourself to do evil.
In the skirts of your clothing was found the blood of the souls of the poor and needy; you did not hide it—on all this you are guilty. And you said, ‘I am innocent; surely his anger has turned from me.’ Behold, I will judge you for saying, ‘I have not sinned.’
How long will you wander—change your ways! Even from Egypt you shall be ashamed, as you were shamed by Assyria.
Yes, from there you will go out with your hands on your head, for the LORD has rejected your trust, and you shall not prosper by them.
Say: If a man divorces his wife and she goes from him and becomes another man's, shall he return to her? Would not that land be utterly defiled? Yet you have played the harlot with many lovers; return again to me, declares the LORD.
Lift up your eyes to the bare heights and see—where have you not lain with men? By the ways you sat for them like an adulteress; you polluted the land with your harlotry and your wickedness.
The showers were withheld and there was no latter rain; yet you had a harlot's forehead—you refused to be ashamed.
From now on will you not call me 'My Father' and say, 'You are the guide of my youth'?
Will he be jealous forever, will he keep his anger to the end? See, you have spoken and done wickedly—yet will you continue on in this way?