Read & Study the Bible Online - Bible Portal
Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - 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... read more

Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 2:29-37

The prophet here goes on in the same strain, aiming to bring a sinful people to repentance, that their destruction might be prevented. I. He avers the truth of the charge. It was evident beyond contradiction; it was the greatest absurdity imaginable in them to think of denying it (Jer. 2:29): ?Wherefore will you plead with me, and put me upon the proof of it, or wherefore will you go about to plead any thing in excuse of the crime or to obtain a mitigation of the sentence? Your plea will... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - 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;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 2:27

Saying to a stock ,.... "To a tree" F6 לעץ "ligno", V. L. Pagnanius, Montanus, Schmidt. ; to a piece of wood; that is, to an image made of it; so the Targum, "they say to an image of wood;' what follows: thou art my father ; ascribing that to the idol which belongs to God, who was their Father that made them, and upheld them, was the author of their beings, and the God of their mercies: and to a stone ; an image of stone: thou hast brought me forth : into being;... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 2:28

But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee ?.... This is, or would be, the Lord's answer to them, what is become of your gods? why do not you apply to them for help in time of trouble? the gods that you have chosen for yourselves and worshipped; the gods, not that made you, but whom you yourselves have made: let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble ; call upon them to arise, those statues of wood and stone, those lifeless and senseless images; let them rise... read more

John Gill

John Gills Exposition of the Bible Commentary - Jeremiah 2:29

Wherefore will ye plead with me ?.... Strive and contend, chide, murmur, and complain, when evil came upon them, as if the Lord dealt hardly with them, and as if they had never sinned against him; when their case would not bear to be brought into judgment and examined openly; what would they get by that but shame and disgrace? ye all have transgressed against me, saith the Lord ; high and low, rich and poor, great and small; men of all ranks, degrees, and character; kings, priests and... read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 2:26

As the thief is ashamed - As the pilferer is confounded when he is caught in the fact; so shalt thou, thy kings, princes, priests, and prophets, be confounded, when God shall arrest thee in thy idolatries, and deliver thee into the hands of thine enemies. read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 2:27

Thou art my father - By thee we have been produced, and by thee we are sustained. This was the property of the true God; for he is the Author and Supporter of being. How deeply fallen and brutishly ignorant must they be when they could attribute this to the stock of a tree! read more

Adam Clarke

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 2:28

According to the number of thy cities are thy gods - Among heathen nations every city had its tutelary deity. Judah, far sunk in idolatry, had adopted this custom. The Church of Rome has refined it a little: every city has its tutelary saint, and this saint has a procession and worship peculiar to himself. So here; not much of the old idolatry is lost. read more

John Calvin

John Calvin's Commentary on the Bible - Jeremiah 2:26

Verse 26 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 Prophet compares the Jews to open thieves, as though he had said, that hypocrites among that people gained nothing by their... read more

Group of Brands