29 "Why do you contend with Me? You have all transgressed against Me," declares the Lord . 30 " In vain I have struck your sons ; They accepted no chastening . Your sword has devoured your prophets Like a destroying lion . 31 "O generation , heed the word of the Lord . Have I been a wilderness to Israel , Or a land of thick darkness ? Why do My people say , ' We are free to roam ; We will no longer come to You'? 32 "Can a virgin forget her ornaments , Or a bride her attire ? Yet My people have forgotten Me Days without number . 33 "How well you prepare your way To seek love ! Therefore even the wicked women You have taught your ways . 34 "Also on your skirts is found The lifeblood e of the innocent poor ; You did not find them breaking in. But in spite of all these things , 35 Yet you said , 'I am innocent ; Surely His anger is turned away from me.' Behold , I will enter into judgment with you Because you say , 'I have not sinned .' 36 "Why do you go around so much Changing your way ? Also , you will be put to shame by Egypt As you were put to shame by Assyria . 37 "From this place also you will go out With your hands on your head ; For the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust , And you will not prosper with them."
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 2:29-37
Commentary on Jeremiah 2:29-37
(Read Jeremiah 2:29-37)
The nation had not been wrought upon by the judgements of God, but sought to justify themselves. The world is, to those who make it their home and their portion, a wilderness and a land of darkness; but those who dwell in God, have the lines fallen to them in pleasant places. Here is the language of presumptuous sinners. The Jews had long thrown off serious thoughts of God. How many days of our lives pass without suitable remembrance of him! The Lord was displeased with their confidences, and would not prosper them therein. Men employ all their ingenuity, but cannot find happiness in the way of sin, or excuse for it. They may shift from one sin to another, but none ever hardened himself against God, or turned from him, and prospered.