20 For from of old thou hast broken thy yoke, Drawn away thy bands, and sayest, 'I do not serve,' For, on every high height, and under every green tree, Thou art wandering—a harlot. 21 And I planted thee a choice vine, wholly a true seed, And how hast thou been turned to Me, To the degenerate shoots of a strange vine? 22 But though thou dost wash with nitre, And dost multiply to thyself soap, Marked is thine iniquity before Me, An affirmation of the Lord Jehovah. 23 How sayest thou, 'I have not been defiled, After the Baalim I have not gone?' See thy way in a valley, know what thou hast done, A swift dromedary winding her ways, 24 A wild ass accustomed to a wilderness, In the desire of her soul she hath swallowed up wind, Her meeting—who doth turn her back? None seeking her do weary themselves, In her month they find her. 25 Withhold thy foot from being unshod, And thy throat from thirst, And thou sayest, 'It is incurable, No, for I have loved strangers, and after them I go.' 26 As the shame of a thief when he is found, So put to shame have been the house of Israel, They, their kings, their heads, And their priests, and their prophets, 27 Saying to wood, 'My father 'art' thou!' And to a stone, 'Thou hast brought me forth,' For they turned unto me the back and not the face, And in the time of their vexation, They say, 'Arise Thou, and save us.' 28 And where 'are' thy gods, that thou hast made to thyself? Let them arise, if they may save thee, In the time of thy vexation, For—the number of thy cities have been thy gods, O Judah,
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 2:20-28
Commentary on Jeremiah 2:20-28
(Read Jeremiah 2:20-28)
Notwithstanding all their advantages, Israel had become like the wild vine that bears poisonous fruit. Men are often as much under the power of their unbridled desires and their sinful lusts, as the brute beasts. But the Lord here warns them not to weary themselves in pursuits which could only bring distress and misery. As we must not despair of the mercy of God, but believe that to be sufficient for the pardon of our sins, so neither must we despair of the grace of God, but believe that it is able to subdue our corruptions, though ever so strong.