Jeremiah 2:23-25
New English Translation
23 “How can you say, ‘I have not made myself unclean.
I have not paid allegiance to[a] the gods called Baal.’
Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom![b]
Think about the things you have done there!
You are like a flighty, young female camel
that rushes here and there, crisscrossing its path.[c]
24 You are like a wild female donkey brought up in the wilderness.
In her lust she sniffs the wind to get the scent of a male.[d]
No one can hold her back when she is in heat.
None of the males need wear themselves out chasing after her.
At mating time she is easy to find.[e]
25 Do not chase after other gods until your shoes wear out
and your throats become dry.[f]
But you say, ‘It is useless for you to try and stop me
because I love those foreign gods[g] and want to pursue them!’
Footnotes
- Jeremiah 2:23 tn Heb “I have not gone/followed after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for the meaning and usage of this idiom.
- Jeremiah 2:23 tn Heb “Look at your way in the valley.” The valley is an obvious reference to the Valley of Hinnom where Baal and Molech were worshiped and child sacrifice was practiced.
- Jeremiah 2:23 sn The metaphor is intended to depict Israel’s lack of clear direction and purpose without the Lord’s control.
- Jeremiah 2:24 tn The words “to get the scent of a male” are implicit and are supplied in the translation for clarification.
- Jeremiah 2:24 sn The metaphor is intended to depict Israel’s irrepressible desire to worship other gods.
- Jeremiah 2:25 tn Heb “Refrain your feet from being bare and your throat from being dry/thirsty.”
- Jeremiah 2:25 tn Heb “It is useless! No!” For this idiom, see Jer 18:12; NEB “No; I am desperate.”
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