TRV
Translation
King James Version
Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?
Complete Jewish Bible
"Haven't you brought this on yourself by abandoning ADONAI your God when he led you along the way?
Berean Standard Bible
Have you not brought this on yourself by forsaking the LORD your God when He led you in the way?
American Standard Version
Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, when he led thee by the way?
World English Bible Messianic
“Haven’t you procured this to yourself, in that you have forsaken the LORD your God, when he led you by the way?
Geneva Bible (1599)
Hast not thou procured this vnto thy selfe, because thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way?
Young's Literal Translation
Dost thou not do this to thyself? By thy forsaking Jehovah thy God, At the time He is leading thee in the way?
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Commentary on Jeremiah 2 verses 14–19
14 ¶ Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled?
15 The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant.
16 Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head.
17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, when he led thee by the way?
18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?
19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
The prophet, further to evince the folly of their forsaking God, shows them what mischiefs they had already brought upon themselves by so doing; it had already cost them dear, for to this were owing all the calamities their country was now groaning under, which were but an earnest of more and greater if they repented not. See how they smarted for their folly.
I. Their neighbours, who were their professed enemies, prevailed against them, and this was owing to their sin. 1. They were enslaved and lost their liberty (Jer 2:14): Is Israel a servant? No; Israel is my son, my first-born, Exo 4:22. They are children; they are heirs. Nay, their extraction is noble; they are the seed of Abraham, God's friend, and of Jacob his chosen. Is he a home-born slave? No; he is not the son of the bond-woman, but of the free. They were designed for dominion, not for servitude. Every thing in their constitution carried about it the marks of freedom and honour. Why then is he spoiled of his liberty? Why is he used as a servant, as a home-born slave? Why does he make himself a slave to his lusts, to his idols, to that which does not profit? Jer 2:11. What a thing is this, that such a birthright should be sold for a mess of pottage, such a crown profaned and laid in the dust! Why is he made a slave to the oppressor? God provided that a Hebrew servant should be free the seventh year, and that their slaves should be of the heathen, not of their brethren, Lev 25:44, Lev 25:46. But, notwithstanding this, the princes made slaves of their subjects, and masters made slaves of their servants (Jer 34:11), and so made their country mean and miserable, which God had made happy and honourable. The neighbouring princes and powers broke in upon them, and made some of them slaves even in their own country, and perhaps sold others for slaves into foreign countries. And how came they thus to lose their liberties? For their iniquities they sold themselves, Isa 50:1. We may apply this spiritually. Is the soul of man a servant? Is it a home-born slave? No, it is not. Why then is it spoiled? It is because it has sold its own liberty and enslaved itself to divers lusts and passions, which is a lamentation, and should be for a lamentation. 2. They were impoverished and had lost their wealth. God brought them into a plentiful country (Jer 2:7), but all their neighbours made a prey of it (Jer 2:15): Young lions roar aloud over him and yell; they are a continual terror to him. Sometimes one potent enemy, and sometimes another, and sometimes many in confederacy, fall upon him, and triumph over him. They carry off the fruits of his land, and make that waste, and burn his cities, when first they have plundered them, so that they remain without inhabitant, either because there are no houses to dwell in or because those that should dwell in them are carried into captivity. 3. They were abused, and insulted over, and beaten by every body (Jer 2:16): "Even the children of Noph and Tahapanes, despicable people, not famed for military courage nor strength, have broken the crown of thy head, or fed upon it. In all their struggles with thee they have been too hard for thee, and thou hast always come off with a broken head. The principal part of thy country, that which lay next Jerusalem, has been and is a prey to them." How calamitous the condition of Judah had been of late in the reign of Manasseh we find, Ch2 33:11, and perhaps it had not now much recovered itself. 4. All this was owing to their sin (Jer 2:17): Hast thou not procured this unto thyself? By their sinful confederacies with the nations, and especially their conformity to them in their idolatrous customs and usages, they had made themselves very mean and contemptible, as all those do that have made a profession of religion and afterwards throw it off. Nothing now appeared of that which, by their constitution, made them both honourable and formidable, and therefore nobody either respected them or feared them. But this was not all; they had provoked God to give them up into the hands of their enemies, and to make them a scourge to them and give them success against them; and "thus thou hast procured it to thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, revolted from thy allegiance to him and so thrown thyself out of his protection; for protection and allegiance go together." Whatever trouble we are in at any time we may thank ourselves for it; for we bring it upon our own head by our forsaking God: "Thou hast forsaken thy God at the time that he was leading thee by the way" (so it should be read); "Then when he was leading thee on to a happy peace and settlement, and thou wast within a step of it, then thou forsookest him, and so didst put a bar in thy own door."
II. Their neighbours, that were their pretended friends, deceived them, distressed them, and helped them not, and this also was owing to their sin. 1. They did in vain seek to Egypt and Assyria for help (Jer 2:18): "What hast thou to do in the way of Egypt? When thou art under apprehensions of danger thou art running to Egypt for help, Isa 30:1, Isa 30:2; Isa 31:1. Thou art for drinking the waters of Sihor," that is, Nilus. "Thou reliest upon their multitude, and refreshest thy self with the fair promises they make thee. At other times thou art in the way of Assyria, sending or going with all speed to fetch recruits thence, and thinkest to satisfy thyself with the waters of the river Euphrates; what hast thou to do there? What wilt thou get by applying to them? They shall help in vain, shall be broken reeds to thee, and what thou thoughtest would be to thee as a river will be but a broken cistern." 2. This also was because of their sin. The judgment shall unavoidably come upon them which their sin has deserved; and then to what purpose is it to call in help against it? Jer 2:19. "Thy own wickedness shall correct thee, and then it is impossible for them to save thee; know and see therefore, upon the whole matter, that it is an evil thing that thou hast forsaken God, for it is that which makes thy enemies enemies indeed, and thy friends friends in vain." Observe here, (1.) The nature of sin; it is forsaking the Lord as our God; it is the soul's alienation from him and aversion to him. Cleaving to sin is leaving God. (2.) The cause of sin; it is because his fear is not in us. It is for want of a good principle in us, particularly for want of the fear of God; this is at the bottom of our apostasy from him; men forsake their duty to God because they stand in no awe of him nor have any dread of his displeasure. (3.) The malignity of sin; it is an evil thing and a bitter. Sin is an evil thing, only evil, an evil that has no good in it, an evil that is the root and cause of all other evil; it is evil indeed, for it is not only the greatest contrariety to the divine nature, but the greatest corruption of the human nature. It is bitter; a state of sin is the gall of bitterness, and every sinful way will be bitterness in the latter end; the wages of it is death, and death is bitter. (4.) The fatal consequences of sin; as it is in itself evil and bitter, so it has a direct tendency to make us miserable: "Thy own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee, not only destroy and ruin thee hereafter, but correct and reprove thee now; they will certainly bring trouble upon thee; and punishment will so inevitably follow the sin that the sin shall itself be said to punish thee. Nay, the punishment, in its kind and circumstances, shall so directly answer to the sin, that thou mayest read the sin in the punishment; and the justice of the punishment shall be so plain that thou shalt not have a word to say for thyself; thy own wickedness shall convince thee and stop thy mouth for ever and thou shalt be forced to own that the Lord is righteous." (5.) The use and application of all this: "Know therefore, and see it, and repent of thy sin, that so the iniquity which is thy correction may not be thy ruin."
Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers verses 14–19. Public domain.
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JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Jeremiah
(Verse 16, 17.) The sons of Memphis and Taphne have defiled you, even to the crown. Is it not because you abandoned the Lord your God at the time when He was leading you along the way? This that we have said, is not found in the Septuagint at the time when He was leading you along the way. However, he names two great cities of Egypt, Memphis and Taphne, and he says that their sons defiled Israel even to the crown, in the sense in which Isaiah expressed it: From the sole of the foot to the crown, there is no soundness in it (Isaiah 1:6). For there was such a great lust among the Egyptians, who are of large bodies, that they spared no member, but defiled everything. Literally, it refers to the idols of the Egyptians; spiritually, to the teachers of a perverse doctrine, who defile the purity of the Church with their filthiness. These things happened to them because they abandoned their Lord God, especially at the time when they should have followed him as their leader.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Jeremiah 2:17 delivers a potent rhetorical question from Yahweh to the nation of Judah, serving as a profound indictment. It asserts that the severe calamities and impending judgments they faced were not arbitrary divine punishments but the direct, inevitable consequences of their own deliberate and self-destructive act of abandoning the LORD, their faithful God, who had consistently and lovingly guided them along the path of life. This verse powerfully underscores the principle of spiritual accountability, the tragic outcome of covenant unfaithfulness, and the self-inflicted nature of apostasy's bitter fruits.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Jeremiah 2:17 employs several potent literary devices to convey its message with maximum impact and theological weight. The most prominent is the Rhetorical Question, "Hast thou not procured this unto thyself...?" This device is not meant to be answered but serves to emphasize the undeniable truth of Judah's culpability, forcing the audience to acknowledge their self-inflicted plight. It functions as a powerful legal indictment within God's rib (lawsuit) against His people, leaving no room for denial or shifting of blame. There is also a subtle element of Personification in the phrase "when he led thee by the way," where God is depicted as an active, personal guide or shepherd, intimately involved in leading His people. This imagery highlights God's personal care and unwavering commitment, contrasting sharply with Judah's abandonment of Him. Furthermore, the "way" itself serves as a profound Metaphor for the path of life, righteousness, and obedience to God's covenant. By forsaking God, Judah abandoned the very path that led to blessing, security, and flourishing, choosing instead a path leading to destruction and distress, illustrating the profound and inevitable consequences of their spiritual choices.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Jeremiah 2:17 profoundly articulates the theological principle of divine justice and human accountability within the covenant framework. It asserts that God's people are not exempt from the consequences of their actions, particularly when those actions involve a deliberate abandonment of the Lord who faithfully guides them. This verse highlights the deep pain God feels when His covenant people forsake Him, equating it to an act of self-destruction. The "this" that Judah procured for themselves is the bitter fruit of their apostasy, demonstrating that spiritual rebellion inevitably leads to brokenness and suffering, both individually and corporately. God's consistent leading underscores His unwavering commitment and patience, making Judah's unfaithfulness all the more grievous and inexcusable. It serves as a stern warning that turning away from the source of life and truth invariably leads to a desolate existence.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Jeremiah 2:17 serves as a timeless mirror for profound self-examination, urging us to deeply consider the true source of our struggles and challenges. It powerfully challenges the common human tendency to externalize blame—attributing difficulties to circumstances, other people, or even God—instead directing our gaze inward to our own choices and spiritual alignment. The verse powerfully reminds us that much of the "this"—the distress, the brokenness, the lack of peace, the relational strife, or the spiritual emptiness—in our lives can often be traced back to moments or patterns where we have subtly or overtly forsaken the Lord, our God, who continually seeks to lead us "by the way." Our spiritual well-being, our peace, our flourishing, and indeed our very purpose are inextricably linked to our faithful adherence to God's guidance and our unwavering devotion to Him. It calls us to a posture of humility and sincere repentance, to acknowledge our part in our own struggles, and to return wholeheartedly to the One who is our true source of life, wisdom, and unfailing direction.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does "procured this unto thyself" mean in a practical sense?
Answer: In a practical sense, "procured this unto thyself" means that Judah's suffering and impending judgment were not arbitrary acts of divine punishment but the direct, natural, and self-inflicted consequences of their own actions. They actively brought these troubles upon themselves by choosing to abandon their covenant relationship with God and pursue idolatry and unfaithfulness. It emphasizes profound personal and national accountability, illustrating the biblical principle that our choices have inevitable consequences, particularly in our relationship with God. When we turn away from God's wisdom and guidance, we inevitably walk into paths that lead to difficulty, distress, and spiritual barrenness, as seen throughout the narratives of Israel's history in books like Judges and Kings.
How does God "lead by the way" today, and what does it mean to "forsake" Him?
Answer: Today, God "leads by the way" primarily through His inspired Word, the Bible, which provides comprehensive wisdom, instruction, and moral guidance for all aspects of life (see Psalm 119:105). He also leads through the indwelling Holy Spirit, who convicts, illuminates, guides, and empowers believers, teaching them all things and reminding them of Jesus' words (as promised in John 16:13). Additionally, God can lead through the wise counsel of godly community, through prayer, and through the circumstances of life, which He sovereignly orchestrates. To "forsake" Him today means to consciously and persistently disregard His Word, resist the Holy Spirit's leading, or prioritize other loyalties (such as wealth, power, personal desires, or worldly philosophies) above Him. It implies a deliberate turning away from a relationship with God, choosing to walk a path contrary to His revealed will, much like the unfaithfulness described in Matthew 6:24.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Jeremiah 2:17, with its stark indictment of Judah for forsaking the Lord who "led thee by the way," finds its profound Christ-centered fulfillment in the person and redemptive work of Jesus. Humanity, like ancient Judah, has consistently "procured this unto itself" by forsaking the true God, choosing instead paths of sin, idolatry, and self-reliance, leading inevitably to spiritual death and profound separation from the Father. However, unlike unfaithful Israel, Jesus Christ is the perfectly obedient Son who never forsook the Father's will but always walked "by the way" of divine leading, even to the point of ultimate humility and death on the cross (as seen in Philippians 2:8). He declared Himself to be "the way, the truth, and the life," the only path back to the Father (John 14:6), embodying the very "way" that Israel failed to follow. Through His atoning sacrifice, Jesus takes upon Himself the "this"—the self-inflicted consequences of humanity's forsaking God—offering forgiveness, reconciliation, and a new covenant relationship. He becomes the Good Shepherd who not only leads us "by the way" of righteousness (echoing the imagery of Psalm 23) but also actively seeks and restores those who have strayed, inviting us back into a faithful covenant relationship with God, a new covenant established in His own blood (Luke 22:20). Thus, Judah's failure highlights humanity's desperate need for a Savior who perfectly follows God's way and provides the sole means for us to be led back into a vibrant, life-giving relationship with Him.