Jeremiah 2:12

Verse

Berean Standard Bible

Be stunned by this, O heavens; be shocked and utterly appalled,” declares the LORD.

American Standard Version (1901)

Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith Jehovah.

Bible in Basic English

Be full of wonder, O heavens, at this; be overcome with fear, be completely waste, says the Lord.

Douay-Rheims 1899

Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and ye gates thereof, be very desolate, saith the Lord.

Free Bible Version

You heavens, you should be appalled, shocked and horrified! declares the Lord.

Geneva Bible 1599

O yee heauens, be astonied at this: bee afraid and vtterly confounded, sayeth the Lord.

King James (Authorized) Version

Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.

Translation for Translators

It is as though everything in the sky is surprised and dismayed/appalled about what you have done; it is as though they tremble because they are very horrified.

Unlocked Literal Bible

Shudder, heavens, because of this! Be shocked and horrified—this is Yahweh's declaration.

Noah Webster Bible

Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.

World English Bible

“Be astonished, you heavens, at this and be horribly afraid. Be very desolate,” says Yahweh.

Young's Literal Translation

Be astonished, ye heavens, at this, Yea, be frightened, be greatly wasted, An affirmation of Jehovah.

Context

Israel Has Forsaken God

¹¹Has a nation ever changed its gods, though they are no gods at all? Yet My people have exchanged their Glory for useless idols. ¹²Be stunned by this, O heavens; be shocked and utterly appalled,” declares the LORD. ¹³“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns— broken cisterns that cannot hold water.

Sermons

With or Without God

Matthew Little

566

Summary

In this verse, Jeremiah is conveying God's message to the people of Israel, highlighting their ingratitude and rebellion against Him. The imagery of heavens being shocked and horrified at such behavior emphasizes the severity of their sin. God, who is the source of living water, is contrasted with broken cisterns that can hold no water, symbolizing the people's futile pursuit of satisfaction apart from Him. This verse serves as a warning against forsaking the true God for empty idols and urges repentance and return to Him for true fulfillment and sustenance.

Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

Impassioned personification (Isa 1:2). horribly afraid--rather, be horrified." be . . . very desolate--rather, "be exceedingly aghast" at the monstrous spectacle. Literally, "to be dried up," or "devastated," (places devastated have such an unsightly look) [MAURER].

John Gill Bible Commentary

For my people have committed two evils,.... Not but that they had committed more, but there were two principal ones they were guilty of, hereafter mentioned; and it was an aggravation of these crimes, that they were the professing people of God who had committed them: and it may be observed, that such sin; they are not without it, nor the commission of it; and may be left to fall into great sins, and yet remain his people; covenant interest cannot be dissolved; this should be considered not as an encouragement to sin, but as a relief under a sense of sin: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters; this is said of Christ, Sol 4:15, grace in him is compared to "water", it being cooling and refreshing, cleansing and fructifying; and to living water, because it quickens dead sinners, revives drooping saints, supports and maintains spiritual life, and issues in eternal life; and because it is perpetual and ever flowing; and to a "fountain", denoting that the original of it is in Christ, and the great abundance of it which is in him; it is as water in a fountain, in us as in streams: now to forsake this fountain is the first of these evils; which is done when the people of God are remiss in the exercise of faith on Christ; grow cold in their affections to him, and neglect his word and ordinances. And hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water; this is the other evil; and such are the world, and the things in it, when cleaved unto, and rest and satisfaction are taken in them; the inventions and ordinances of men, when followed and attended to; moral duties, and evangelical services, when depended on; and even spiritual frames, when these are lived upon, and put in the room of Christ; yea, acts of faith, when they are rested in, and the object not so much regarded as should be: moreover, what may principally be intended are, in the first place, forsaking the worship of God, as the Targum interprets it, the assembling of themselves together to attend his service and ordinances, which is to forsake their own mercies; and, in the next place, following after idols, as the same paraphrase explains it, which have no divinity in them, and can yield no help and relief, or give any comfort, or afford any supply in time of distress and need. It is egregious folly to leave a fountain for a cistern, and especially a broken one: in a fountain the water is living, and always running, and ever springing up; not so in a cistern, and in a broken cistern there is none at all.

Jeremiah 2:12

Israel Has Forsaken God

Scripture
Sermons
Commentary

Berean Standard Bible

Be stunned by this, O heavens; be shocked and utterly appalled,” declares the LORD.

American Standard Version (1901)

Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith Jehovah.

Bible in Basic English

Be full of wonder, O heavens, at this; be overcome with fear, be completely waste, says the Lord.

Douay-Rheims 1899

Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and ye gates thereof, be very desolate, saith the Lord.

Free Bible Version

You heavens, you should be appalled, shocked and horrified! declares the Lord.

Geneva Bible 1599

O yee heauens, be astonied at this: bee afraid and vtterly confounded, sayeth the Lord.

King James (Authorized) Version

Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.

Translation for Translators

It is as though everything in the sky is surprised and dismayed/appalled about what you have done; it is as though they tremble because they are very horrified.

Unlocked Literal Bible

Shudder, heavens, because of this! Be shocked and horrified—this is Yahweh's declaration.

Noah Webster Bible

Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.

World English Bible

“Be astonished, you heavens, at this and be horribly afraid. Be very desolate,” says Yahweh.

Young's Literal Translation

Be astonished, ye heavens, at this, Yea, be frightened, be greatly wasted, An affirmation of Jehovah.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
John Gill
Tyndale

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Jeremiah 2:12

Verse

Context

Israel Has Forsaken God

Sermons

Summary

Commentary

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes

Jeremiah 2:12

Israel Has Forsaken God

With or Without God

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

John Gill Bible Commentary

Tyndale Open Study Notes