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Why do My people say, 'We are free to roam; we will come to You no more'?</title><link rel="canonical" href="https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/2-31.htm" /><link rel="stylesheet" href="/new9.css" type="text/css" media="Screen" /><meta property="og:image" content="https://biblehub.com/visuals/8/24_Jer_02_31.jpg" /><meta property="og:title" content="Jeremiah 2:31 - Israel's Unfaithfulness" /><meta property="og:site_name" content="Bible Hub" /><meta property="og:description" content="You people of this generation, consider the word of the LORD: Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? 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Why do my people say, &#8216We are free to roam; we will come to you no more&#8217? <a href="/nlt/jeremiah/2.htm">New Living Translation</a> “O my people, listen to the words of the LORD! Have I been like a desert to Israel? Have I been to them a land of darkness? Why then do my people say, ‘At last we are free from God! We don’t need him anymore!’ <a href="/esv/jeremiah/2.htm">English Standard Version</a> And you, O generation, behold the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of thick darkness? Why then do my people say, ‘We are free, we will come no more to you’? <a href="/bsb/jeremiah/2.htm">Berean Standard Bible</a> You people of this generation, consider the word of the LORD: “Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam; we will come to You no more’? <a href="/kjv/jeremiah/2.htm">King James Bible</a> O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? a land of darkness? wherefore say my people, We are lords; we will come no more unto thee? <a href="/nkjv/jeremiah/2.htm">New King James Version</a> “O generation, see the word of the LORD! Have I been a wilderness to Israel, Or a land of darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are lords; We will come no more to You’? <a href="/nasb_/jeremiah/2.htm">New American Standard Bible</a> “You generation, look to 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’? <a href="/nasb/jeremiah/2.htm">NASB 1995</a> &#8220O 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, &#8216We are free to roam; We will no longer come to You&#8217? <a href="/nasb77/jeremiah/2.htm">NASB 1977 </a> “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 come no more to Thee’? <a href="/lsb/jeremiah/2.htm">Legacy Standard Bible </a> O generation, behold the word of Yahweh. 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’? <a href="/amp/jeremiah/2.htm">Amplified Bible</a> “O generation [that you are], consider and regard carefully the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness to Israel [like a land without food], A land of thick and deep darkness [like a path without light]? Why do My people say, ‘We [have broken loose and we] are free to roam [at will]; We will no longer come to You’? <a href="/csb/jeremiah/2.htm">Christian Standard Bible</a> Evil generation, pay attention to the word of the LORD! Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why do my people claim, “We will go where we want; we will no longer come to you”? <a href="/hcsb/jeremiah/2.htm">Holman Christian Standard Bible</a> Evil generation, pay attention to the word of the LORD! Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why do My people claim, &#8220We will go where we want; we will no longer come to You"? <a href="/asv/jeremiah/2.htm">American Standard Version</a> O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? or a land of thick darkness? wherefore say my people, We are broken loose; we will come no more unto thee? <a href="/cev/jeremiah/2.htm">Contemporary English Version</a> Now listen to what I say! Did I abandon you in the desert or surround you with darkness? You are my people, yet you have told me, "We'll do what we want, and we refuse to worship you!" <a href="/erv/jeremiah/2.htm">English Revised Version</a> O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? or a land of thick darkness? wherefore say my people, We are broken loose; we will come no more unto thee? <a href="/gwt/jeremiah/2.htm">GOD'S WORD® Translation</a> "Consider the word of the LORD, people of this generation. Haven't I been a desert, a land of thick darkness, for Israel? Why do my people say that they are free to wander around and no longer come to me? <a href="/gnt/jeremiah/2.htm">Good News Translation</a> People of Israel, listen to what I am saying. Have I been like a desert to you, like a dark and dangerous land? Why, then, do you say that you will do as you please, that you will never come back to me? <a href="/isv/jeremiah/2.htm">International Standard Version</a> "You, generation, pay attention to this message from the LORD! Am I the desert to Israel, or a land of gloom? Why do my people say, 'We're free to roam? We won't come to you anymore.' <a href="/msb/jeremiah/2.htm">Majority Standard Bible</a> You people of this generation, consider the word of the LORD: ?Have I been a wilderness to Israel or a land of dense darkness? Why do My people say, ?We are free to roam; we will come to You no more?? <a href="/net/jeremiah/2.htm">NET Bible</a> You people of this generation, listen to what the LORD says. "Have I been like a wilderness to you, Israel? Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to you? Why then do you say, 'We are free to wander. We will not come to you any more?' <a href="/nheb/jeremiah/2.htm">New Heart English Bible</a> Generation, consider the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness to Israel? Or a land of thick darkness? Why do my people say, 'We have broken loose. We will come to you no more?' <a href="/wbt/jeremiah/2.htm">Webster's Bible Translation</a> O generation, see ye the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness to Israel? a land of darkness? why say my people, We are lords; we will come no more to thee? <a href="/web/jeremiah/2.htm">World English Bible</a> Generation, consider Yahweh’s word. Have I been a wilderness to Israel? Or a land of thick darkness? Why do my people say, ‘We have broken loose. We will come to you no more’? <div class="vheading2">Literal Translations</div><a href="/lsv/jeremiah/2.htm">Literal Standard Version</a> O generation, see the word of YHWH: Have I been a wilderness to Israel? A land of thick darkness? Why have My people said, "" We wandered freely, "" We do not come to You again. <a href="/ylt/jeremiah/2.htm">Young's Literal Translation</a> O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah: A wilderness have I been to Israel? A land of thick darkness? Wherefore have My people said, 'We mourned, We come not in again unto Thee.' <a href="/slt/jeremiah/2.htm">Smith's Literal Translation</a> O generation, see ye the word of Jehovah. Was I the desert to Israel? If a land of thick darkness? wherefore said my people, We had dominion, we will come no more to thee?<div class="vheading2">Catholic Translations</div><a href="/drb/jeremiah/2.htm">Douay-Rheims Bible</a> See ye the word of the Lord: Am I become a wilderness to Israel, or a lateward springing land? why then have my people said: We are revolted, we will come to thee no more. <a href="/cpdv/jeremiah/2.htm">Catholic Public Domain Version</a> Consider the word of the Lord. Have I become like a wilderness to Israel, or like a land late to bear fruit? Then why have my people said, ‘We are withdrawing; we will no longer approach you’? <a href="/nabre/jeremiah/2.htm">New American Bible</a> You people of this generation, consider the word of the Lord: Have I become a wilderness to Israel, a land of gloom? Why then do my people say, “We have moved on, we will not come to you any more”? <a href="/nrsvce/jeremiah/2.htm">New Revised Standard Version</a> And you, O generation, behold the word of the LORD! Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or a land of thick darkness? Why then do my people say, “We are free, we will come to you no more”?<div class="vheading2">Translations from Aramaic</div><a href="/lamsa/jeremiah/2.htm">Lamsa Bible</a> As for you, O generation, hear the word of the LORD. Have I been like a wilderness to Israel? Or a waste land? Wherefore then say my people, We are humiliated; we will come no more to you? <a href="/hpbt/jeremiah/2.htm">Peshitta Holy Bible Translated</a> You, oh generation, hear the word of LORD JEHOVAH: “Have I been a wilderness to Israel, or as a desolate land? Why”, said my people, “Have we gone down? We will not come again to you”<div class="vheading2">OT Translations</div><a href="/jps/jeremiah/2.htm">JPS Tanakh 1917</a> O generation, see ye the word of the LORD: Have I been a wilderness unto Israel? Or a land of thick darkness? Wherefore say My people: 'We roam at large; We will come no more unto Thee'? <a href="/sep/jeremiah/2.htm">Brenton Septuagint Translation</a> Hear ye the word of the Lord: thus saith the Lord, Have I been a wilderness or a dry land to Israel? wherefore has my people said, We will not be ruled over, and will not come to thee any more? <a href="/parallel/jeremiah/2-31.htm">Additional Translations ...</a></div></div></div><div id="centbox"><div class="padcent"><a name="audio" id="audio"></a><div class="vheadingv">Audio Bible</div><iframe width="100%" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/5k55c51ZGhs?start=567" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe> <div class="vheadingv">Context</div><a href="/bsb/jeremiah/2.htm">Israel's Unfaithfulness</a> …30“I have struck your sons in vain; they accepted no discipline. Your own sword has devoured your prophets like a voracious lion.” 31<a href="/hebrew/859.htm" title="859: ’at·tem (Pro-2mp) -- You (masc. sing.). ">You people</a> <a href="/hebrew/1755.htm" title="1755: had·dō·wr (Art:: N-ms) -- Period, generation, dwelling. Or dor; from duwr; properly, a revolution of time, i.e. An age or generation; also a dwelling.">of this generation,</a> <a href="/hebrew/7200.htm" title="7200: rə·’ū (V-Qal-Imp-mp) -- To see. A primitive root; to see, literally or figuratively.">consider</a> <a href="/hebrew/1697.htm" title="1697: ḏə·ḇar- (N-msc) -- Speech, word. From dabar; a word; by implication, a matter or thing; adverbially, a cause.">the word</a> <a href="/hebrew/3068.htm" title="3068: Yah·weh (N-proper-ms) -- The proper name of the God of Israel. From hayah; self-Existent or Eternal; Jehovah, Jewish national name of God.">of the LORD:</a> <a href="/hebrew/1961.htm" title="1961: hā·yî·ṯî (V-Qal-Perf-1cs) -- To fall out, come to pass, become, be. A primitive root; to exist, i.e. Be or become, come to pass.">“Have I been</a> <a href="/hebrew/4057.htm" title="4057: hă·miḏ·bār (Art:: N-ms) -- A pasture, a desert, speech. From dabar in the sense of driving; a pasture; by implication, a desert; also speech.">a wilderness</a> <a href="/hebrew/3478.htm" title="3478: lə·yiś·rā·’êl (Prep-l:: N-proper-ms) -- From sarah and 'el; he will rule as God; Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also of his posterity.">to Israel</a> <a href="/hebrew/518.htm" title="518: ’im (Conj) -- If. A primitive particle; used very widely as demonstrative, lo!">or</a> <a href="/hebrew/776.htm" title="776: ’e·reṣ (N-fsc) -- Earth, land. From an unused root probably meaning to be firm; the earth.">a land</a> <a href="/hebrew/3991.htm" title="3991: ma’·pê·lə·yāh (N-fs) -- Deep darkness. Prol. Feminine of ma'aphel; opaqueness.">of dense darkness?</a> <a href="/hebrew/4069.htm" title="4069: mad·dū·a‘ (Interrog) -- Why? for what reason?. Or madduaa; from mah and the passive participle of yada'; what known?; i.e. why?.">Why</a> <a href="/hebrew/5971.htm" title="5971: ‘am·mî (N-msc:: 1cs) -- From amam; a people; specifically, a tribe; hence troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock.">do My people</a> <a href="/hebrew/559.htm" title="559: ’ā·mə·rū (V-Qal-Perf-3cp) -- To utter, say. A primitive root; to say.">say,</a> <a href="/hebrew/7300.htm" title="7300: raḏ·nū (V-Qal-Perf-1cp) -- To wander restlessly, roam. A primitive root; to tramp about, i.e. Ramble.">‘We are free to roam;</a> <a href="/hebrew/3808.htm" title="3808: lō·w- (Adv-NegPrt) -- Not. Or lowi; or loh; a primitive particle; not; by implication, no; often used with other particles.">we will</a> <a href="/hebrew/935.htm" title="935: nā·ḇō·w (V-Qal-Imperf-1cp) -- To come in, come, go in, go. A primitive root; to go or come.">come</a> <a href="/hebrew/413.htm" title="413: ’ê·le·ḵā (Prep:: 2ms) -- To, into, towards. ">to You</a> <a href="/hebrew/5750.htm" title="5750: ‘ō·wḏ (Adv) -- Or rod; from uwd; properly, iteration or continuance; used only adverbially, again, repeatedly, still, more.">no more’?</a> 32Does a maiden forget her jewelry or a bride her wedding sash? Yet My people have forgotten Me for days without number.…<div class="cred"><a href="//berean.bible">Berean Standard Bible</a> · <a href="//berean.bible/downloads.htm">Download</a></div> <a name="crossref" id="crossref"></a><div class="vheading">Cross References</div><div id="crf"><a href="/isaiah/1-2.htm">Isaiah 1:2-4</a> Listen, O heavens, and give ear, O earth, for the LORD has spoken: “I have raised children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against Me. / The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.” / Alas, O sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity, a brood of evildoers, children who act corruptly! They have forsaken the LORD; they have despised the Holy One of Israel and turned their backs on Him. <a href="/hosea/4-1.htm">Hosea 4:1-2</a> Hear the word of the LORD, O children of Israel, for the LORD has a case against the people of the land: “There is no truth, no loving devotion, and no knowledge of God in the land! / Cursing and lying, murder and stealing, and adultery are rampant; one act of bloodshed follows another. <a href="/ezekiel/16-20.htm">Ezekiel 16:20-21</a> You even took the sons and daughters you bore to Me and sacrificed them as food to idols. Was your prostitution not enough? / You slaughtered My children and delivered them up through the fire to idols. <a href="/micah/6-3.htm">Micah 6:3</a> ‘My people, what have I done to you? Testify against Me how I have wearied you! <a href="/deuteronomy/32-5.htm">Deuteronomy 32:5-6</a> His people have acted corruptly toward Him; the blemish on them is not that of His children, but of a perverse and crooked generation. / Is this how you repay the LORD, O foolish and senseless people? Is He not your Father and Creator? Has He not made you and established you? <a href="/malachi/1-6.htm">Malachi 1:6</a> “A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’ <a href="/matthew/23-37.htm">Matthew 23:37</a> O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! <a href="/john/8-44.htm">John 8:44</a> You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, because he is a liar and the father of lies. <a href="/romans/1-21.htm">Romans 1:21-23</a> For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. / Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, / and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. <a href="/2_corinthians/6-14.htm">2 Corinthians 6:14-16</a> Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership can righteousness have with wickedness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? / What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? / What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people.” <a href="/isaiah/30-9.htm">Isaiah 30:9-11</a> These are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to obey the LORD’s instruction. / They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions. / Get out of the way; turn off the road. Rid us of the Holy One of Israel!” <a href="/hosea/11-1.htm">Hosea 11:1-2</a> When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called My son. / But the more I called Israel, the farther they departed from Me. They sacrificed to the Baals and burned incense to carved images. <a href="/ezekiel/20-30.htm">Ezekiel 20:30-31</a> Therefore tell the house of Israel that this is what the Lord GOD says: Will you defile yourselves the way your fathers did, prostituting yourselves with their abominations? / When you offer your gifts, sacrificing your sons in the fire, you continue to defile yourselves with all your idols to this day. So should I be consulted by you, O house of Israel? As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, I will not be consulted by you! <a href="/psalms/78-40.htm">Psalm 78:40-42</a> How often they disobeyed Him in the wilderness and grieved Him in the desert! / Again and again they tested God and provoked the Holy One of Israel. / They did not remember His power—the day He redeemed them from the adversary, <a href="/luke/13-34.htm">Luke 13:34</a> O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!</div> <a name="tsk" id="tsk"><div class="vheading">Treasury of Scripture</div>O generation, see you the word of the LORD. Have I been a wilderness to Israel? a land of darkness? why say my people, We are lords; we will come no more to you?see ye<a href="/amos/1-1.htm">Amos 1:1</a> The words of Amos, who was among the herdmen of Tekoa, which he saw concerning Israel in the days of Uzziah king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash king of Israel, two years before the earthquake.<a href="/micah/6-9.htm">Micah 6:9</a> The LORD'S voice crieth unto the city, and the man of wisdom shall see thy name: hear ye the rod, and who hath appointed it.have I been<a href="/jeremiah/2-5.htm">Jeremiah 2:5,6</a> Thus saith the LORD, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? … <a href="/2_samuel/12-7.htm">2 Samuel 12:7-9</a> And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul; … <a href="/2_chronicles/31-10.htm">2 Chronicles 31:10</a> And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LORD, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the LORD hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store.we are lords.<a href="/deuteronomy/8-12.htm">Deuteronomy 8:12-14</a> Lest when thou hast eaten and art full, and hast built goodly houses, and dwelt therein; … <a href="/deuteronomy/31-20.htm">Deuteronomy 31:20</a> For when I shall have brought them into the land which I sware unto their fathers, that floweth with milk and honey; and they shall have eaten and filled themselves, and waxen fat; then will they turn unto other gods, and serve them, and provoke me, and break my covenant.<a href="/deuteronomy/32-15.htm">Deuteronomy 32:15</a> But Jeshurun waxed fat, and kicked: thou art waxen fat, thou art grown thick, thou art covered with fatness; then he forsook God which made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.<div class="vheading">Jump to Previous</div><a href="/jeremiah/2-20.htm">Broken</a> <a href="/jeremiah/2-23.htm">Consider</a> <a href="/jeremiah/2-6.htm">Darkness</a> <a href="/isaiah/62-11.htm">Free</a> <a href="/isaiah/61-4.htm">Generation</a> <a href="/jeremiah/2-26.htm">Israel</a> <a href="/isaiah/58-6.htm">Loose</a> <a href="/isaiah/8-21.htm">Roam</a> <a href="/isaiah/60-8.htm">Thick</a> <a href="/jeremiah/2-29.htm">Wherefore</a> <a href="/jeremiah/2-24.htm">Wilderness</a> <a href="/jeremiah/2-4.htm">Word</a> <a href="/isaiah/41-9.htm">You</a><div class="vheading2">Jump to Next</div><a href="/jeremiah/4-26.htm">Broken</a> <a href="/jeremiah/9-17.htm">Consider</a> <a href="/jeremiah/13-16.htm">Darkness</a> <a href="/jeremiah/10-19.htm">Free</a> <a href="/jeremiah/7-29.htm">Generation</a> <a href="/jeremiah/3-6.htm">Israel</a> <a href="/jeremiah/3-2.htm">Loose</a> <a href="/jeremiah/5-1.htm">Roam</a> <a href="/jeremiah/12-5.htm">Thick</a> <a href="/jeremiah/5-6.htm">Wherefore</a> <a href="/jeremiah/3-2.htm">Wilderness</a> <a href="/jeremiah/5-13.htm">Word</a> <a href="/jeremiah/26-4.htm">You</a><div class="vheading2">Jeremiah 2</div>1. <a href="/jeremiah/2-1.htm">God having shown his former kindness, </a> 5. <a href="/jeremiah/2-5.htm">expostulates with the people on their causeless and unexampled revolt</a> 14. <a href="/jeremiah/2-14.htm">They are the causes of their own calamities</a> 18. <a href="/jeremiah/2-18.htm">The sins and idolatries of Judah</a> 35. <a href="/jeremiah/2-35.htm">Her confidence is rejected.</a> </div></div><div id="mdd"><div align="center"><div class="bot2"><table align="center" width="100%"><tr><td><div align="center"> <script id="3d27ed63fc4348d5b062c4527ae09445"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=51ce25d5-1a8c-424a-8695-4bd48c750f35&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script> <script id="b817b7107f1d4a7997da1b3c33457e03"> (new Image()).src = 'https://capi.connatix.com/tr/si?token=cb0edd8b-b416-47eb-8c6d-3cc96561f7e8&cid=3a9f82d0-4344-4f8d-ac0c-e1a0eb43a405'; </script>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-2'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-0' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-3'> </div>  <div id='div-gpt-ad-1529103594582-1' style='max-width: 300px;'> </div>  <div align="center" id='div-gpt-ad-1531425649696-0'> </div> <ins class="adsbygoogle" style="display:inline-block;width:200px;height:200px" data-ad-client="ca-pub-3753401421161123" data-ad-slot="3592799687"></ins> <script> (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); </script> </div> </td></tr></table></div></div></div><div id="combox"><div class="padcom"><a name="study" id="study"></a><div class="vheading"><table width="100%"><tr><td width="99%" valign="top"><a href="/study/jeremiah/2.htm">Study Bible</a></td><td width="1%" valign="top"><a href="/study/jeremiah/" title="Book Summary and Study">Book ◦</a> <a href="/study/chapters/jeremiah/2.htm" title="Chapter summary and Study">Chapter </a></tr></table></div>You people of this generation, consider the word of the LORD: This phrase calls the current generation to reflect on God's message. It emphasizes accountability and the need for introspection. The term "this generation" suggests a specific audience, but it also implies a timeless message applicable to all who stray from God's path. The call to "consider" indicates a need for serious contemplation and response to divine instruction, echoing similar calls to heed God's word found throughout the prophets (e.g., <a href="/isaiah/1-18.htm">Isaiah 1:18</a>).Have I been a wilderness to Israel: Here, God questions whether He has been like a barren, desolate place to His people. The wilderness often symbolizes a place of testing and hardship in the Bible, as seen in Israel's 40 years of wandering (<a href="/exodus/16.htm">Exodus 16:1-3</a>). This rhetorical question implies that God has not been absent or neglectful, contrasting with the Israelites' perception. It challenges them to remember His past provisions and guidance.or a land of dense darkness?: Dense darkness signifies confusion, danger, and the absence of God's presence. This imagery is used in other scriptures to describe spiritual blindness or judgment (e.g., <a href="/isaiah/9-2.htm">Isaiah 9:2</a>). God is asserting that He has not left Israel in such a state, highlighting His role as a source of light and guidance, contrary to their current spiritual condition.Why do My people say, ‘We are free to roam; This phrase reflects Israel's misguided sense of autonomy. The claim of being "free to roam" suggests a rejection of God's authority and covenant relationship. It echoes the rebellious spirit seen in the wilderness when the Israelites longed for Egypt (<a href="/numbers/14-3.htm">Numbers 14:3-4</a>). This attitude reveals a misunderstanding of true freedom, which in biblical terms, is found in obedience to God.we will come to You no more’?: This statement signifies a deliberate turning away from God. It indicates a severance of the covenant relationship, akin to spiritual adultery, a recurring theme in Jeremiah (<a href="/jeremiah/3.htm">Jeremiah 3:1-5</a>). The phrase underscores the gravity of Israel's apostasy and their refusal to seek God, despite His faithfulness. It foreshadows the consequences of such rebellion, as seen in the eventual exile.<div class="vheading2">Persons / Places / Events</div>1. <a href="/topical/j/jeremiah.htm">Jeremiah</a> A prophet called by God to deliver His messages to the people of Judah, often warning them of impending judgment due to their unfaithfulness. 2. <a href="/topical/i/israel.htm">Israel</a> Refers to the people of God, specifically the nation of Judah during Jeremiah's time, who were in a covenant relationship with God but had turned away from Him. 3. <a href="/topical/w/wilderness.htm">Wilderness</a> Symbolically represents a place of desolation and hardship, contrasting with the abundance and guidance God provided to Israel. 4. <a href="/topical/d/dense_darkness.htm">Dense Darkness</a> A metaphor for confusion and lack of direction, which God denies being to Israel, emphasizing His role as a guide and provider. 5. <a href="/topical/t/this_generation.htm">This Generation</a> The contemporary audience of Jeremiah's prophecy, who were being called to reflect on their relationship with God and their departure from His ways.<div class="vheading2">Teaching Points</div><a href="/topical/g/god's_faithfulness_vs._human_rebellion.htm">God's Faithfulness vs. Human Rebellion</a> Reflect on God's consistent faithfulness and provision throughout history, even when His people turn away. <a href="/topical/s/self-examination_and_repentance.htm">Self-Examination and Repentance</a> Encourage believers to examine their own lives for areas where they have declared independence from God and to seek repentance. <a href="/topical/t/the_danger_of_spiritual_complacency.htm">The Danger of Spiritual Complacency</a> Warn against the complacency that leads to spiritual wandering and the false sense of freedom apart from God. <a href="/topical/g/god_as_our_guide_and_provider.htm">God as Our Guide and Provider</a> Emphasize the importance of recognizing God as our ultimate guide and provider, not a source of confusion or lack. <a href="/topical/g/generational_accountability.htm">Generational Accountability</a> Highlight the responsibility of each generation to remain faithful to God and to pass down His truths to the next.<div class="vheading2">Lists and Questions</div><a href="/top10/lessons_from_jeremiah_2.htm">Top 10 Lessons from Jeremiah 2</a> <a href="/q/how_does_hell_appear.htm">How does hell appear?</a> <a href="/q/how_reconcile_jer_2_6_with_no_migration_proof.htm">In Jeremiah 2:6, how can we reconcile the claim of God leading Israel through the wilderness with the lack of definitive archaeological evidence supporting such a mass migration?</a> <a href="/q/jeremiah_42__aligns_with_god's_teachings.htm">Jeremiah 42 (overall): How do the warnings and outcomes in this chapter align with other biblical teachings on God's protection and judgment, and are there any inconsistencies?</a> <a href="/q/how_is_hosea_2_3_loving_and_merciful.htm">How does Hosea 2:3 align with a loving and merciful God if He threatens to strip Israel bare like a barren land?</a><a name="commentary" id="commentary"></a><div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/ellicott/jeremiah/2.htm">Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers</a></div>(31) O generation, see ye.--The pronoun occupies a different position in the Hebrew, "O generation, you, I mean, see ye." The prophet speaks to the men who are actually his contemporaries. They are to look to the word of the Lord. Has He been to them as a waste land, a land of thick darkness (literally, according to one interpretation, darkness of Jah, in the sense of intensity), that they are thus unmindful of Him? So in <a href="/songs/8-6.htm" title="Set me as a seal on your heart, as a seal on your arm: for love is strong as death; jealousy is cruel as the grave: the coals thereof are coals of fire, which has a most vehement flame.">Song of Solomon 8:6</a> we have "flame of Jah," as representing the Hebrew, in the margin, and "very vehement flame" in the text, of the Authorised version.We are lords.--Better, We rove at will, as in <a href="/genesis/27-40.htm" title="And by your sword shall you live, and shall serve your brother; and it shall come to pass when you shall have the dominion, that you shall break his yoke from off your neck.">Genesis 27:40</a>, where, however, the Authorised version gives "when thou shalt have the dominion." The sense is practically the same. Israel claims the power to do as she likes.<div class="vheading2"><a href="/commentaries/pulpit/jeremiah/2.htm">Pulpit Commentary</a></div>Verse 31. - O generation, see ye. It is doubtful whether generation here means "contemporaries" (equivalent to "men of this generation"), or, like γενεά sometimes in the New Testament, a class of men united by moral affinity (comp. <a href="/psalms/14-5.htm">Psalm 14:5</a>; <a href="/psalms/78-8.htm">Psalm 78:8</a>). In the latter case we should rather attach the pronoun in "see ye" to "O generation," and render "O (evil) generation that ye are!" So Hitzig, Keil, and Payne Smith; Ewald and Delitzsch adopt the first rendering. Have I been a wilderness, etc.? "Have I not been the source of light and happiness to my people, and of all temporal blessings?" (comp. <a href="/jeremiah/2-6.htm">Jeremiah 2:6</a>). So the Divine speaker in <a href="/isaiah/45-19.htm">Isaiah 45:19</a>, "I said not unto the seed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain," or more literally, "in chaos" (same word as in <a href="/genesis/1-2.htm">Genesis 1:2</a>); "chaos" and "the wilderness" are both images of that which is utterly unremunerative. A land of darkness. This is, of course, not literally accurate as a description of the Arabian desert. "Darkness" is here used as a synonym for "misery." Cloud and rain occupy precisely opposite places in the estimation of nomadic and agricultural peoples respectively. "The Bedouins," says an Arabic scholast, "always follow the rain and the places where raindrops fall;" whereas a townsman of Mecca calls himself "child of the sun." So Indra and Varuna, originally belonging to the cloudy and rainy sky, are in the Vedic hymns endowed with solar traits. It should be added here that it is an old problem, and too difficult a one for us to investigate, whether we should render "the darkness of Jah" (Jehovah) or (as Authorized Version) simply "darkness." The former rendering will mean very great darkness, such as Jehovah sends in judgment (e.g. to the Egyptians, <a href="/exodus/10-21.htm">Exodus 10:21-23</a>). On this question, see Dr. Ginsburg on <a href="/songs/8-6.htm">Song of Solomon 8:6</a> (where a similar doubt exists), Geiger's 'Urschrift und Uebersetzungen der Bibel,' p. 276; Ewald, 'Lehrbuch der Hebraischen Sprache,' § 270 e. We are lords; rather, we have broken loose. It is, however, a difficult word, which only occurs elsewhere in Genesis 26:40; <a href="/hosea/12-1.htm">Hosea 12:1</a>; <a href="/psalms/55-3.htm">Psalm 55:3</a>. <a href="/commentaries/jeremiah/2-31.htm">Parallel Commentaries ...</a> <a name="lexicon" id="lexicon"></a><div class="vheading">Hebrew</div>You [people] אַתֶּם֙ (’at·tem) Pronoun - second person masculine plural <a href="/hebrew/strongs_859.htm">Strong's 859: </a> Thou and thee, ye and you of this generation, הַדּ֗וֹר (had·dō·wr) Article | Noun - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_1755.htm">Strong's 1755: </a> A revolution of time, an age, generation, a dwelling consider רְא֣וּ (rə·’ū) Verb - Qal - Imperative - masculine plural <a href="/hebrew/strongs_7200.htm">Strong's 7200: </a> To see the word דְבַר־ (ḏə·ḇar-) Noun - masculine singular construct <a href="/hebrew/strongs_1697.htm">Strong's 1697: </a> A word, a matter, thing, a cause of the LORD: יְהוָ֔ה (Yah·weh) Noun - proper - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3068.htm">Strong's 3068: </a> LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israel Have I been הָיִ֙יתִי֙ (hā·yî·ṯî) Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_1961.htm">Strong's 1961: </a> To fall out, come to pass, become, be a wilderness הֲמִדְבָּ֤ר (hă·miḏ·bār) Article | Noun - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_4057.htm">Strong's 4057: </a> A pasture, a desert, speech to Israel לְיִשְׂרָאֵ֔ל (lə·yiś·rā·’êl) Preposition-l | Noun - proper - masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3478.htm">Strong's 3478: </a> Israel -- 'God strives', another name of Jacob and his desc or אִ֛ם (’im) Conjunction <a href="/hebrew/strongs_518.htm">Strong's 518: </a> Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, not a land אֶ֥רֶץ (’e·reṣ) Noun - feminine singular construct <a href="/hebrew/strongs_776.htm">Strong's 776: </a> Earth, land of dense darkness? מַאְפֵּ֖לְיָ֑ה (ma’·pê·lə·yāh) Noun - feminine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3991.htm">Strong's 3991: </a> Deep darkness Why מַדּ֜וּעַ (mad·dū·a‘) Interrogative <a href="/hebrew/strongs_4069.htm">Strong's 4069: </a> Why? for what reason? do My people עַמִּי֙ (‘am·mî) Noun - masculine singular construct | first person common singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_5971.htm">Strong's 5971: </a> A people, a tribe, troops, attendants, a flock say, אָמְר֤וּ (’ā·mə·rū) Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural <a href="/hebrew/strongs_559.htm">Strong's 559: </a> To utter, say ‘We [are free to] roam; רַ֔דְנוּ (raḏ·nū) Verb - Qal - Perfect - first person common plural <a href="/hebrew/strongs_7300.htm">Strong's 7300: </a> To wander restlessly, roam we will לֽוֹא־ (lō·w-) Adverb - Negative particle <a href="/hebrew/strongs_3808.htm">Strong's 3808: </a> Not, no come נָב֥וֹא (nā·ḇō·w) Verb - Qal - Imperfect - first person common plural <a href="/hebrew/strongs_935.htm">Strong's 935: </a> To come in, come, go in, go to You אֵלֶֽיךָ׃ (’ê·le·ḵā) Preposition | second person masculine singular <a href="/hebrew/strongs_413.htm">Strong's 413: </a> Near, with, among, to no more’? ע֖וֹד (‘ō·wḏ) Adverb <a href="/hebrew/strongs_5750.htm">Strong's 5750: </a> Iteration, continuance, again, repeatedly, still, more <div class="vheading">Links</div><a href="/niv/jeremiah/2-31.htm">Jeremiah 2:31 NIV</a> <a href="/nlt/jeremiah/2-31.htm">Jeremiah 2:31 NLT</a> <a href="/esv/jeremiah/2-31.htm">Jeremiah 2:31 ESV</a> <a href="/nasb/jeremiah/2-31.htm">Jeremiah 2:31 NASB</a> <a href="/kjv/jeremiah/2-31.htm">Jeremiah 2:31 KJV</a> <a href="//bibleapps.com/jeremiah/2-31.htm">Jeremiah 2:31 BibleApps.com</a> <a href="//bibliaparalela.com/jeremiah/2-31.htm">Jeremiah 2:31 Biblia Paralela</a> <a href="//holybible.com.cn/jeremiah/2-31.htm">Jeremiah 2:31 Chinese Bible</a> <a href="//saintebible.com/jeremiah/2-31.htm">Jeremiah 2:31 French Bible</a> <a href="/catholic/jeremiah/2-31.htm">Jeremiah 2:31 Catholic Bible</a> <a href="/jeremiah/2-31.htm">OT Prophets: Jeremiah 2:31 Generation see the word of Yahweh (Jer.) </a></div></div></td></tr></table></div><div id="left"><a href="/jeremiah/2-30.htm" onmouseover='lft.src="/leftgif.png"' onmouseout='lft.src="/left.png"' title="Jeremiah 2:30"><img src="/left.png" name="lft" border="0" alt="Jeremiah 2:30" /></a></div><div id="right"><a href="/jeremiah/2-32.htm" onmouseover='rght.src="/rightgif.png"' onmouseout='rght.src="/right.png"' title="Jeremiah 2:32"><img src="/right.png" name="rght" border="0" alt="Jeremiah 2:32" /></a></div><div id="botleft"><a href="#" onmouseover='botleft.src="/botleftgif.png"' onmouseout='botleft.src="/botleft.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botleft.png" name="botleft" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="botright"><a href="#" onmouseover='botright.src="/botrightgif.png"' onmouseout='botright.src="/botright.png"' title="Top of Page"><img src="/botright.png" name="botright" border="0" alt="Top of Page" /></a></div><div id="bot"><iframe width="100%" height="1500" scrolling="no" src="/botmenubhnew2.htm" frameborder="0"></iframe></div></td></tr></table></div></body></html>