Jeremiah 2:7

7 And I brought you into a fruitful land, to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof; and ye entered and defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination.

Jeremiah 2:7 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 2:7

And I brought you into a plentiful country
"Into the land of Carmel", as in the Hebrew text; that is,

``into the land of Israel, which was planted as Carmel,''
as the Targum paraphrases it; with wheat, barley, vines, fig trees, pomegranates, and olives; a land flowing with milk and honey, ( Deuteronomy 8:8 ) , so Ben Melech: to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof;
of vineyards and oliveyards, which they had not planted, and for which they had never laboured, ( Joshua 24:13 ) : but when ye entered ye defiled my land;
which the Lord had chosen above all lands, where he would have a temple built for his worship, and where he would cause his Shechinah or glorious Majesty to dwell; but this they defiled by their sins and transgressions, and particularly by their idolatry, as follows: that made mine heritage an abomination;
by devoting it to the worship of idols, as the Targum paraphrases it.

Jeremiah 2:7 In-Context

5 Thus saith Jehovah: What injustice have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and become vain?
6 And they said not, Where is Jehovah, that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and of pits, in a land of drought and of the shadow of death, in a land that no one passeth through, and where no man dwelleth?
7 And I brought you into a fruitful land, to eat the fruit thereof and the good thereof; and ye entered and defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination.
8 The priests said not, Where is Jehovah? and they that handled the law knew me not; and the shepherds transgressed against me; and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after [things that] do not profit.
9 Therefore will I yet plead with you, saith Jehovah, and with your children's children will I plead.

Footnotes 1

  • [a]. Heb. 'land of Carmel;' as ch. 4.26.
The Darby Translation is in the public domain.