Jeremiah 2:26

26 “As a thief is shamed when caught, so the house of Israel shall be shamed: ¹they, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets,

Jeremiah 2:26 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 2:26

As the thief is ashamed when be is found
Taken in the fact, or convicted of it; that is, as the Targum explains it, one that has been accounted faithful, and is found a thief; for, otherwise, those who have lost their character, and are notorious for their thefts and robberies, are not ashamed when they are found out, taken, and convicted: so is the house of Israel ashamed:
of their idolatry, or ought to be; or "shall be", as the Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions render it; though not now, yet hereafter, sooner or later: they, their kings, their princes, and their priests and their prophets;
all being guilty; kings setting ill examples, and the people following them; the priests being priests of Baal, and the prophets false ones.

Jeremiah 2:26 In-Context

24 a wild donkey used to the wilderness, in her heat sniffing the wind! Who can restrain her lust? None who seek her need weary themselves; in her month they will find her.

25 Keep your feet from going unshod and your throat from thirst. But you said, ‘It is hopeless, for I have loved foreigners, and after them I will go. ’

26 “As a thief is shamed when caught, so the house of Israel shall be shamed: they, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets,

27 who say to a tree, ‘You are my father, ’and to a stone, ‘You gave me birth. ’For they have turned their back to me, and not their face. But in the time of their trouble they say, ‘Arise and save us! ’

28 But where are your gods that you made for yourself? Let them arise, if they can save you, in your time of trouble; for as many as your cities are your gods, O Judah.

Cross References

• 1. 2:26 ch. 13:13; 32:32; [ch. 8:1]