Jeremiah 2:18

18 And now what wilt thou to thee in the way of Egypt, that thou drink troubled water? And what is to thee with the way of Assyrians, that thou drink water of the flood? (And now what wilt thou do if thou go back to Egypt, shalt thou drink there the waters of Sihor, that is, of the Nile River? And what is for thee if thou go to Assyria, shalt thou drink there the waters of the Euphrates River?)

Jeremiah 2:18 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 2:18

And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt
By worshipping of idols, in imitation of them; or by sending ambassadors thither for help, when they had their Lord, their God, so nigh, had they not forsaken him; nor had Josiah any business to go out against Pharaohnecho, ( 2 Chronicles 35:21 ) and, contrary to the express word of God by the Prophet Jeremy, did the Jews which remained in Judea go into Egypt, ( Jeremiah 42:19 ) ( 43:1-7 ) . To drink the waters of Sihor?
which is the river Nile, as Jarchi interprets it. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it "the waters of Geon", or "Gihon": and this also is the same with the Nile, as Josephus F11 affirms, who says,

``Geon, which runs through Egypt, is the same which the Greeks call Nile.''
So Jerom F12 from Eusebius,
``Geon is a river, which with the Egyptians is called Nile.''
The Vulgate Latin version renders it, "troubled water"; and such were the waters of the Nile, which had its name of Sihor from the blackness of it; and hence, by the Greeks F13, was called Melas; and by the Latines F14, Melo. Hence, as Braunius F15 observes, it was represented by a black stone, as other rivers by a white one; for which reason the black colour was very grateful to the Egyptians; and for the same reason Osiris, which is the very Nile itself, was reckoned black; and the ox Apis they worshipped was a black one, at least part of it, and was covered with black linen cloth; and its priests were also clothed in black, hence called Chemarim, ( Hosea 10:5 ) ( Zephaniah 1:4 ) . Or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria;
to go after their idolatrous practices, or to send to them for help; for this was the usual method of the Jews; when the Assyrians oppressed them, then they sent to Egypt for help; and when the Egyptians were upon them, then they applied to the Assyrians; and in both cases acted wrong, for they ought to have sought the Lord their God only: to drink the waters of the river?
of the river Euphrates. The sense is, that they preferred the waters of the Nile and of Euphrates, or the gods of the Egyptians and Assyrians, or the help of these people, before the Lord, the fountain of living waters, and his worship and powerful help. The Targum paraphrases this last clause thus,
``why do ye make covenant with the Assyrian, to carry you captive beyond the river Euphrates?''

FOOTNOTES:

F11 Antiqu. l. 1. c. 1. sect. 3.
F12 De locis Hebraicis, fol. 91. H.
F13 Eustathius in Dionys. (perihg)
F14 Servius in Virgil. Georg. l. 4. p. 343. & in Aeneid. l. 1. p. 541.
F15 Selecta Sacr. l. 4. c. 9. p. 492, & l. 5. Exercit. 4. sect. 8. p. 700, 701.

Jeremiah 2:18 In-Context

16 Also the sons of Memphis and Tahpanhes have defouled thee, unto the top of the head.
17 Whether this is not done to thee, for thou forsookest thy Lord God, in that time in which he led thee by the way? (Is this not done to thee, because thou hast deserted the Lord thy God, at that time when he led thee by the way?)
18 And now what wilt thou to thee in the way of Egypt, that thou drink troubled water? And what is to thee with the way of Assyrians, that thou drink water of the flood? (And now what wilt thou do if thou go back to Egypt, shalt thou drink there the waters of Sihor, that is, of the Nile River? And what is for thee if thou go to Assyria, shalt thou drink there the waters of the Euphrates River?)
19 Thy malice shall reprove thee, and thy turning away shall blame thee; know thou and see, that it is (an) evil and bitter (thing), that thou hast forsaken thy Lord God, and that his dread is not at thee, saith the Lord God of hosts. (Thy malice shall reproach thee, and thy turning away shall rebuke thee; know thou and see, that it is an evil and a bitter thing, that thou hast deserted the Lord thy God, and that the fear of me is not in thee/and that reverence for me is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.)
20 From the world thou hast broken my yoke, thou hast broken my bonds, and saidest, I shall not serve. For thou whore didest whoredom in each high little hill, and under each tree full of boughs. (Long ago thou hast broken thy yoke, and thou hast broken thy bonds, and saidest, I shall not serve thee. For thou whore didest whoredom on each high little hill, and under each tree full of branches.)
Copyright © 2001 by Terence P. Noble. For personal use only.