Jeremiah 2:23 ““How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals’?…”

Jeremiah 2:23

“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not run after the Baals’? Look at your behavior in the valley; acknowledge what you have done. You are a swift young she-camel galloping here and there,

Berean Standard Bible

Other translations

King James Version

How canst thou say, I am not polluted, I have not gone after Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;

World English Bible

“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled. I have not gone after the Baals’? See your way in the valley. Know what you have done. You are a swift dromedary traversing her ways,

American Standard Version

How canst thou say, I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baalim? see thy way in the valley, know what thou hast done: thou art a swift dromedary traversing her ways;

Geneva Bible 1599

Howe canst thou say, I am not polluted, neither haue I followed Baalim? beholde thy waies in the valley, and know, what thou hast done: thou art like a swift dromedarie, that runneth by his waies.

Darby Translation

How sayest thou, I am not defiled, I have not gone after the Baals? See thy way in the valley, acknowledge what thou hast done — a swift dromedary traversing her ways!

Young's Literal Translation

How sayest thou, 'I have not been defiled, After the Baalim I have not gone?' See thy way in a valley, know what thou hast done, A swift dromedary winding her ways,

Bible in Basic English

How are you able to say, I am not unclean, I have not gone after the Baals? see your way in the valley, be clear about what you have done: you are a quick-footed camel twisting her way in and out;

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Cross references

“How canst”

Proverbs 30:12 Psalm 36:2 Proverbs 28:13 Proverbs 30:20 Luke 10:29 Romans 3:19

Proverbs 30:12 · BSB

There is a generation of those who are pure in their own eyes and yet unwashed of their filth.

Psalm 36:2 · BSB

For his eyes are too full of conceit to detect or hate his own sin.

Proverbs 28:13 · BSB

He who conceals his sins will not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them will find mercy.

Proverbs 30:20 · BSB

This is the way of an adulteress: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, ‘I have done nothing wrong.’

Luke 10:29 · BSB

But wanting to justify himself, he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Romans 3:19 · BSB

Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

“see”

Jeremiah 3:2 Psalm 50:21 Ezekiel 16:1–63 Ezekiel 23:1–49

Jeremiah 3:2 · BSB

“Lift up your eyes to the barren heights and see. Is there any place where you have not been violated? You sat beside the highways waiting for your lovers, like a nomad in the desert. You have defiled the land with your…

Psalm 50:21 · BSB

You have done these things, and I kept silent; you thought I was just like you. But now I rebuke you and accuse you to your face.

Ezekiel 16:1–63 · BSB

Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

Ezekiel 23:1–49 · BSB

Again the word of the LORD came to me, saying,

“valley”

Jeremiah 7:31 Isaiah 57:5 Isaiah 57:6

Jeremiah 7:31 · BSB

They have built the high places of Topheth in the Valley of Ben-hinnom so they could burn their sons and daughters in the fire—something I never commanded, nor did it even enter My mind.

Isaiah 57:5 · BSB

who burn with lust among the oaks, under every luxuriant tree, who slaughter your children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks?

Isaiah 57:6 · BSB

Your portion is among the smooth stones of the valley; indeed, they are your lot. Even to them you have poured out a drink offering and offered a grain offering. Should I relent because of these?

“thou art a swift”

Esther 8:16

Esther 8:16 · BSB

For the Jews it was a time of light and gladness, of joy and honor.

Also

Jeremiah 9:14 Jeremiah 31:22 Jeremiah 2:33–35

Jeremiah 9:14 · BSB

Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts and gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them.”

Jeremiah 31:22 · BSB

How long will you wander, O faithless daughter? For the LORD has created a new thing in the land— a woman will shelter a man.”

Jeremiah 2:33–35 · BSB

How skillfully you pursue love! Even the most immoral of women could learn from your ways.

Cross references adapted from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0) and the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

In context

22Although you wash with lye and use an abundance of soap, the stain of your guilt is still before Me,” declares the Lord GOD.

24a wild donkey at home in the wilderness, sniffing the wind in the heat of her desire. Who can restrain her passion? All who seek her need not weary themselves; in mating season they will find her.

Read Jeremiah 2