The Meaning of Jeremiah 2:2 Explained

Jeremiah 2:2

KJV: Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith the LORD; I remember thee, the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.

YLT: 'Go, and thou hast called in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus said Jehovah: I have remembered for thee The kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, Thy going after Me in a wilderness, in a land not sown.

Darby: Go and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah: I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals, when thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land not sown.

ASV: Go, and cry in the ears of Jerusalem, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, I remember for thee the kindness of thy youth, the love of thine espousals; how thou wentest after me in the wilderness, in a land that was not sown.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Go  and cry  in the ears  of Jerusalem,  saying,  Thus saith  the LORD;  I remember  thee, the kindness  of thy youth,  the love  of thine espousals,  when thou wentest  after  me in the wilderness,  in a land  [that was] not sown. 

What does Jeremiah 2:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord recalled how His people used to love (Heb. hesed) Him devotedly when they were following Him through the wilderness from Egypt to the Promised Land. Those were the days of Israel"s betrothal as a youth, before she settled down with the Lord in the land (cf. Hosea 1-3). Even though the Israelites were not completely faithful to the Lord in the wilderness, their commitment to Him then was much stronger then than it was in Jeremiah"s day. Their error then was mainly lack of faith (unbelief), whereas in Jeremiah"s day it was departure from Him (apostasy).

Context Summary

Jeremiah 2:1-8 - Ungrateful Forgetfulness
God regarded Israel as His bride, who had responded to His love, or as a vineyard and cornfield which were expected to yield their first fruits in response to the careful cultivation of the owner. Why had they failed to respond? For the answer let us question our own hearts. What marvels of perversity and disappointment we are! Who can understand or fathom the reason of our poor response to the yearning love of Christ! The heathen, in their punctilious devotion and lavish sacrifices at their idol-shrines, may well shame us. The root of the evil is disclosed in Jeremiah 2:31. We like to be lords, to assume and hold the mastery of our lives. But God has been anything but a wilderness to us. He has given us ornaments, and we owe to His grace the garments of righteousness which He has put on us. In return we have forgotten Him days without number, Jeremiah 2:32. Let us ask Him to call us back-nay more, to draw us by the chains of love. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 2

1  God having shown his former kindness,
5  expostulates with the people on their causeless and unexampled revolt
14  They are the causes of their own calamities
18  The sins and idolatries of Judah
35  Her confidence is rejected

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 2:2 mean?

go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem saying thus says Yahweh I remember you the kindness of your youth the love of your betrothal when you went after Me in the wilderness in a land not sown
הָלֹ֡ךְ וְקָֽרָאתָ֩ בְאָזְנֵ֨י יְרוּשָׁלִַ֜ם לֵאמֹ֗ר כֹּ֚ה אָמַ֣ר יְהוָ֔ה זָכַ֤רְתִּי לָךְ֙ חֶ֣סֶד נְעוּרַ֔יִךְ אַהֲבַ֖ת כְּלוּלֹתָ֑יִךְ לֶכְתֵּ֤ךְ אַחֲרַי֙ בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר בְּאֶ֖רֶץ לֹ֥א זְרוּעָֽה

הָלֹ֡ךְ  go 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive absolute
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
וְקָֽרָאתָ֩  and  cry 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine singular
Root: קָרָא  
Sense: to call, call out, recite, read, cry out, proclaim.
בְאָזְנֵ֨י  in  the  hearing 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, fdc
Root: אֹזֶן  
Sense: ear, as part of the body.
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֜ם  of  Jerusalem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
לֵאמֹ֗ר  saying 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
כֹּ֚ה  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
אָמַ֣ר  says 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
יְהוָ֔ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: Jehovah—used primarily in the combination ‘Lord Jehovah’.
זָכַ֤רְתִּי  I  remember 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: זָכַר 
Sense: to remember, recall, call to mind.
חֶ֣סֶד  the  kindness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: חֶסֶד 
Sense: goodness, kindness, faithfulness.
נְעוּרַ֔יִךְ  of  your  youth 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person feminine singular
Root: נְעוּרִים 
Sense: youth, early life.
אַהֲבַ֖ת  the  love 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אַהֲבָה 
Sense: love.
כְּלוּלֹתָ֑יִךְ  of  your  betrothal 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, second person feminine singular
Root: כְּלוּלֹת  
Sense: betrothals, espousals.
לֶכְתֵּ֤ךְ  when  you  went 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct, second person feminine singular
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
אַחֲרַי֙  after  Me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
Root: אַחַר 
Sense: after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time).
בַּמִּדְבָּ֔ר  in  the  wilderness 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִדְבָּר 
Sense: wilderness.
בְּאֶ֖רֶץ  in  a  land 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
זְרוּעָֽה  sown 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, feminine singular
Root: זָרַע  
Sense: to sow, scatter seed.