The Meaning of Jeremiah 2:20 Explained

Jeremiah 2:20

KJV: For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not transgress; when upon every high hill and under every green tree thou wanderest, playing the harlot.

YLT: For from of old thou hast broken thy yoke, Drawn away thy bands, and sayest, 'I do not serve,' For, on every high height, and under every green tree, Thou art wandering -- a harlot.

Darby: For of old thou hast broken thy yoke, and burst thy bands; and thou saidst, I will not serve. For upon every high hill, and under every green tree, thou bowest down, playing the harlot.

ASV: For of old time I have broken thy yoke, and burst thy bonds; and thou saidst, I will not serve; for upon every high hill and under every green tree thou didst bow thyself, playing the harlot.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For of old time  I have broken  thy yoke,  [and] burst  thy bands;  and thou saidst,  I will not transgress  {08675;05647:08799}; when upon every high  hill  and under every green  tree  thou wanderest,  playing the harlot. 

What does Jeremiah 2:20 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord had broken the yoke of Egypt off His people at the Exodus and had set them free, but, being ungrateful, they refused to yield to Him in covenant faithfulness. [1] Rather, the Israelites had prostituted themselves to the gods of Canaan, worshipping idols at their hilltop and grove shrines.
". . . the "sexual revolution" introduced in the1960s is not only permissive: it has its own propaganda to create a view of sex as virtually life"s chief concern and most authoritative voice-certainly one that can override the voice of God." [2]

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 2:20 mean?

For of old I have broken your yoke [and] burst your bonds and you said not - I will transgress when on every hill high and under tree green You lay down [playing] the harlot
כִּ֣י מֵעוֹלָ֞ם שָׁבַ֣רְתִּי עֻלֵּ֗ךְ נִתַּ֙קְתִּי֙ מוֹסְרֹתַ֔יִךְ וַתֹּאמְרִ֖י לֹ֣א [אעבד] (אֶעֱב֑וֹר) כִּ֣י עַֽל־ כָּל־ גִּבְעָ֞ה גְּבֹהָ֗ה וְתַ֙חַת֙ עֵ֣ץ רַעֲנָ֔ן אַ֖תְּ צֹעָ֥ה זֹנָֽה

מֵעוֹלָ֞ם  of  old 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.
שָׁבַ֣רְתִּי  I  have  broken 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: שָׁבוּר 
Sense: to break, break in pieces.
עֻלֵּ֗ךְ  your  yoke 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, second person feminine singular
Root: עֹל  
Sense: yoke.
נִתַּ֙קְתִּי֙  [and]  burst 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, first person common singular
Root: נָתַק  
Sense: to pull or tear or draw off or away or apart, draw out, pluck up, break, li ft, root out.
מוֹסְרֹתַ֔יִךְ  your  bonds 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person feminine singular
Root: מֹוסֵר 
Sense: band, bond.
וַתֹּאמְרִ֖י  and  you  said 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Consecutive imperfect, second person feminine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
[אעבד]  - 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
(אֶעֱב֑וֹר)  I  will  transgress 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: עָבַד  
Sense: to work, serve.
כָּל־  every 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
גִּבְעָ֞ה  hill 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: גִּבְעָה  
Sense: hill.
גְּבֹהָ֗ה  high 
Parse: Adjective, feminine singular
Root: גָּבֹהַּ  
Sense: high, exalted.
וְתַ֙חַת֙  and  under 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: מִתְחָה 
Sense: the under part, beneath, instead of, as, for, for the sake of, flat, unto, where, whereas.
עֵ֣ץ  tree 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֵץ  
Sense: tree, wood, timber, stock, plank, stalk, stick, gallows.
רַעֲנָ֔ן  green 
Parse: Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רָעַן 
Sense: (Palel) to be or grow luxuriant or fresh or green adj.
צֹעָ֥ה  lay  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular
Root: צָעָה  
Sense: to stoop, bend, incline.
זֹנָֽה  [playing]  the  harlot 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: זָנָה 
Sense: to commit fornication, be a harlot, play the harlot.