The Meaning of Jeremiah 2:34 Explained

Jeremiah 2:34

KJV: Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the poor innocents: I have not found it by secret search, but upon all these.

YLT: Also in thy skirts hath been found the blood of innocent needy souls, Not by digging have I found them, but upon all these.

Darby: Yea, in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent poor, whom thou didst not encounter breaking in, but it is found upon all these.

ASV: Also in thy skirts is found the blood of the souls of the innocent poor: thou didst not find them breaking in; but it is because of all these things.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Also in thy skirts  is found  the blood  of the souls  of the poor  innocents:  I have not found  it by secret search,  but upon all these. 

What does Jeremiah 2:34 Mean?

Verse Meaning

In her unfaithfulness, Israel had gone so far as putting innocent people to death (cf. Jeremiah 26:20-23; 1 Kings 21:16; Nehemiah 9:26). If these people had done something worthy of death, such as breaking into a house, such bloodshed would have been excusable (cf. Exodus 22:2-3)
"Wicked behaviour always involves innocent people to some extent, as Christ demonstrated in bearing the sins of humanity (cf. 1 Peter 2:20-24)." [1]

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 2:34 mean?

Also on your skirts is found the blood of the lives of the poor innocents not by secret search I have found it but plainly on all these things
גַּ֤ם בִּכְנָפַ֙יִךְ֙ נִמְצְא֔וּ דַּ֛ם נַפְשׁ֥וֹת אֶבְיוֹנִ֖ים נְקִיִּ֑ים לֹֽא־ בַמַּחְתֶּ֥רֶת מְצָאתִ֖ים כִּ֥י עַל־ כָּל־ אֵֽלֶּה

גַּ֤ם  Also 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: גַּם  
Sense: also, even, indeed, moreover, yea.
בִּכְנָפַ֙יִךְ֙  on  your  skirts 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, feminine plural construct, second person feminine singular
Root: כָּנָף  
Sense: wing, extremity, edge, winged, border, corner, shirt.
נִמְצְא֔וּ  is  found 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.
דַּ֛ם  the  blood 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: דָּם  
Sense: blood.
נַפְשׁ֥וֹת  of  the  lives 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
אֶבְיוֹנִ֖ים  of  the  poor 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֶבְיׄון  
Sense: in want, needy, chiefly poor, needy person.
נְקִיִּ֑ים  innocents 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
Root: נָקִי 
Sense: clean, free from, exempt, clear, innocent.
בַמַּחְתֶּ֥רֶת  by  secret  search 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: מַחְתֶּרֶת  
Sense: a breaking in, burglary.
מְצָאתִ֖ים  I  have  found  it 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person feminine singular, third person masculine plural
Root: מָצָא  
Sense: to find, attain to.
עַל־  plainly  on 
Parse: Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
אֵֽלֶּה  these  things 
Parse: Pronoun, common plural
Root: אֵהֶל 
Sense: these.