Jeremiah 2:14–19
14 n“Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
Why then has he become a prey?
15 oThe lions have roared against him;
they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
his cities are in ruins, pwithout inhabitant.
16 Moreover, the men of qMemphis and rTahpanhes
shave shaved2 the crown of your head.
17 tHave you not brought this upon yourself
by forsaking the Lord your God,
when uhe led you in the way?
18 vAnd now what do you gain by going to Egypt
to drink the waters of wthe Nile?
xOr what do you gain by going to Assyria
to drink the waters of ythe Euphrates?3
19 zYour evil will chastise you,
and ayour apostasy will reprove you.
Know and see that it is evil and bbitter
for cyou to forsake the Lord your God;
the fear of me is not in you,
declares the Lord God of hosts.
Jeremiah 2:14–19 — The New International Version (NIV)
14 Is Israel a servant, a slave by birth?
Why then has he become plunder?
15 Lions have roared;
they have growled at him.
They have laid waste his land;
his towns are burned and deserted.
16 Also, the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have cracked your skull.
17 Have you not brought this on yourselves
by forsaking the Lord your God
when he led you in the way?
18 Now why go to Egypt
to drink water from the Nile?
And why go to Assyria
to drink water from the Euphrates?
19 Your wickedness will punish you;
your backsliding will rebuke you.
Consider then and realize
how evil and bitter it is for you
when you forsake the Lord your God
and have no awe of me,”
declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
Jeremiah 2:14–19 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
14 Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled? 15 The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant. 16 Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes have broken the crown of thy head. 17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way? 18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river? 19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts.
Jeremiah 2:14–19 — New Living Translation (NLT)
14 “Why has Israel become a slave?
Why has he been carried away as plunder?
15 Strong lions have roared against him,
and the land has been destroyed.
The towns are now in ruins,
and no one lives in them anymore.
16 Egyptians, marching from their cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes,
have destroyed Israel’s glory and power.
17 And you have brought this upon yourselves
by rebelling against the Lord your God,
even though he was leading you on the way!
18 “What have you gained by your alliances with Egypt
and your covenants with Assyria?
What good to you are the streams of the Nile
or the waters of the Euphrates River?
19 Your wickedness will bring its own punishment.
Your turning from me will shame you.
You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is
to abandon the Lord your God and not to fear him.
I, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!
Jeremiah 2:14–19 — The New King James Version (NKJV)
14 “Is Israel a servant?
Is he a homeborn slave?
Why is he plundered?
15 The young lions roared at him, and growled;
They made his land waste;
His cities are burned, without inhabitant.
16 Also the people of Noph and Tahpanhes
Have broken the crown of your head.
17 Have you not brought this on yourself,
In that you have forsaken the Lord your God
When He led you in the way?
18 And now why take the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of Sihor?
Or why take the road to Assyria,
To drink the waters of the River?
19 Your own wickedness will correct you,
And your backslidings will rebuke you.
Know therefore and see that it is an evil and bitter thing
That you have forsaken the Lord your God,
And the fear of Me is not in you,”
Says the Lord God of hosts.
Jeremiah 2:14–19 — New Century Version (NCV)
14 Have the people of Israel become slaves?
Have they become like someone who was born a slave?
Why were they taken captive?
15 Enemies have roared like lions at Israel;
they have growled at Israel.
They have destroyed the land of Israel.
The cities of Israel lie in ruins,
and all the people have left.
16 The men from the cities of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have disgraced you by shaving the top of your head.
17 Haven’t you brought this on yourselves
by turning away from the Lord your God
when he was leading you in the right way?
18 It did not help to go to Egypt
and drink from the Shihor River.
It did not help to go to Assyria
and drink from the Euphrates River.
19 Your evil will bring punishment to you,
and the wrong you have done will teach you a lesson.
Think about it and understand
that it is a terrible evil to turn away from the Lord your God.
It is wrong not to fear me,”
says the Lord God All-Powerful.
Jeremiah 2:14–19 — American Standard Version (ASV)
14 Is Israel a servant? is he a home-born slave? why is he become a prey? 15 The young lions have roared upon him, and yelled; and they have made his land waste: his cities are burned up, without inhabitant. 16 The children also of Memphis and Tahpanhes have broken the crown of thy head. 17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, when he led thee by the way? 18 And now what hast thou to do in the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Shihor? or what hast thou to do in the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River? 19 Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and a bitter, that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
Jeremiah 2:14–19 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
14 Is Israel a bondman? Is he a home-born slave? Why is he become a spoil? 15 The young lions roared against him, they gave forth their voice, and they made his land desolate: his cities are burned, without inhabitant. 16 Even the children of Noph and Tahapanes have fed on the crown of thy head. 17 Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, at the time he was leading thee in the way? 18 And now, what hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor? And what hast thou to do with the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the River? 19 Thine own wickedness chastiseth thee, and thy backslidings reprove thee: know then and see that it is an evil thing and bitter that thou hast forsaken Jehovah thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord, Jehovah of hosts.
Jeremiah 2:14–19 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
14 “Are the people of Israel slaves?
Were they born into slavery?
Why, then, have they become someone’s property?
15 Young lions have roared very loudly at them.
Young lions have turned the land into a wasteland.
The cities have been burned down, and everyone has left.
16 People from Noph and Tahpanhes have cracked your skulls, Israel.
17 You have brought this on yourself
by abandoning the Lord your God
when he led you on his way.
18 You won’t gain anything by going to Egypt
to drink water from the Nile River.
You won’t gain anything by going to Assyria
to drink water from the Euphrates River.
19 Your own wickedness will correct you,
and your unfaithful ways will punish you.
You should know and see how evil and bitter it is for you
if you abandon the Lord your God and do not fear me,”
declares the Almighty Lord of Armies.
Jeremiah 2:14–19 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
14 Is Israel a slave?
Was he born into slavery?
Why else has he become a prey?
15 The young lions have roared at him;
they have roared loudly.
They have laid waste his land.
His cities are in ruins, without inhabitants.
16 The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have also broken your skull.
17 Have you not brought this on yourself
by abandoning the Lord your God
while He was leading you along the way?
18 Now what will you gain
by traveling along the way to Egypt
to drink the waters of the Nile?
What will you gain
by traveling along the way to Assyria
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?
19 Your own evil will discipline you;
your own apostasies will reprimand you.
Think it over and see how evil and bitter it is
for you to abandon the Lord your God
and to have no fear of Me.
This is the declaration
of the Lord God of Hosts.
Jeremiah 2:14–19 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
14 Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
Why then has he become plunder?
15 The lions have roared against him,
they have roared loudly.
They have made his land a waste;
his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.
16 Moreover, the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have broken the crown of your head.
17 Have you not brought this upon yourself
by forsaking the Lord your God,
while he led you in the way?
18 What then do you gain by going to Egypt,
to drink the waters of the Nile?
Or what do you gain by going to Assyria,
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?
19 Your wickedness will punish you,
and your apostasies will convict you.
Know and see that it is evil and bitter
for you to forsake the Lord your God;
the fear of me is not in you,
says the Lord God of hosts.
Jeremiah 2:14–19 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
14 Is Israel a slave? Or a slave born in a house?
Why has he become plunder?
15 The young lions have roared against him,
they have raised their voices.
And they have made his land as horror;
his cities are destroyed, without an inhabitant.
16 Moreover, people of Memphis and Tahpanhes
will shave your skull.
17 Did you not do this to yourself,
by forsaking Yahweh, your God,
at the time of your leading in the way?
18 And now why do you go the way of Egypt
to drink the waters of the Shihor?
And why do you go the way of Assyria
to drink the waters of the Euphrates?
19 Your wickedness will chastise you,
and your apostasies will reprove you.
Therefore know and see that it is evil and bitter,
your forsaking of Yahweh, your God,
and fear of me is not in you,”
declares the Lord, Yahweh of hosts.
Jeremiah 2:14–19 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
14 Are you people of Israel servants?
You were not born as slaves, were you?
Then why have you been carried off like stolen goods?
15 Lions have roared.
They have growled at you.
They have destroyed your land.
Your towns are burned and deserted.
16 The men of Memphis and Tahpanhes
have shaved your heads to dishonor you.
17 Haven’t you brought that on yourselves?
I am the Lord your God, but you deserted me.
You left me even while I was leading you.
18 Why do you go to Egypt
to drink water from the Shihor River?
Why do you go to Assyria
to drink from the Euphrates River?
19 You will be punished because you have sinned.
You will be corrected for turning away from me.
I am the Lord your God.
If you desert me, bad things will happen to you.
If you do not respect me, you will suffer bitterly.
I want you to understand that,”
announces the Lord who rules over all.
Jeremiah 2:14–19 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
14 “Is Israel a slave? Or is he a homeborn servant?
Why has he become a prey?
15 “The young lions have roared at him,
They have roared loudly.
And they have made his land a waste;
His cities have been destroyed, without inhabitant.
16 “Also the men of Memphis and Tahpanhes
Have shaved the crown of your head.
17 “Have you not done this to yourself
By your forsaking the Lord your God
When He led you in the way?
18 “But now what are you doing on the road to Egypt,
To drink the waters of the Nile?
Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria,
To drink the waters of the Euphrates?
19 “Your own wickedness will correct you,
And your apostasies will reprove you;
Know therefore and see that it is evil and bitter
For you to forsake the Lord your God,
And the dread of Me is not in you,” declares the Lord God of hosts.