King James Version

What Does Jeremiah 2:8 Mean?

“The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.”

Context

Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?

And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination. a plentiful: or, the land of Carmel

The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the pastors also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.

Wherefore I will yet plead with you, saith the LORD, and with your children's children will I plead.

For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing. over: or, over to

Read full chapter →

Commentary

Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers

(8) **The priests said not . . .**—As throughout the work of Jeremiah and most of the prophets of the Old Testament, that which weighed most heavily on their souls was that those who were called to be guides of the people were themselves the chief agents in the evil. The salt had lost its savour. The light had become darkness. The rebuke, we must remember, came from the lips of one who was himself a priest. **The priests said not, Where is the Lord?**—The same failure to seek as that condemned in Jeremiah 2:6. To them, too, all was a routine. Jehovah was absent from their thoughts even in the very act of worship. **They that** **handle the law.**—These, probably, were also of the priestly order, to whom this function was assigned in Deuteronomy 33:10. The order of non-priestly scribes, in the sense of interpreters of the law, does not appear till after the captivity. Their sin was that they “dealt with the law” as interpreters and judges, and forgot Jehovah who had given it. **The pastors.**—Better, *shepherds, *the English “pastors” having gained a too definitely religious connotation. The Hebrew word was general in its significance, but in its Old Testament use was applied chiefly to civil rulers, as in Psalm 78:71; 1Kings 22:17. Even in Ezekiel 34, where the spiritual aspect of rule is most prominent, the contrast between the false shepherds and the one true shepherd of the house of David (Jeremiah 2:23) shows that the kingly, not the priestly, office was in the prophet’s mind. **The prophets prophesied by Baal.**—The precise form of the sin described was probably connected with the oracular power ascribed to Baal-zebub, as in 2Kings 1:2. The evil was of long standing. It was one of the sins of the people in Isaiah’s time that they were “soothsayers like the Philistines” (Isaiah 2:6). When Ahab first introduced the Phœnician worship, it was by the prophets rather than the priests of Baal that the new *cultus *was propagated (1Kings 18:19; 1Kings 22:6). **Things that do not profit.**—The word had acquired an almost proverbial force as applied to idols (1Samuel 12:21; Isaiah 44:9). So the phrase is repeated in Jeremiah 2:11.

Charles John Ellicott (1819–1905). Public Domain.

Historical Context

This verse is found in the book of Jeremiah. Understanding the historical and cultural background helps illuminate its meaning for the original audience and for us today.

Theological Significance

Jeremiah 2:8 contributes to our understanding of God's character and His relationship with humanity. Consider how this verse connects to the broader themes of Scripture.