14 "Is Israel a slave ? Or is he a homeborn e servant? Why has he become a prey ? 15 "The young lions have roared at him, They have roared e loudly e . 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 .
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 2:14-19
Commentary on Jeremiah 2:14-19
(Read Jeremiah 2:14-19)
Is Israel a servant? No, they are the seed of Abraham. We may apply this spiritually: Is the soul of man a slave? No, it is not; but has sold its own liberty, and enslaved itself to divers lusts and passions. The Assyrian princes, like lions, prevailed against Israel. People from Egypt destroyed their glory and strength. They brought these calamities on themselves by departing from the Lord. The use and application of this is, Repent of thy sin, that thy correction may not be thy ruin. What has a Christian to do in the ways of forbidden pleasure or vain sinful mirth, or with the pursuits of covetousness and ambition?