For pass over the isles of Chittim, and see; and send unto Kedar, and consider diligently, and see if there be such a thing.
Parallel translations
- WEB For pass over to the islands of Kittim, and see; and send to Kedar, and consider diligently; and see if there has been such a thing.
- BSB Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and take a look; send to Kedar and consider carefully; see if there has ever been anything like this:
- ESV For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see, or send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has been such a thing.
- NKJV For pass beyond the coasts of Cyprus and see, Send to Kedar and consider diligently, And see if there has been such a thing.
- NASB “For cross to the coastlands of Kittim and see, And send to Kedar and observe closely, And see if there has been anything like this!
- NLT “Go west and look in the land of Cyprus; go east and search through the land of Kedar. Has anyone ever heard of anything as strange as this?
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God invites them to look anywhere and see if any nation acted so absurdly. Israel's sin is uniquely unnatural.
Overview
Yahweh tells them to look west to Cyprus (Kittim) or east to Kedar and see if such a thing has ever happened. The challenge highlights how unprecedented and irrational Israel's apostasy is. Even pagan nations show more loyalty to their gods than Israel showed to the living God.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ps 120:5Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar!
- Jer 18:13–14Therefore thus saith the LORD; Ask ye now among the heathen, who hath heard such things: the virgin of Israel hath done a very horrible thing.
- Isa 21:16For thus hath the LORD said unto me, Within a year, according to the years of an hireling, and all the glory of Kedar shall fail:
- Judg 19:30And it was so, that all that saw it said, There was no such deed done nor seen from the day that the children of Israel came up out of the land of Egypt unto this day: consider of it, take advice, and speak your minds.
- Gen 10:4–5And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
- 1 Chr 1:7And the sons of Javan; Elishah, and Tarshish, Kittim, and Dodanim.
- Ezek 27:6Of the oaks of Bashan have they made thine oars; the company of the Ashurites have made thy benches of ivory, brought out of the isles of Chittim.
- Gen 25:13And these are the names of the sons of Ishmael, by their names, according to their generations: the firstborn of Ishmael, Nebajoth; and Kedar, and Adbeel, and Mibsam,
- Dan 11:30For the ships of Chittim shall come against him: therefore he shall be grieved, and return, and have indignation against the holy covenant: so shall he do; he shall even return, and have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.
- Num 24:24And ships shall come from the coast of Chittim, and shall afflict Asshur, and shall afflict Eber, and he also shall perish for ever.
- 1 Chr 23:12The sons of Kohath; Amram, Izhar, Hebron, and Uzziel, four.
- 1 Cor 5:1It is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles, that one should have his father’s wife.
- 1 Chr 23:1So when David was old and full of days, he made Solomon his son king over Israel.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 2:10 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.