Because she took her prostitution lightly, the land was polluted, and she committed adultery with stones and with wood.
Parallel translations
- KJV And it came to pass through the lightness of her whoredom, that she defiled the land, and committed adultery with stones and with stocks.
- BSB Indifferent to her own infidelity, Israel had defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.
- NKJV So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.
- NASB And because of the thoughtlessness of her prostitution, she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees.
- NLT Israel treated it all so lightly—she thought nothing of committing adultery by worshiping idols made of wood and stone. So now the land has been polluted.
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
Judah treated her idolatry lightly and defiled the land. She committed spiritual adultery with idols of stone and wood.
Overview
Yahweh says Judah took her prostitution so casually that she polluted the land, committing adultery with stones and trees. Idolatry is again cast as covenant adultery, treated by Judah as a trivial matter. The casual attitude toward grave sin reveals a conscience dulled to God's holiness.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 9
- Jer 2:27who tell wood, ‘You are my father;’ and a stone, ‘You have given birth to me:’ for they have turned their back to me, and not their face; but in the time of their trouble they will say, ‘Arise, and save us.’
- Isa 57:6Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion; they, they are your lot. You have even poured a drink offering to them. You have offered an offering. Shall I be appeased for these things?
- Jer 3:2“Lift up your eyes to the bare heights, and see! Where have you not been lain with? You have sat waiting for them by the road, as an Arabian in the wilderness. You have polluted the land with your prostitution and with your wickedness.
- Jer 2:7I brought you into a plentiful land, to eat its fruit and its goodness; but when you entered, you defiled my land, and made my heritage an abomination.
- Hab 2:19Woe to him who says to the wood, ‘Awake!’ or to the mute stone, ‘Arise!’ Shall this teach? Behold, it is overlaid with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all within it.
- Jer 10:8But they are together brutish and foolish, instructed by idols! It is just wood.
- Ezek 16:17You also took your beautiful jewels of my gold and of my silver, which I had given you, and made for yourself images of men, and played the prostitute with them.
- Hos 4:12My people consult with their wooden idol, and answer to a stick of wood. Indeed the spirit of prostitution has led them astray, and they have been unfaithful to their God.
- Ezek 23:10These uncovered her nakedness. They took her sons and her daughters; and they killed her with the sword. She became a byword among women; for they executed judgments on her.
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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 3:9 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
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