Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version Now why go to Egypt to drink water from the Nile? And why go to Assyria to drink water from the Euphrates? New Living Translation “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? English Standard Version And now what 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? Berean Standard Bible Now what will you gain on your way to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? What will you gain on your way to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates? King James Bible 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? New King James Version 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? New American Standard Bible “But now what are you doing on the road to Egypt, Except to drink the waters of the Nile? Or what are you doing on the road to Assyria, Except to drink the waters of the Euphrates River? NASB 1995 “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? NASB 1977 “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? Legacy Standard Bible 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 River? Amplified Bible “Now what are you doing by going to Egypt [in search of an ally], To drink the [muddy] waters of the Nile? Or what are you doing by going to Assyria [in search of an ally], To drink the [muddy] waters of the Euphrates? Christian Standard Bible Now what will you gain by traveling along the way to Egypt to drink the water of the Nile? What will you gain by traveling along the way to Assyria to drink the water of the Euphrates? Holman Christian Standard Bible 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? American Standard Version 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? Aramaic Bible in Plain English And now, how do you have to go to the road of Egypt to drink the waters of Shikhur, and how do you have to go to the road of Assyria to drink the waters of the river? Brenton Septuagint Translation And now what hast thou to do with the way of Egypt, to drink the water of Geon? and what hast thou to do with the way of the Assyrians, to drink the water of rivers? Contemporary English Version and you trusted the power of Egypt and Assyria. Douay-Rheims Bible And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the troubled water? And what hast thou to do with the way of the Assyrians, to drink the water of the river? English Revised Version And now what hast thou to do in the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of Shihor? or what hast thou to do in the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River? GOD'S WORD® Translation 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. Good News Translation What do you think you will gain by going to Egypt to drink water from the Nile? What do you think you will gain by going to Assyria to drink water from the Euphrates? International Standard Version Now, what are you doing on the road to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Nile? And what are you doing on the road to Assyria, to drink the waters of the Euphrates? JPS Tanakh 1917 And now what hast thou to do in the way to Egypt, To drink the waters of Shihor? Or what hast thou to do in the way to Assyria, To drink the waters of the River? Literal Standard Version And now, why do you [go] in the way of Egypt, | To drink the waters of Sihor? And why do you [go] in the way of Asshur, | To drink the waters of the River? Majority Standard Bible Now what will you gain on your way to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? What will you gain on your way to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates? New American Bible And now, why go to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Nile? Why go to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River? NET Bible What good will it do you then to go down to Egypt to seek help from the Egyptians? What good will it do you to go over to Assyria to seek help from the Assyrians? New Revised Standard Version 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? New Heart English Bible Now what have you to do in the way to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Shihor? Or what have you to do in the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River? Webster's Bible Translation 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? World English Bible Now what do you gain by going to Egypt, to drink the waters of the Shihor? Or why do you to go on the way to Assyria, to drink the waters of the River? Young's Literal Translation And now, what -- to thee in the way of Egypt, To drink the waters of Sihor? And what -- to thee in the way of Asshur, To drink the waters of the River? Additional Translations ... Audio Bible Context The Consequences of Israel's Sin…17Have you not brought this on yourself by forsaking the LORD your God when He led you in the way? 18Now what will you gain on your way to Egypt to drink the waters of the Nile? What will you gain on your way to Assyria to drink the waters of the Euphrates? 19Your own evil will discipline you; your own apostasies will reprimand you. Consider and realize how evil and bitter it is for you to forsake the LORD your God and to have no fear of Me,” declares the Lord GOD of Hosts.… Cross References Joshua 13:3 from the Shihor east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north (considered to be Canaanite territory)--that of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron, as well as that of the Avvites; Isaiah 7:20 On that day the Lord will use a razor hired from beyond the Euphrates--the king of Assyria--to shave your head and the hair of your legs, and to remove your beard as well. Isaiah 23:3 On the great waters came the grain of Shihor; the harvest of the Nile was the revenue of Tyre; she was the merchant of the nations. Isaiah 30:2 They set out to go down to Egypt without asking My advice, to seek shelter under Pharaoh's protection and take refuge in Egypt's shade. Jeremiah 37:7 "This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says that you are to tell the king of Judah, who sent you to Me: Behold, Pharaoh's army, which has marched out to help you, will go back to its own land of Egypt. Ezekiel 16:28 Then you prostituted yourself with the Assyrians, because you were not yet satisfied. Even after that, you were still not satisfied. Treasury of Scripture And now what have you to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor? or what have you to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river? what hast Jeremiah 2:36 Why gaddest thou about so much to change thy way? thou also shalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou wast ashamed of Assyria. Jeremiah 37:5-10 Then Pharaoh's army was come forth out of Egypt: and when the Chaldeans that besieged Jerusalem heard tidings of them, they departed from Jerusalem… Isaiah 30:1-7 Woe to the rebellious children, saith the LORD, that take counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a covering, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin: … Sihor Joshua 13:3 From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites: or what hast 2 Kings 16:7-9 So Ahaz sent messengers to Tiglathpileser king of Assyria, saying, I am thy servant and thy son: come up, and save me out of the hand of the king of Syria, and out of the hand of the king of Israel, which rise up against me… 2 Chronicles 28:20,21 And Tilgathpilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not… Hosea 5:13 When Ephraim saw his sickness, and Judah saw his wound, then went Ephraim to the Assyrian, and sent to king Jareb: yet could he not heal you, nor cure you of your wound. Jump to Previous Asshur Assyria Drink Egypt Euphrates Euphra'tes Gain Nile River Road Shihor Sihor Water Waters WayJump to Next Asshur Assyria Drink Egypt Euphrates Euphra'tes Gain Nile River Road Shihor Sihor Water Waters WayJeremiah 2 1. God having shown his former kindness, 5. expostulates with the people on their causeless and unexampled revolt 14. They are the causes of their own calamities 18. The sins and idolatries of Judah 35. Her confidence is rejected. (18) In the way of Egypt . . .?--The rebuke becomes more and more specific. Great rivers were, in the poetry of the prophets, the natural symbols of the kingdoms through which they flowed. Sihor (= the turbid or muddy river) here, and in Isaiah 23:3 the Nile (though in Joshua 13:3 it stands for the border stream between Palestine and Egypt), represented Egypt. The "river," or "flood," needing no other name as pre-eminent in its greatness (comp. Joshua 24:14-15), the Euphrates, stood for Assyria (comp. Isaiah 8:7). The words point to the tendency to court the alliance now of one, now of the other of the great kingdoms of the world. The policy was no new one. Menahem in Israel, Ahaz in Judah, had courted Assyria (2Kings 15:19; 2Kings 16:7-8); Hezekiah, Babylon (Isaiah 39); Hoshea had sought help from Egypt (2Kings 17:4). The prophet Hosea had rebuked both policies (Hosea 5:13; Hosea 7:11; Hosea 8:9). Even under Hezekiah there was a party seeking the Egyptian alliance (Isaiah 18, 19, 31. Under Manasseh and Amon that party was in power, and the very name of the latter probably bears witness to its influence. Josiah kept as far as possible the position of a neutral, but, when forced into action, and probably guided by the counsels of Hilkiah, resisted the advance of Pharaoh-nechoh (2Kings 23:29). On his death the Egyptian party again gained ground under Jehoiakim, while Jeremiah, opposing its strength, urged the wisdom of accepting the guidance of events, and submitting to the Chaldaeans (so far continuing the line of action adopted by Hezekiah), and ultimately was accused of deserting his own people and "falling away" to their oppressors (Jeremiah 37:13). . . . Verse 18. - What hast thou to do in the way of Egypt? rather, with the way to Egypt. Isaiah (Isaiah 30:2-5; Isaiah 31:1) and Hosea (Hosea 7:11, 16) had already inveighed against an Egyptian alliance. The name given by Manasseh to his sen and successor (Amen) suggests that at one period in his reign an Egyptian policy was in the ascendant, which coincides with the tradition preserved in 2 Chronicles 33:11, of an Assyrian captivity of Manasseh. Jehoiakim at a later period was a vassal of Egypt (2 Kings 23:31, 35). To drink the waters; taking up the idea of the second clause of ver. 13. Sihor, or Shihor, occurs again in Isaiah 23:3, as a name of the Nile. It properly means, not so much "the black" as "the dark grey" (connected with shakhar, the morning grey), from the color of the water. Rosenmüller's contrast between the muddy waters of foreign streams and the "fountain of living waters" is uncalled for; besides, the Nile water has always been held in high esteem. The Septuagint has Γηών, i.e. Gihon, also a name of-the Nile according to Ecclus. 24:27. The way of - rather, to - Assyria. It is true that Assyria was, to say the least, powerless to interfere for good or for evil, when these words were written. But in ver. 5 the prophet has already warned us that his complaints are partly retrospective. It would seem that the Assyrian party from time to time gained the upper hand over the Egyptian in the councils of the State. Or perhaps the prophet may refer to the Quixotic fidelity to Assyria of Josiah (see below on ver. 36). The river; i.e. the Euphrates, "the great river" (Genesis 15:18). Babylonia it should be remembered, was in nominal subjection to Assyria; the Euphrates was the boundary between Syria and Palestine on the one hand, and Assyria - here the Assyrio-Babylonian region - on the other. Parallel Commentaries ... Hebrew Nowוְעַתָּ֗ה (wə·‘at·tāh) Conjunctive waw | Adverb Strong's 6258: At this time what will you gain מַה־ (mah-) Interrogative Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what on your way לְדֶ֣רֶךְ (lə·ḏe·reḵ) Preposition-l | Noun - common singular construct Strong's 1870: A road, a course of life, mode of action to Egypt מִצְרַ֔יִם (miṣ·ra·yim) Noun - proper - feminine singular Strong's 4714: Egypt -- a son of Ham, also his descendants and their country in Northwest Africa to drink לִשְׁתּ֖וֹת (liš·tō·wṯ) Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct Strong's 8354: To imbibe the waters מֵ֣י (mê) Noun - masculine plural construct Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen of the Nile? שִׁח֑וֹר (ši·ḥō·wr) Noun - proper - feminine singular Strong's 7883: Nile -- a stream on the border of Egypt What will you gain וּמַה־ (ū·mah-) Conjunctive waw | Interrogative Strong's 4100: What?, what!, indefinitely what on your way לְדֶ֣רֶךְ (lə·ḏe·reḵ) Preposition-l | Noun - common singular construct Strong's 1870: A road, a course of life, mode of action to Assyria אַשּׁ֔וּר (’aš·šūr) Noun - proper - feminine singular Strong's 804: Ashshur to drink לִשְׁתּ֖וֹת (liš·tō·wṯ) Preposition-l | Verb - Qal - Infinitive construct Strong's 8354: To imbibe the waters מֵ֥י (mê) Noun - masculine plural construct Strong's 4325: Water, juice, urine, semen of the Euphrates? נָהָֽר׃ (nā·hār) Noun - masculine singular Strong's 5104: A stream, prosperity Links Jeremiah 2:18 NIVJeremiah 2:18 NLT Jeremiah 2:18 ESV Jeremiah 2:18 NASB Jeremiah 2:18 KJV Jeremiah 2:18 BibleApps.com Jeremiah 2:18 Biblia Paralela Jeremiah 2:18 Chinese Bible Jeremiah 2:18 French Bible Jeremiah 2:18 Catholic Bible OT Prophets: Jeremiah 2:18 Now what have you to do (Jer.) |
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