Verse (Click for Chapter) New International Version The priests did not ask, 'Where is the LORD?' Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols. New Living Translation The priests did not ask, 'Where is the LORD?' Those who taught my word ignored me, the rulers turned against me, and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal, wasting their time on worthless idols. English Standard Version The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit. Berean Study Bible The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ The experts in the law no longer knew Me, and the leaders rebelled against Me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols. New American Standard Bible "The priests did not say, 'Where is the LORD?' And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me, And the prophets prophesied by Baal And walked after things that did not profit. King James Bible 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. Christian Standard Bible The priests quit asking, "Where is the LORD?" The experts in the law no longer knew me, and the rulers rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols. Contemporary English Version The priests who teach my laws don't care to know me. Your leaders rebel against me; your prophets give messages from Baal and worship false gods. Good News Translation The priests did not ask, 'Where is the LORD?' My own priests did not know me. The rulers rebelled against me; the prophets spoke in the name of Baal and worshiped useless idols. Holman Christian Standard Bible The priests quit asking, "Where is the LORD?" The experts in the law no longer knew Me, and the rulers rebelled against Me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols. International Standard Version "The priests didn't say, 'Where is the LORD?' and those handling the Law didn't know me. The rulers transgressed against me, the prophets prophesied by Baal, and they followed that which does not profit. NET Bible Your priests did not ask, 'Where is the LORD?' Those responsible for teaching my law did not really know me. Your rulers rebelled against me. Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal. They all worshiped idols that could not help them. New Heart English Bible The priests did not say, 'Where is the LORD?' And those who handle the law did not know me. The rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. GOD'S WORD® Translation The priests didn't ask, "Where is the LORD?" Those who deal with my teachings didn't know me. The rulers rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal and followed statues that couldn't help them. JPS Tanakh 1917 The priests said not: 'Where is the LORD?' And they that handle the law knew Me not, And the rulers transgressed against Me; The prophets also prophesied by Baal, And walked after things that do not profit. New American Standard 1977 “The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me, And the prophets prophesied by Baal And walked after things that did not profit. Jubilee Bible 2000 The priests did not say, Where is the LORD? and those that handled the law did not know me; the pastors also rebelled against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal and walked after things that do not profit. King James 2000 Bible The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. American King James Version 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. American Standard Version The priests said not, Where is Jehovah? and they that handle the law knew me not: the rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. Douay-Rheims Bible The priests did not say: Where is the Lord? and they that held the law knew me not, and the pastors transgressed against me: and the prophets prophesied in Baal, and followed idols. Darby Bible Translation The priests said not, Where is Jehovah? and they that handled the law knew me not; and the shepherds transgressed against me; and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after [things that] do not profit. English Revised Version The priests said not, Where is the LORD? and they that handle the law knew me not: the rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. Webster's Bible Translation 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. World English Bible The priests didn't say, 'Where is Yahweh?' and those who handle the law didn't know me. The rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit. Young's Literal Translation The priests have not said, 'Where is Jehovah?' And those handling the law have not known Me. And the shepherds transgressed against Me, And the prophets have prophesied by Baal, And after those who profit not have gone. Study Bible Israel has Forsaken God…7I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and bounty, but you came and defiled My land, and made My inheritance detestable. 8The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ The experts in the law no longer knew Me, and the leaders rebelled against Me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols. 9Therefore, I will contend with you again, declares the LORD, and I will bring a case against your children’s children.… Cross References 1 Samuel 2:12 Now the sons of Eli were wicked men; they had no regard for the LORD Jeremiah 4:22 "For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they do not know how to do good." Jeremiah 9:14 Instead, they have followed the stubbornness of their hearts and gone after the Baals, as their fathers taught them." Jeremiah 10:21 For the shepherds have become senseless and do not seek the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered. Jeremiah 16:19 O LORD, my strength and my fortress, my refuge in the day of distress, the nations will come to You from the ends of the earth, and they will say, "Our fathers inherited nothing but lies, worthless idols of no benefit at all." Jeremiah 18:18 Then some said, "Come, let us make plans against Jeremiah, for the law will never be lost to the priest, or counsel to the wise, or an oracle to the prophet. Come, let us denounce him and pay no heed to any of his words." Jeremiah 23:13 "Among the prophets of Samaria I saw an offensive thing: They prophesied by Baal and led My people Israel astray. Ezekiel 22:26 Her priests do violence to My law and profane My holy things. They make no distinction between the holy and the common, and they fail to distinguish between the clean and the unclean. They disregard My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Ezekiel 34:2 "Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: 'Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock? Habakkuk 2:18 What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it--or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak. Malachi 2:7 For the lips of a priest should preserve knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, because he is the messenger of the LORD of Hosts." Malachi 2:8 "But you have departed from the way, and your instruction has caused many to stumble. You have violated the covenant of Levi," says the LORD of Hosts. Treasury of Scripture 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. priests Jeremiah 2:6 Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the … Jeremiah 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their … Jeremiah 8:10,11 Therefore will I give their wives to others, and their fields to … Jeremiah 2:9-15 Why I will yet plead with you, said the LORD, and with your children's … 1 Samuel 2:12 Now the sons of Eli were sons of Belial; they knew not the LORD. Isaiah 28:7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are … Isaiah 29:10 For the LORD has poured out on you the spirit of deep sleep, and … Isaiah 56:9-12 All you beasts of the field, come to devour, yes, all you beasts … Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because you have rejected … and they that Jeremiah 8:8,9 How do you say, We are wise, and the law of the LORD is with us? … Deuteronomy 33:10 They shall teach Jacob your judgments, and Israel your law: they … Malachi 2:6-9 The law of truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in … Luke 11:52 Woe to you, lawyers! for you have taken away the key of knowledge: … John 8:55 Yet you have not known him; but I know him: and if I should say, … John 16:3 And these things will they do to you, because they have not known … Romans 2:17-24 Behold, you are called a Jew, and rest in the law, and make your boast of God… 2 Corinthians 4:2 But have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in … the pastors Jeremiah 10:21 For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the LORD: … Jeremiah 12:10 Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion … Jeremiah 23:1,2 Woe be to the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! … prophets Jeremiah 23:13 And I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied … 1 Kings 18:29,22,40 And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until … do not Jeremiah 2:11 Has a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people … Jeremiah 7:8 Behold, you trust in lying words, that cannot profit. 1 Samuel 12:21 And turn you not aside: for then should you go after vain things, … Isaiah 30:5 They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor … Habakkuk 2:18 What profits the graven image that the maker thereof has graven it; … Matthew 16:26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and … (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 Ph?nician 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. Verse 8. - The priests, etc. The blame principally falls on the three leading classes (as in ver. 26; Micah 3:11). First on the priests who "handle the Law," i.e. who have a traditional knowledge of the details of the Law, and teach the people accordingly (Deuteronomy 17:9-11; Deuteronomy 33:10; Jeremiah 18:18; see also on Jeremiah 8:8); next on the "pastors," or "shepherds" (in the Homeric sense), the civil and not the spiritual authorities; so generally in the Old Testament (see Jeremiah 3:15; Jeremiah 10:21; Jeremiah 22:22; Jeremiah 25:34; Zechariah 10:3; Zechariah 11:5, 8, 16; Isaiah 44:28); and lastly on the prophets, who sought their inspiration, not from Jehovah (comp. note on ver. 30), but from Baal. To prophesy by (by means of) Baal or rather, the Baal, implies that prophecy is due to an impulse from the supernatural world; that it is not an objectifying of the imaginations of the prophet himself. Even the Baal prophets yielded to an impulse from without, but how that impulse was produced the prophet does not tell us. We are told in 1 Kings 22:19-23, that even prophets of Jehovah could be led astray by a "lying spirit;" much more presumably could prophets of the Baal. The Baal is here used as a representative of the idol-gods, in antithesis to Jehovah; sometimes "Baalim," or the Baals, is used instead (e.g. ver. 23; Jeremiah 9:13), each town or city having its own Baal ("lord"). Things that do not profit. A synonym for idols (comp. Jeremiah 16:19; Isaiah 44:9;. 1 Samuel 12:21). An enlightened regard for self-interest is encouraged by the religion of the Bible, at any rate educationally. Contrast Comtism. The priests said not, where is the Lord?.... Whose business it was to draw nigh to God, and offer the sacrifices of the people, and inquire of God for them; whose lips should keep knowledge, and at whose mouth the law should be sought, they being the messengers of the Lord of hosts, Malachi 2:7,and they that handle the law knew me not; the sanhedrim, according to Jarchi; or the lawyers and scribes, the Rabbins and doctors of the law, whose business it was to read and explain it; these did not understand it, nor the mind of God in it; and much less did they know him in a spiritual and evangelical manner; or as he is in Christ, and revealed in the Gospel: the pastors also transgressed against me; kings, as the Targum, Jarchi, and Kimchi interpret it, who were pastors or shepherds in a civil sense; whose business it was to feed the people as the shepherd does his flock; that is, to guide and govern them by wholesome laws, by the laws of God; but, instead of this, they rebelled against the Lord, and transgressed his commands: and the prophets prophesied by Baal; in his name; pretending to be inspired by that idol, and to receive the spirit of prophecy from him: and walked after things that do not profit; the gods of the Gentiles, which could not supply them with the least temporal blessing, and much less give them spiritual and eternal ones; see Jeremiah 14:22. This is to be understood of false prophets, as Ben Melech. 8. The three leading classes, whose very office under the theocracy was to lead the people to God, disowned Him in the same language as the nation at large, "Where is the Lord?" (See Jer 2:6). priests—whose office it was to expound the law (Mal 2:6, 7). handle—are occupied with the law as the subject of their profession. pastors—civil, not religious: princes (Jer 3:15), whose duty it was to tend their people. prophets—who should have reclaimed the people from their apostasy, encouraged them in it by pretended oracles from Baal, the Phoenician false god. by Baal—in his name and by his authority (compare Jer 11:21). walked after things … not profit—answering to, "walked after vanity," that is, idols (Jer 2:5; compare Jer 2:11; Hab 2:18).2:1-8 Those who begin well, but do not persevere, will justly be upbraided with their hopeful and promising beginnings. Those who desert religion, commonly oppose it more than those who never knew it. For this they could have no excuse. God's spiritual Israel must own their obligations to him for safe conduct through the wilderness of this world, so dangerous to the soul. Alas, that many, who once appeared devoted to the Lord, so live that their professions aggravate their crimes! Let us be careful that we do not lose in zeal and fervency, as we gain knowledge. 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