For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

JEREMIAH 2:13KJV
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Jeremiah 2:13 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 2:13 mean?

Jeremiah 2:13 describes how the people of Israel have committed two wrongs: they have abandoned God, who is described as the source of living water, and instead have tried to provide for themselves by making their own water containers, which are broken and useless. The verse uses the image of water to show that turning away from God leads to emptiness and disappointment.

In this verse, God is speaking through the prophet Jeremiah to the people of Judah. The setting is a time when the nation has turned away from worshiping God and has started relying on idols and their own efforts. The "fountain of living waters" is a picture of God as the true source of life and blessing, while the "broken cisterns" represent the false things the people have chosen instead, which cannot truly satisfy or sustain them.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 2:13

  • "fountain" (מְקוֹר, məqôr): This word means a spring or source of water, not just a container. Calling God the "fountain of living waters" emphasizes that He is the continual, life-giving source, not something that runs dry.
  • "living" (חַי, ḥay): This word means "alive" or "life-giving." "Living waters" refers to fresh, flowing water, which was highly valued in a dry land, highlighting the richness and vitality found in God.
  • "cisterns" (בּוֹר, bôr): A cistern is a man-made pit or tank for storing rainwater. In contrast to a spring, a cistern is limited and can become empty or contaminated, especially if it is "broken" (שָׁבַר, shavar), meaning cracked or damaged so it cannot hold water.
  • "forsaken" (עָזַב, ʿazav): This word means to leave or abandon. The verse stresses that the people have actively chosen to leave behind the true source of life.

Why Jeremiah 2:13 matters

  • Jeremiah 2:13 clears up the idea that the people's main problem was just idol worship; the verse shows that the deeper issue was abandoning their relationship with God, the true source of life.
  • The verse highlights the futility of self-reliance and false substitutes, making it clear that anything apart from God is ultimately empty and unreliable.
  • In the wider context of Jeremiah, this verse sets up a key theme: God's grief over His people's unfaithfulness and the consequences that come from turning away from Him.

Where else these words appear

“fountain” Hebrew H4726 · used in 17 verses

  • Leviticus 12:7 Who shall offer it before the LORD, and make an atonement for her; and she shall be cleansed from the issue of her blood. This is the law for her that hath born a male or a female.
  • Proverbs 10:11 The mouth of a righteous man is a well of life: but violence covereth the mouth of the wicked.
  • Proverbs 25:26 A righteous man falling down before the wicked is as a troubled fountain, and a corrupt spring.

“out” Hebrew H2672 · used in 22 verses

  • Deuteronomy 6:11 And houses full of all good things, which thou filledst not, and wells digged, which thou diggedst not, vineyards and olive trees, which thou plantedst not; when thou shalt have eaten and be full;
  • 2 Chronicles 2:18 And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people a work.
  • Proverbs 9:1 Wisdom hath builded her house, she hath hewn out her seven pillars:

“hold” Hebrew H3557 · used in 36 verses

  • Genesis 45:11 And there will I nourish thee; for yet there are five years of famine; lest thou, and thy household, and all that thou hast, come to poverty.
  • 1 Kings 8:27 But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded?
  • Psalms 55:22 Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

“broken” Hebrew H7665 · used in 145 verses

  • Genesis 19:9 And they said, Stand back. And they said again, This one fellow came in to sojourn, and he will needs be a judge: now will we deal worse with thee, than with them. And they pressed sore upon the man, even Lot, and came near to break the door.
  • Psalms 34:20 He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken.
  • Jeremiah 30:8 For it shall come to pass in that day, saith the LORD of hosts, that I will break his yoke from off thy neck, and will burst thy bonds, and strangers shall no more serve themselves of him: