Neither said they, Where is the LORD that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man passed through, and where no man dwelt?

JEREMIAH 2:6KJV
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Jeremiah 2:6 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 2:6 mean?

Jeremiah 2:6 describes how the people of Israel failed to ask where God was, even though He had rescued them from Egypt and led them safely through dangerous, empty wilderness lands. The verse highlights their lack of gratitude and forgetfulness about God's past help and guidance.

In this verse, the prophet Jeremiah is speaking God's message to the people of Judah. He reminds them of their ancestors' journey out of Egypt, through harsh deserts and lifeless places where no one lived, yet God protected and guided them. The verse points out that the people no longer seek or remember the LORD (יהוה, Yahweh) who did these things for them, showing a deep spiritual neglect.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 2:6

  • LORD (יהוה, Yahweh): This is the personal name for God used throughout the Old Testament, emphasizing a close, covenant relationship. The verse stresses that it was specifically Yahweh who acted for Israel, not just any god.
  • wilderness (מִדְבָּר, midbar): This word refers to a wild, uninhabited place. Mentioning the wilderness underlines how God led the people through places where survival was impossible without His help.
  • deserts (עֲרָבוֹת, aravot) and pits (שׁוּחָה, shuchot): These words paint a picture of danger and barrenness, showing that God’s guidance was through the most threatening and empty environments.
  • death (צַלְמָוֶת, tsalmavet): Often translated as "shadow of death," this word suggests deep darkness or mortal danger, highlighting the seriousness of the threats God protected them from.

Why Jeremiah 2:6 matters

  • This verse clears up the misunderstanding that Israel’s journey was merely a historical event; it emphasizes that God’s care was personal and miraculous, and the people’s current indifference is a serious issue.
  • Jeremiah 2:6 connects the people’s present spiritual condition to their forgetfulness of God’s past actions, showing that neglecting God’s faithfulness leads to spiritual decline.
  • The verse sets the stage for the wider passage, where Jeremiah accuses the people of abandoning their relationship with God, making their lack of inquiry about Him a key sign of their spiritual problem.

Where else these words appear

“pits” Hebrew H7745 · used in 5 verses

  • Proverbs 22:14 The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein.
  • Proverbs 23:27 For a whore is a deep ditch; and a strange woman is a narrow pit.
  • Jeremiah 18:20 Shall evil be recompensed for good? for they have digged a pit for my soul. Remember that I stood before thee to speak good for them, and to turn away thy wrath from them.

“drought” Hebrew H6723 · used in 16 verses

  • Job 24:19 Drought and heat consume the snow waters: so doth the grave those which have sinned.
  • Psalms 107:35 He turneth the wilderness into a standing water, and dry ground into watersprings.
  • Jeremiah 51:43 Her cities are a desolation, a dry land, and a wilderness, a land wherein no man dwelleth, neither doth any son of man pass thereby.

“death” Hebrew H6757 · used in 17 verses

  • Job 3:5 Let darkness and the shadow of death stain it; let a cloud dwell upon it; let the blackness of the day terrify it.
  • Job 24:17 For the morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death.
  • Psalms 44:19 Though thou hast sore broken us in the place of dragons, and covered us with the shadow of death.

“deserts” Hebrew H6160 · used in 57 verses

  • Numbers 22:1 And the children of Israel set forward, and pitched in the plains of Moab on this side Jordan by Jericho.
  • Joshua 4:13 About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.
  • Job 39:6 Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings.