And I brought you into a plentiful country, to eat the fruit thereof and the goodness thereof; but when ye entered, ye defiled my land, and made mine heritage an abomination.

JEREMIAH 2:7KJV
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Jeremiah 2:7 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 2:7 mean?

Jeremiah 2:7 describes how God brought the people of Israel into a rich and fruitful land so they could enjoy its abundance, but after arriving, they corrupted the land and turned God’s gift into something detestable. The verse highlights a contrast between God’s generous provision and the people’s unfaithful response.

In this verse, God is speaking through the prophet Jeremiah to the people of Judah, reminding them of their history. God emphasizes that He gave them a good land, but instead of honoring it, they polluted it with their actions. The verse sets up a theme of ingratitude and broken relationship, which runs throughout Jeremiah’s early chapters.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 2:7

  • "Plentiful" (כַּרְמֶל, karmel) means a fertile or fruitful place, not just any land, but one known for its richness and ability to provide. This word shows that God’s gift was especially generous.
  • "Defiled" (טָמֵא, tame) means to make something ritually or morally unclean. The people’s actions didn’t just harm the land physically—they made it spiritually polluted in God’s eyes.
  • "Heritage" (נַחֲלָה, nachalah) refers to an inheritance or something passed down. God is calling the land His own special possession, which He shared with the people, making their betrayal more personal.
  • "Abomination" (תּוֹעֵבָה, to’evah) is a strong word for something detestable or repulsive, especially in a moral or spiritual sense. This shows the seriousness of how the people’s behavior affected God’s view of His land.

Why Jeremiah 2:7 matters

  • Jeremiah 2:7 clarifies that the land was not just a place to live, but a special inheritance from God, making the people’s actions a personal offense against Him.
  • The verse highlights the seriousness of spiritual and moral pollution, not just physical damage, showing that faithfulness to God affects every part of life.
  • This verse connects to the larger message in Jeremiah, where God calls out the people’s unfaithfulness and warns of the consequences, setting the stage for the prophet’s call to repentance.

Where else these words appear

“plentiful” Hebrew H3759 · used in 11 verses

  • Leviticus 2:14 And if thou offer a meat offering of thy firstfruits unto the LORD, thou shalt offer for the meat offering of thy firstfruits green ears of corn dried by the fire, even corn beaten out of full ears.
  • Isaiah 10:18 And shall consume the glory of his forest, and of his fruitful field, both soul and body: and they shall be as when a standardbearer fainteth.
  • Isaiah 32:15 Until the spirit be poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness be a fruitful field, and the fruitful field be counted for a forest.

“goodness” Hebrew H2898 · used in 31 verses

  • Genesis 24:10 And the servant took ten camels of the camels of his master, and departed; for all the goods of his master were in his hand: and he arose, and went to Mesopotamia, unto the city of Nahor.
  • Nehemiah 9:35 For they have not served thee in their kingdom, and in thy great goodness that thou gavest them, and in the large and fat land which thou gavest before them, neither turned they from their wicked works.
  • Psalms 145:7 They shall abundantly utter the memory of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness.

“fruit” Hebrew H6529 · used in 107 verses

  • Genesis 1:11 And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.
  • Nehemiah 10:35 And to bring the firstfruits of our ground, and the firstfruits of all fruit of all trees, year by year, unto the house of the LORD:
  • Isaiah 37:30 And this shall be a sign unto thee, Ye shall eat this year such as groweth of itself; and the second year that which springeth of the same: and in the third year sow ye, and reap, and plant vineyards, and eat the fruit thereof.

“abomination” Hebrew H8441 · used in 112 verses

  • Genesis 43:32 And they set on for him by himself, and for them by themselves, and for the Egyptians, which did eat with him, by themselves: because the Egyptians might not eat bread with the Hebrews; for that is an abomination unto the Egyptians.
  • Ezra 9:14 Should we again break thy commandments, and join in affinity with the people of these abominations? wouldest not thou be angry with us till thou hadst consumed us, so that there should be no remnant nor escaping?
  • Ezekiel 7:4 And mine eye shall not spare thee, neither will I have pity: but I will recompense thy ways upon thee, and thine abominations shall be in the midst of thee: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.