Bible Strands
Jeremiah 2:28
But where are the gods you made for yourselves? Let them rise up in your time of trouble and save you if they can; for your gods are as numerous as your cities, O Judah.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — God speaks through Jeremiah to Judah, confronting their idolatry immediately after describing their hypocritical pleas for deliverance in times of distress.
The words — The phrase אֱלֹהֶ֙י/ךָ֙ ('e.lo.Hei./kha) and עָשִׂ֣יתָ ('a.Si.ta) literally identify the "gods you made," while יָק֕וּמוּ (ya.Ku.mu) and יוֹשִׁיע֖וּ/ךָ (yo.shi.'U./kha) issue the ironic command for them to "arise" and "save you."
The thread — This challenge echoes Deuteronomy 32:37, Judges 10:14, and Jeremiah 11:13, which all track the pattern of Israel turning to self-made deities for rescue.
Why it lands — The text demands a direct assessment of whether self-invented gods can actually intervene in crisis, leaving the reader to confront the futility of substituting divine authority with human craftsmanship.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
But where are thy gods that thou hast made thee? let them arise, if they can save thee in the time of thy trouble: for according to the number of thy cities are thy gods, O Judah.
Cross-references
- Deuteronomy 32:37 He will say: “Where are their gods, the rock in which they took refuge,
- Jeremiah 11:13 Your gods are indeed as numerous as your cities, O Judah; the altars of shame you have set up—the altars to burn incense to Baal—are as many as the streets of Jerusalem.’
- Judges 10:14 Go and cry out to the gods you have chosen. Let them save you in your time of trouble.”
- Isaiah 45:20 Come, gather together, and draw near, you fugitives from the nations. Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood and pray to a god that cannot save.
- 2 Kings 17:30 The men of Babylon made Succoth-benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima,
- Isaiah 46:7 They lift it to their shoulder and carry it along; they set it in its place, and there it stands, not budging from that spot. They cry out to it, but it does not answer; it saves no one from his troubles.
- 2 Kings 3:13 Elisha, however, said to the king of Israel, “What have we to do with each other? Go to the prophets of your father and of your mother!” “No,” replied the king of Israel, “for it is the LORD who has summoned these three kings to deliver them into the hand of Moab.”
- Isaiah 46:2 The gods cower; they crouch together, unable to relieve the burden; but they themselves go into captivity.
- Hosea 10:1 Israel was a luxuriant vine, yielding fruit for himself. The more his fruit increased, the more he increased the altars. The better his land produced, the better he made the sacred pillars.