Bible Strands
Jeremiah 2:3
Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of His harvest. All who devoured her were found guilty; disaster came upon them,’” declares the LORD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks to Jerusalem and the house of Jacob, recalling Israel's initial devotion in the wilderness before pronouncing judgment on those who harmed the nation.
The words — קֹ֤דֶשׁ (Ko.desh) denotes a holy or set-apart thing, and רֵאשִׁ֖ית תְּבוּאָת֑וֹ (re.Shit te.vu.'a.T/o) literally means the beginning of his produce, establishing Israel's initial consecration to God.
The thread — The firstfruits motif appears in Exodus 4:22 where Israel is called God's firstborn son, and in James 1:18 where believers are described as a kind of firstfruits of His creation.
Why it lands — The text declares that Israel's original consecration obligates God to protect her and guarantees guilt and disaster for any aggressor, demanding that the reader recognize the serious consequences of violating what God has set apart.
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
Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits of his increase: all that devour him shall offend; evil shall come upon them, saith the Lord.
Cross-references
- James 1:18 He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we would be a kind of firstfruits of His creation.
- Revelation 14:4 These are the ones who have not been defiled with women, for they are virgins. They follow the Lamb wherever He goes. They have been redeemed from among men as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.
- Exodus 4:22 Then tell Pharaoh that this is what the LORD says: ‘Israel is My firstborn son,
- Deuteronomy 7:6 For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all peoples on the face of the earth.
- Isaiah 41:11 Behold, all who rage against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will be reduced to nothing and will perish.
- Romans 11:16 If the first part of the dough is holy, so is the whole batch; if the root is holy, so are the branches.
- Exodus 19:5 Now if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, you will be My treasured possession out of all the nations—for the whole earth is Mine.
- Deuteronomy 14:2 for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD has chosen you to be a people for His prized possession out of all the peoples on the face of the earth.
- Jeremiah 50:7 All who found them devoured them, and their enemies said, ‘We are not guilty, for they have sinned against the LORD, their true pasture, the LORD, the hope of their fathers.’
- Zechariah 2:8 For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “After His Glory has sent Me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye—