Jeremiah 2:18

18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the troubled water? And what hast thou to do with the way of the Assyrians, to drink the water of the river?

Jeremiah 2:18 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 2:18

And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt
By worshipping of idols, in imitation of them; or by sending ambassadors thither for help, when they had their Lord, their God, so nigh, had they not forsaken him; nor had Josiah any business to go out against Pharaohnecho, ( 2 Chronicles 35:21 ) and, contrary to the express word of God by the Prophet Jeremy, did the Jews which remained in Judea go into Egypt, ( Jeremiah 42:19 ) ( 43:1-7 ) . To drink the waters of Sihor?
which is the river Nile, as Jarchi interprets it. The Septuagint and Arabic versions render it "the waters of Geon", or "Gihon": and this also is the same with the Nile, as Josephus ^F11 affirms, who says,

``Geon, which runs through Egypt, is the same which the Greeks call Nile.''

So Jerom ^F12 from Eusebius,

``Geon is a river, which with the Egyptians is called Nile.''

The Vulgate Latin version renders it, "troubled water"; and such were the waters of the Nile, which had its name of Sihor from the blackness of it; and hence, by the Greeks ^F13, was called Melas; and by the Latines ^F14, Melo. Hence, as Braunius ^F15 observes, it was represented by a black stone, as other rivers by a white one; for which reason the black colour was very grateful to the Egyptians; and for the same reason Osiris, which is the very Nile itself, was reckoned black; and the ox Apis they worshipped was a black one, at least part of it, and was covered with black linen cloth; and its priests were also clothed in black, hence called Chemarim, ( Hosea 10:5 ) ( Zephaniah 1:4 ) . Or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria;
to go after their idolatrous practices, or to send to them for help; for this was the usual method of the Jews; when the Assyrians oppressed them, then they sent to Egypt for help; and when the Egyptians were upon them, then they applied to the Assyrians; and in both cases acted wrong, for they ought to have sought the Lord their God only: to drink the waters of the river?
of the river Euphrates. The sense is, that they preferred the waters of the Nile and of Euphrates, or the gods of the Egyptians and Assyrians, or the help of these people, before the Lord, the fountain of living waters, and his worship and powerful help. The Targum paraphrases this last clause thus,

``why do ye make covenant with the Assyrian, to carry you captive beyond the river Euphrates?''

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FOOTNOTES:

F11 Antiqu. l. 1. c. 1. sect. 3.
F12 De locis Hebraicis, fol. 91. H.
F13 Eustathius in Dionys. (perihg)
F14 Servius in Virgil. Georg. l. 4. p. 343. & in Aeneid. l. 1. p. 541.
F15 Selecta Sacr. l. 4. c. 9. p. 492, & l. 5. Exercit. 4. sect. 8. p. 700, 701.

Jeremiah 2:18 In-Context

16 The children also of Memphis, and of Taphnes have defloured thee, even to the crown of the head.

17 Hath not this been done to thee, because thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God at that time, when he led thee by the way?

18 And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the troubled water? And what hast thou to do with the way of the Assyrians, to drink the water of the river?

19 Thy own wickedness shall reprove thee, and thy apostasy shall rebuke thee. Know thou, and see that it is an evil and a bitter thing for thee, to have left the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not with thee, saith the Lord the God of hosts.

20 Of old time thou hast broken my yoke, thou hast burst my bands, and thou saidst: I will not serve. For on every high hill, and under every green tree thou didst prostitute thyself.