Jeremiah 2:23

“How can you say, ‘I have not made myself unclean. I have not paid allegiance to ¹  the gods called Baal.’ Just look at the way you have behaved in the Valley of Hinnom! ²  Think about the things you have done there! You are like a flighty, young female camel that rushes here and there, crisscrossing its path. ³ 

Ge 3:12,13; 1Sa 15:13,14; Es 8:16; Ps 36:2; Ps 50:21; Pr 28:13; Pr 30:12,20; Isa 57:5,6; Jer 2:34,35; Jer 3:2; Jer 7:31; Eze 16:1-63; Eze 23:1-49; Lu 10:29; Ro 3:19; 1Jo 1:8-10; Re 3:17,18

¹ tn Heb “I have not gone/followed after.” See the translator’s note on 2:5 for the meaning and usage of this idiom.

² tn Heb “Look at your way in the valley.” The valley is an obvious reference to the Valley of Hinnom where Baal and Molech were worshiped and child sacrifice was practiced.

³ sn The metaphor is intended to depict Israel’s lack of clear direction and purpose without the Lord’s control.