Jeremiah 2:37 · Bible study
Jeremiah 2:37 Commentary: Hands on Head
Hebrew · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Why does Jeremiah 2:37 picture Israel leaving Egypt with hands on their heads?
Research Summary
- Meaning: Judah will leave Egypt in shame, hands on head, because God has rejected the human alliances they trusted, ensuring they will not succeed through them.
- Key words: “You will go out” (Qal imperfect), “hands” (dual, a pair), “on your head” (posture of mourning), “he has rejected” (Qal perfect, decisive act), “objects of confidence” (plural construct, many human securities), “you will prosper” (Hiphil imperfect, causative, but used intransitively to mean success is denied).
- Main debate: Whether “from this” refers to Egypt (most commentators) or from the land of Judah into exile (some). Both readings convey shame and failure.
- Theological theme: Misplaced trust in human power, especially political alliances, displaces trust in God and invites his judgment and public humiliation.
- Best use: A sermon or lesson on the folly of trusting anything or anyone above God; a warning against relying on worldly systems for security that only God can provide.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
Moreover, you will leave that place with your hands on your head, for the LORD has rejected those you trust; you will not prosper by their help.”
WEB World English Bible 2000
You will also leave that place with your hands on your head; for Yahweh has rejected those in whom you trust, and you won’t prosper with them.
KJV King James Version 1769
Yea, thou shalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head: for the Lord hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not prosper in them.
ASV American Standard Version 1901
From thence also shalt thou go forth, with thy hands upon thy head: for Jehovah hath rejected those in whom thou trustest, and thou shalt not prosper with them.
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
Also from this thou goest out, And thy hands on thy head, For Jehovah hath kicked at thy confidences, And thou dost not give prosperity to them!
Darby Darby Bible 1890
Thou shalt indeed go forth from her with thy hands upon thy head; for Jehovah hath rejected those thou confidest in, and thou shalt not prosper by them.
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
For from thence thou shalt go, and thy hand shall be upon thy head: for the Lord hath destroyed thy trust, and thou shalt have nothing prosperous therein.
Translations in other languages (10 available)
También saldrás de él con tus manos sobre tu cabeza: porque Jehová deshechó tus confianzas, y en ellas no tendrás buen suceso.
Também sairás daqui com as mãos sobre tua cabeça; porque o SENHOR rejeitou tuas confianças, e nelas não terás sucesso.
De là aussi tu sortiras, les mains sur la tête;
Denn du mußt von dort auch wegziehen und deine Hände über dem Haupt zusammenschlagen; denn der Herr wird deine Hoffnung trügen lassen, und nichts wird dir bei ihnen gelingen.
Gij zult ook van hier uitgaan met uw handen op uw hoofd; want de HEERE heeft al uw vertrouwen verworpen, zodat gij daarmede niet zult gedijen.
Anche di là uscirai con le mani sul capo; perché l’Eterno rigetta quelli ne’ quali tu confidi, e tu non riuscirai nel tuo intento per loro mezzo.
I stamtąd wyjdziesz, mając ręce swe nad głową swą: bo Pan odrzuca ufności twoje, a nie poszczęścić się w nich.
и от него ты выйдешь, положив руки на голову, потому что отверг Господь надежды твои, и не будешь иметь с ними успеха.
你也必 兩手 抱 頭 從埃及出來；因為 耶和華 已經棄絕 你所倚靠的，你必不 因他們 得順利。
Truly, you will go out from him with your hands on your head: for the Lord has given up those in whom you have put your faith, and they will be of no help to you.
Verse in Context
Original Language (Biblical Hebrew)
Old Testament · Biblical Hebrew · Jeremiah 2:37
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
Commentators across traditions agree that this verse completes Jeremiah’s warning against trusting Egypt. The gesture of hands on the head, as noted by Adam Clarke and supported by the parallel in 2 Samuel 13:19 (Tamar), is a universally recognized sign of deep grief and shame. Barnes and the Cambridge Bible explain that Judah will ‘retrace thy steps’ from Egypt ‘disgraced and discarded.’ The Hebrew verbs are telling: God ‘has rejected’ (Qal perfect, a decisive action) their ‘objects of confidence’ (מִבְטַחַיִך, mivtachayikh, a plural noun emphasizing the many human securities they relied on). The result is that they will ‘not prosper’ (תַצְלִיחִי, Hiphil imperfect, implying all hope of success is cut off) ‘in them’, that is, in those very alliances. Calvin adds that the Jews could not imagine Egypt failing them, but the prophet declares their mistake. The consensus is clear: misplaced trust brings public shame.
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Low
What is clear: The verse unambiguously announces that trusting in foreign alliances will result in public shame and failure, because only God can be the true source of security.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| The meaning of the gesture (hands on head) | All commentators agree it signifies mourning, grief, and humiliation, supported by 2 Samuel 13:19 (Tamar). | Some emphasize deep sorrow (Clarke, Gill) while others highlight disgrace and disappointment (Barnes, Cambridge). The nuance is complementary rather than conflicting. |
| The identity of 'from this' (me'et zeh) | The phrase refers to a place or person from which Judah departs in shame. | Most (e.g., Keil, Barnes) identify it as Egypt, reading 'from him' as from the Egyptian king. Others (Gataker, Gill) understand it as 'from this place', the land, into exile. Calvin mentions multiple readings without firmly choosing. |
| The nature of 'confidences' (mivtachayikh) | The word is plural, referring to multiple objects of trust, primarily Egypt and Assyria. | Some include other alliances or false gods as the confidences (Gill), while others limit it to political treaties (Keil, Barnes). The difference is scope, not substance. |
| The outcome 'you will not prosper' | All interpret this as failure; their plans will not succeed. | The Hebrew Hiphil form can be causative ('give prosperity'), but the meaning is the same: they will not achieve their goals or find security. The focus is on the futility of trusting human allies. |
Historical & Cultural Context
This verse stands at the end of Jeremiah’s opening indictment (chapter 2), which describes Judah’s unfaithfulness in terms of broken political alliances. Following the collapse of Assyria, Judah sought security from Egypt, a neighbor they thought nearby and strong. But Jeremiah had already warned in verse 36: ‘You will be ashamed of Egypt also, as you were ashamed of Assyria.’
The hand-on-head gesture was a known cultural expression of mourning and helplessness; 2 Samuel 13:19 shows Tamar using it after her devastation. The debate among commentators about the referent of ‘from this’ (Egypt or the land) does not change the core picture: Judah will leave their hoped-for refuge in disgrace. Keil and Delitzsch argue for Egypt, citing the parallel ‘also from this’ and the consistent identification of Egypt as the object of trust throughout the passage. John Gill suggests ‘from this place’, the land itself, into exile. Either way, the outcome is rejection by God of their political confidences.
Lange’s commentary situates this discourse early in Jeremiah’s ministry, possibly later updated with allusions to the flight to Egypt. The historical tragedy is that Judah’s diplomatic efforts, rational, even understandable, were guilty of replacing trust in Yahweh with trust in human power. The result was not security but humiliation, signified by the posture of a mourner.
Textual Notes
The supplied commentary sources note no significant textual variants for this verse. The main text is stable across manuscripts. The KJV’s “thou shalt not prosper in them” matches the Hebrew לֹא תַצְלִיחִי לָהֶם ('you will not prosper with/regarding them'). No variant is mentioned by any of the consulted commentators.
Reception History
Jeremiah 2:37 has been used throughout church history to warn against political alliances that replace reliance on God. John Calvin devoted a sermon to this passage, arguing that even rational security can be wicked if it is sought apart from God. Puritan commentators like Matthew Henry applied the verse to any human confidence, personal or national, that displaces trust in God. More recently, the verse has been cited in discussions of nationalism and the church’s relationship to state power. The gesture of hands on the head has been seen as a universal sign of human grief when our hopes fail, fitting the pastoral context of lament.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The destination of misplaced trust (vv.36-37a), Israel runs to Egypt, the wrong refuge.
- The posture of public shame (v.37a), Hands on head, the physical confession of failure.
- The verdict of right judgment (v.37b), God rejects every confidence that displaces him.
Five-point outline
- From Assyria to Egypt, a cycle of trusting the wrong powers.
- The exposed lie, “I am innocent” (v.35) shattered by this vivid prophecy.
- The gesture of grief, hands on head as a prophetic object lesson.
- The object of trust, “your confidences” (plural), more than one idol.
- The final word, “you will not prosper” because God’s rejection stands.
Illustration hooks
- A person putting all their savings into a business that the partner runs into the ground. The initial confidence turns to the posture of a mourner when the deal collapses.
- The student who cheats on an exam, trusting his own cleverness, and is caught, the embarrassment is physical, like hiding his face.
- A nation that signs treaties with stronger allies only to be abandoned at the critical moment (e.g., historical parallels like Czechoslovakia in 1938).
Questions your congregation is asking
- How do I know when my planning for the future has become trust in human resources rather than trust in God?
- What does it look like when God rejects our confidences? Does he always make our plans fail?
- Can this verse speak to corporate sin (a nation, a church) as well as personal sin?
Leading a Discussion
Jeremiah 2:37 is the climax of a chapter exposing Judah’s betrayal of God through political alliances. It uses a vivid gesture, hands on the head, to make the shame of failure tangible. This passage invites groups to examine where they place ultimate trust.
Discussion questions
- Read Jeremiah 2:36-37. What had Judah trusted in the past (Assyria), and what were they trusting now (Egypt)? Why did it keep failing?
- The verse says “the Lord has rejected those in whom you trust.” In what ways might God “reject” a person’s confidence today, removing the props we lean on?
- Why does the prophet use the physical gesture of hands on the head? What does embodied grief teach us that words alone cannot?
- How does this passage challenge common assumptions about political power and international relations? Can nations trust in God without naivety?
- Verse 35 records Israel saying “I am innocent.” How does misplaced trust often begin with self-deception?
- What objects of confidence (jobs, relationships, status) might we hold that need to be surrendered to God? How would we know if they have become idols?
- In the light of this judgment, what does true repentance look like for a person or a community?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Numbers 14:41 | Moses said, “Why now do you disobey the commandment of Yahweh, since it shall not prosper? |
| II Samuel 13:19 | Tamar put ashes on her head, and tore her garment of various colors that was on her; and she laid her hand on her head and went her way, crying aloud as she went. |
| II Chronicles 13:12 | Behold, God is with us at our head, and his priests with the trumpets of alarm to sound an alarm against you. Children of Israel, don’t fight against Yahweh, the God of your fathers; for you will not prosper.” |
| Isaiah 10:4 | They will only bow down under the prisoners, and will fall under the slain. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. |
| Jeremiah 2:36 | Why do you go about so much to change your ways? You will be ashamed of Egypt also, as you were ashamed of Assyria. |
| Jeremiah 17:5 | Yahweh says: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man, relies on strength of flesh, and whose heart departs from Yahweh. |
| Jeremiah 32:5 | and he will bring Zedekiah to Babylon, and he will be there until I visit him,” says Yahweh, “though you fight with the Chaldeans, you will not prosper”’?” |
| Jeremiah 37:7 | “Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, ‘You shall tell the king of Judah, who sent you to me to inquire of me: “Behold, Pharaoh’s army, which has come out to help you, will return to Egypt into their own land. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
11 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke identifies the gesture of hands on the head as a specific sign of deep sorrow from complete ruin, referencing Tamar’s disgrace. He insists that the promise “you will not prosper in them” was literally fulfilled in Israel’s history, showing how sin against God ends in bitter disappointment and total loss.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes notes the text switches from Egypt as a feminine land to a masculine people, marking the nation as an active but unreliable ally. He places the scene in Nineveh's final crisis, when trusting Egypt for help leads only to a humiliated retreat with hands on the head in shame.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin highlights the bitter irony that the Jews thought their safety lay in a treaty with nearby Egypt, but this very trust was the wickedness that would bring them down. What seemed like a short and secure alliance was actually the path to exile and shame.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The commentator identifies "thy confidences" as the specific foreign nations Egypt and Assyria, in whom Israel had mistakenly placed its trust. These allies will fail, and Israel will return in disgrace, with hands on the head as a sign of frustrated hope and public shame.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The note interprets the gesture of hands on the head as a sign of public shame and failure. It explains that this disgrace comes because God has rejected the person's confidence or source of trust. Any hope of success through that trust will be denied.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill interprets the phrase as describing the shame of leaving behind false hopes. The gesture of hands on the head signals deep distress, like Tamar after her abuse. God rejected their confidences, such as Egypt, because they trusted in human help instead of in Him, and they would not succeed but go into captivity.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
jfb identifies "him" as Egypt and interprets the gesture of laying hands on the head as an expression of mourning. He further explains that "in them" refers to the very supports in which the person places trust, making the point that these are the objects of misplaced confidence.
Keil & Delitzsch OT Commentary Protestant 1876
Keil-Delitzsch maintains that the singular "this" refers to Egypt as a people, not as a land, which removes a textual objection. They argue that the same judgment God brought on Assyria will also overthrow Egypt, making all human confidence in either power a source of shame and grief.
Lange's Commentary Reformed 1857
Lange argues forcefully that the kindness and love remembered in this passage belong to Israel, not God. He points out that the Hebrew construction implies Israel performed a service worthy of being credited to them, and the phrase "wentest after me" describes obedient following. This brief period of Israel's reciprocal love, though fleeting, established an everlasting covenant with enduring significance.
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry stresses the absurdity of Israel pleading innocence with God when their guilt is obvious and universal. He sees their argument as pointless self-deception: every one of them has transgressed, so they have no case to make, only repentance to offer.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley stresses that all the help you can gather will not prevent captivity; you will go from this place. He then notes that the mention of hands points to a common posture of mourning, underscoring the utter hopelessness of the situation.