Jer 2:31 | NET2full | STEP | You people of this generation , listen to the Lord ’s message : “Have I been like a wilderness to you, Israel ? Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to you? Why then do you say , ‘We are free to wander . We will not come to you anymore ?’

‏ Jeremiah 2:31

31 You people of this generation,
listen to the Lord’s message:
“Have I been like a wilderness to you, Israel?
Have I been like a dark and dangerous land to you? ^{▼▼tn Heb “a land of the darkness of Yah [= thick or deep darkness].” The idea of danger is an added connotation in this context.}
Why then do you ^{▼▼tn Heb “my people.”} say, ‘We are free to wander. ^{▼▼tn Or more freely, “free to do as we please.” The meaning of this verb (רוּד, rud) is debated in the few passages where it occurs. The key to its meaning may rest in the emended text (reading וְרַדְתִּי [veradti] for וְיָרַדְתִּי [veyaradti]) in Judg 11:37, where it refers to the roaming of Jephthah’s daughter on the mountains of Israel.}
We will not come to you anymore?’