Jer 2:20 | NETfull | STEP | “Indeed, long ago you threw off my authority and refused to be subject to me. You said, ‘I will not serve you.’ Instead, you gave yourself to other gods on every high hill and under every green tree, like a prostitute sprawls out before her lovers.

Jeremiah 2:20

The Lord Expresses His Exasperation at Judah’s Persistent Idolatry

20 “Indeed, ^{▼▼ Or “For.” The Hebrew particle (כִּי, ki) here introduces the evidence that they had no respect for him.} long ago you threw off my authority
and refused to be subject to me. ^{▼▼ Heb “you broke your yoke…tore off your yoke ropes.” The metaphor is that of a recalcitrant ox or heifer which has broken free from its master.}
You said, ‘I will not serve you.’ ^{▼▼ The MT of this verse has two examples of the old second feminine singular perfect, שָׁבַרְתִּי (shavarti) and נִתַּקְתִּי (nittaqti), which the Masoretes mistook for first singulars leading to the proposal to read אֶעֱבוֹר (’e’evor, “I will not transgress”) for אֶעֱבֹד (’e’evod, “I will not serve”). The latter understanding of the forms is accepted in KJV but rejected by almost all modern English versions as being less appropriate to the context than the reading accepted in the translation given here.}
Instead, you gave yourself to other gods on every high hill
and under every green tree,
like a prostitute sprawls out before her lovers. ^{▼▼ Heb “you sprawled as a prostitute on….” The translation reflects the meaning of the metaphor.}