Jeremiah 2:13"For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the spring of living waters, and cut them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
The setting
Ancient Judah, ~627 BC. Jeremiah uses the most devastating metaphor possible — people abandoning a fresh spring to drink from cracked pots that hold nothing.
The emotion here: weeping prophet watching his people choose destruction
The original word
māyim ḥayyîm (מַיִם חַיִּים) — living water, fresh flowing spring water, not stagnant
Why it matters
Cisterns were carved limestone containers that often cracked, making water storage unreliable
Read with care
What most readers miss in Jeremiah 2:13
The 'two evils' aren't equal — forsaking God AND choosing broken substitutes compounds the tragedy
Common misconceptionPeople think this is about obvious sins like idolatry, but broken cisterns include good things we've made ultimate — career, family, even ministry that replaces intimacy with God.
The thread continues
Verses that echo Jeremiah 2:13
Bible Genome reading
Jeremiah 2:13 — Bible Genome reading
Emotional genome
Jeremiah 2:13 comes from the book of Jeremiah, written during the Divided Kingdom period. These words are attributed to Yahweh. The dominant emotion in this verse is grieving, with a comfort power of 20% and a tone that is lamenting. It belongs to the poetry genre of biblical literature. Key themes include abandonment, futility. Notable phrases: spring of living waters; broken cisterns.
Emotionally similar
Verses that meet the same grieving
“By the sweat of your face will you eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For you are dust, and to dust you…”
— Genesis 3:19
“Jesus wept.”
— John 11:35
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?”
— Psalms 22:1
“They divide my garments among them. They cast lots for my clothing.”
— Psalms 22:18
“for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God;”
— Romans 3:23
Your reflection
What does Jeremiah 2:13 mean to you, today?
A short note. A question. A prayer. Saved privately to your Soul Garden, dated, and tied to this verse forever.
Speak your heart →Get 3 verses for "grieving"
Delivered to your inbox right now. Free.