Charles Spurgeon Commentary Jeremiah 2:35

"Yet thou saidst, I am innocent; surely his anger is turned away from me. Behold, I will enter into judgment with thee, because thou sayest, I have not sinned." — Jeremiah 2:35 (ASV)

Behold, I will plead with you, because you say, I have not sinned.

That is the great perversion at the heart of the conflict between God and humanity. Many a person still says, "I have not sinned," although God's law condemns them, and the very office of the Savior proves that the guilty one needed to be saved by One who was almighty. Self-righteousness is something God utterly abhors.

Yet thou sayest, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me.

The most guilty people are often the most self-righteous. The sinful nation, which ought to have pleaded guilty, here says, Because I am innocent, surely his anger shall turn from me.