Jeremiah 14:3
1 This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought:
2 “Judah mourns and her gates languish. Her people wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.
4 The ground is cracked because no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.
5 Even the doe in the field deserts her newborn fawn because there is no grass.
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.
- KJV
- And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads.
- WEB
- Their nobles send their little ones to the waters. They come to the cisterns, and find no water. They return with their vessels empty. They are disappointed and confounded, and cover their heads.
- ASV
- And their nobles send their little ones to the waters: they come to the cisterns, and find no water; they return with their vessels empty; they are put to shame and confounded, and cover their heads.
- DARBY
- And their nobles send their little ones for water: they come to the pits, they find no water; they return with their vessels empty; they are ashamed, they are confounded, and have covered their heads.
- BLB
- And their nobles have sent their young for water; they went to the cisterns, they did not find water. They returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and humiliated, and they covered their heads.
- ÅB
- De fornemme blant dem sender sine tjenere etter vann; de kommer til brønnene, men finner intet vann; deres kar vender tomme tilbake; de blir skuffet og nedslått og tilhyller sitt hode.
- OTB
- De fornemme sender sine tjenere etter vann; de går til brønnene, men finner ikke vann. De kommer tilbake med sine kar tomme, til skamme og ydmyket, de dekker sine hoder.
- B1930
- De fornemme blandt dem sender sine tjenere efter vann; de kommer til brønnene, men finner intet vann; deres kar vender tomme tilbake; de blir skuffet og nedslått og tilhyller sitt hode.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
2 Samuel 15:30
But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went up. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. And all the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they went.
Read in contextPsalms 40:14
May those who seek my life be ashamed and confounded; may those who wish me harm be repelled and humiliated.
Read in context2 Kings 18:31
Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree, and drink water from his own cistern,
Read in contextJeremiah 2:13
“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns— broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
Read in contextAmos 4:8
People staggered from city to city for water to drink, but they were not satisfied; yet you did not return to Me,” declares the LORD.
Read in contextJeremiah 14:4
The ground is cracked because no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.
Read in contextEsther 6:12
Then Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief.
Read in contextJeremiah 2:26–27
As the thief is ashamed when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced. They, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets
Read in context