Amplified Bible
Jeremiah 14:18
18If I go out into the field, Then I gaze on those slaughtered with the sword! And if I enter the city, Then I gaze on [those tormented with] the diseases of famine! For both prophet and priest [who should have guided the people] Go about [bewildered and exiled] in a land (Babylon) that they do not know or understand.’ ”
Jeremiah 14:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not.
- New International Version (NIV)If I go into the country, I see those slain by the sword; if I go into the city, I see the ravages of famine. Both prophet and priest have gone to a land they know not.’ ”
- English Standard Version (ESV)If I go out into the field, behold, those pierced by the sword! And if I enter the city, behold, the diseases of famine! For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land and have no knowledge.'"
- New King James Version (NKJV)If I go out to the field, Then behold, those slain with the sword! And if I enter the city, Then behold, those sick from famine! Yes, both prophet and priest go about in a land they do not know.’ ”
Context of Jeremiah 14:18
16And the people to whom they are prophesying will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem, victims of famine and sword; and they will have no one to bury them—neither them, nor their wives, nor their sons, nor their daughters. For I will pour out their [own] wickedness on them [and not only on the imposters posing as prophets, for the people could not have been deceived without their own consent]. 17Therefore [Jeremiah] you will say this word to them, ‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day, And let them never cease; For the virgin daughter of my people has been crushed with a great blow, With a very serious and severely infected wound. If I go out into the field, Then I gaze on those slaughtered with the sword! And if I enter the city, Then I gaze on [those tormented with] the diseases of famine! For both prophet and priest [who should have guided the people] Go about [bewildered and exiled] in a land (Babylon) that they do not know or understand.’ ” 19Have You [O Lord] completely rejected Judah? Do You loathe Zion? Why have You stricken us so that there is no healing for us? We looked for peace and completeness, but nothing good came; And [we hoped] for a time of healing, but behold, terror! 20We know and acknowledge, O Lord, Our wickedness and the iniquity of our fathers; for we have sinned against You.
Read all of Jeremiah 14Jeremiah 14:18 word by word
אִם־יָצָ֣אתִי הַשָּׂדֶ֗ה וְהִנֵּה֙ חַלְלֵי־חֶ֔רֶב וְאִם֙ בָּ֣אתִי הָעִ֔יר וְהִנֵּ֖ה תַּחֲלוּאֵ֣י רָעָ֑ב כִּֽי־גַם־נָבִ֧יא גַם־כֹּהֵ֛ן סָחֲר֥וּ אֶל־אֶ֖רֶץ וְלֹ֥א יָדָֽעוּ׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- If I go forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
- into the fieldשָׂדֶהώâdeh ώâday · land: countryH7704
- then behold the slainחָלָלchâlâl · slain: killedH2491
- with the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
- and if I enterבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- into the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- then behold them that are sickתַּחֲלֻאִיםtachălû' tachălû' · diseaseH8463
- with famineרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
- yea, both the prophetנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
- and the priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
- go aboutסָחַרsâchar · to tradeH5503
- into a landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- that they knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
Cross-references for Jeremiah 14:18
- Jeremiah 52:6In the fourth month, on the ninth day of the month, the famine was so severe in the city that there was no food for the people of the land.
- Lamentations 1:20See, O Lord, how distressed I am! My spirit is deeply disturbed; My heart is overturned within me and cannot rest, For I have been very rebellious. In the street the sword kills and bereaves; In the house there is [famine, disease and] death!
- Lamentations 4:9Those killed with the sword Are more fortunate than those killed with hunger; For the hungry pine and ebb away, For the lack of the fruits of the field.
- Ezekiel 7:15The sword is outside and virulent disease and famine are within. He who is in the field will die by the sword, and famine and disease will devour those in the city.
- Jeremiah 6:13“For from the least of them even to the greatest of them, Everyone is greedy for [unfair] gain; And from the prophet even to the priest Everyone deals deceitfully.
- Jeremiah 8:10Therefore I will give their wives to others And their fields to new owners; Because from the least even to the greatest Everyone is greedy for [unjust] gain; From the prophet even to the priest Everyone practices deceit and deals in corruption.
- Jeremiah 23:21I did not send [these counterfeit] prophets, Yet they ran; I did not speak to them, Yet they prophesied.
- Deuteronomy 28:36The Lord will bring you and your king, whom you appoint over you, to a nation which you and your fathers have never known; there you will [be forced to] serve other gods, [lifeless gods of] wood and stone.
- Isaiah 28:7But even these reel with wine and stagger from strong drink: The priest and the prophet reel with strong drink; They are confused by wine, they stagger from strong drink; They reel while seeing visions, They stagger when pronouncing judgment.
- Lamentations 4:13Because of the sins of her [counterfeit] prophets And the wickedness of her [unfaithful] priests, Who have shed in her midst The blood of the just and righteous;
- Jeremiah 2:8[Even] the priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ And those who deal with the law [given to Moses] did not know Me. The rulers and shepherds also transgressed against Me, And the prophets prophesied by [the authority and in the name of] Baal And walked after [idolatrous] things that did not benefit [them].
- Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, And the priests rule on their own authority; And My people love [to have] it so! But what will you do when the end comes?
- Micah 3:11Her leaders pronounce judgment for a bribe, Her priests teach for a fee, And her prophets foretell for money; Yet they lean on the Lord, saying, “Is not the Lord among us? No tragedy or distress will come on us.”
- 2 Peter 2:3And in their greed they will exploit you with false arguments and twisted doctrine. Their sentence [of condemnation which God has decreed] from a time long ago is not idle [but is still in force], and their destruction and deepening misery is not asleep [but is on its way].
Commentaries on Jeremiah 14:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword - Every place presents frightful spectacles; the wounded, the dying, the starving, and the slain; none to bury the dead, none to commiserate the dying, none to bring either relief or consolation. Even the prophets and the priests are obliged to leave the cities, and wander about in unfrequented and unknown places, seeking for the necessaries of life. Dr. Blayney thinks that the going about…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-22Verses 17-22 Jeremiah acknowledged his own sins, and those of the people, but pleaded with the Lord to remember his covenant. In their distress none of the idols of the Gentiles could help them, nor could the heavens give rain of themselves. The Lord will always have a people to plead with him at his mercy-seat. He will heal every truly repenting sinner. Should he not see fit to hear our prayers on behalf of our guilty land, he will certainly bless with…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-18As he looked at Judah's state, God clearly showed his sadness through a short poem. The Lord does not enjoy the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23; 33:11).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. go about--that is, shall have to migrate into a land of exile. Horsley translates, "go trafficking about the land (see Jr 5:31, Margin; 2Co 4:2; 2Pe 2:3), and take no knowledge" (that is, pay no regard to the miseries before their eyes) (Is 1:3; 58:3). If the literal sense of the Hebrew verb be retained, I would with English Version understand the words as referring to the exile to Babylon; thus, "the prophet and the priest shall have to go to a…Read the comment
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In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 14
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
- Tyndale Open Study Notes
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
- Rashi on Tanakh
- Calvin’s Commentaries
- Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
- John Wesley’s Notes
- Darby Translation Notes
- Geneva Bible Translation Notes
- Kingcomments
- Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
- Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
- Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
- Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
- EGW Writings
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