Jeremiah 14:3

Jeremiah 14:3 in other versions

• King James Version (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.
• New International Version (NIV)The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns but find no water. They return with their jars unfilled; dismayed and despairing, they cover their heads.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Her nobles send their servants for water; they come to the cisterns; they find no water; they return with their vessels empty; they are ashamed and confounded and cover their heads.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Their nobles have sent their lads for water; They went to the cisterns and found no water. They returned with their vessels empty; They were ashamed and confounded And covered their heads.

Context of Jeremiah 14:3

1This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought: 2Judah mourns; her city gates languish. Her people are on the ground in mourning; Jerusalem’s cry rises up. Their nobles send their servants for water. They go to the cisterns; they find no water; their containers return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads. 4The ground is cracked since no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads. 5Even the doe in the field gives birth and abandons her fawn since there is no grass.

Jeremiah 14:3 word by word

וְאַדִּ֣רֵיהֶ֔ם שָׁלְח֥וּ צְעִירֵיהֶ֖ם לַמָּ֑יִם בָּ֣אוּ עַל־גֵּבִ֞ים לֹא־מָ֣צְאוּ מַ֗יִם שָׁ֤בוּ כְלֵיהֶם֙ רֵיקָ֔ם בֹּ֥שׁוּ וְהָכְלְמ֖וּ וְחָפ֥וּ רֹאשָֽׁם׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• And their noblesאַדִּיר'addîyr · greatH117
• have sentשָׁלַחshâlach · to send: departH7971
• their little onesצָעִירtsâ‛îyr tsâ‛ôr · littleH6810
• to the watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
• they cameבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
• to the pitsגֶּ֫בֶאgebe' · cisternH1360
• to the pitsגֵּבgêb · cisternH1356
• foundמָצָאmâtsâ' · to findH4672
• they returnedשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• with their vesselsכְּלִיkelîy · article/utensilH3627
• emptyרֵיקָםrêyqâm · emptilyH7387
• they were ashamedבּוֹשׁbûsh · be ashamedH954
• and confoundedכָּלַםkâlam · be humiliatedH3637
• and coveredחָפָהchâphâh · to coverH2645
• their headsרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218

Cross-references for Jeremiah 14:3

• 1 Kings 18:5Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go throughout the land to every spring and to every wadi. Perhaps we’ll find grass so we can keep the horses and mules alive and not have to destroy any cattle.”
• Jeremiah 2:13For my people have committed a double evil: They have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and dug cisterns for themselves — cracked cisterns that cannot hold water.
• 1 Kings 17:7After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
• 2 Kings 18:31“Don’t listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: ‘Make peace with me and surrender to me. Then each of you may eat from his own vine and his own fig tree, and each may drink water from his own cistern
• Joel 1:20Even the wild animals cry out to you, for the river beds are dried up, and fire has consumed the pastures of the wilderness.
• Amos 4:8Two or three cities staggered to another city to drink water but were not satisfied, yet you did not return to me. This is the Lord’s declaration.
• Jeremiah 2:26Like the shame of a thief when he is caught, so the house of Israel has been put to shame. They, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets
• Jeremiah 20:11But the Lord is with me like a violent warrior. Therefore, my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. Since they have not succeeded, they will be utterly shamed, an everlasting humiliation that will never be forgotten.
• Psalms 40:14Let those who intend to take my life be disgraced and confounded. Let those who wish me harm be turned back and humiliated.
• Psalms 109:29My accusers will be clothed with disgrace; they will wear their shame like a cloak.
• Isaiah 45:16All of them are put to shame, even humiliated; the makers of idols go in humiliation together.
• Jeremiah 14:4The ground is cracked since no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.
• 2 Samuel 15:30David was climbing the slope of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he ascended. His head was covered, and he was walking barefoot. All of the people with him covered their heads and went up, weeping as they ascended.
• 2 Samuel 19:4But the king covered his face and cried loudly, “My son Absalom! Absalom, my son, my son!”
• Esther 6:12Then Mordecai returned to the King’s Gate, but Haman hurried off for home, mournful and with his head covered.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 14:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Their nobles have sent their little ones - So general was this calamity, that the servants no longer attended to their lords, but every one was interested alone for himself; and the nobles of the land were obliged to employ their own children to scour the land, to see if any water could be found in the tanks or the pits. In the dearth in the time of Elijah, Ahab the king, and Obadiah his counselor, were obliged to traverse the land themselves, in order to…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 3Little ones - mean ones, the common people. The word is unique to Jeremiah Jeremiah 48:4. The pits - i. e., tanks for holding water. Covered their heads - The sign of grief.Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-3During a drought, no crops were sold in the markets at the Jerusalem gates. People could not store previous harvests for long, so starvation threatened them. Cisterns built to collect water dried up, and without rain, no water was available for drinking or cooking meals. As a result, a great cry rose from Jerusalem.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 33. little ones--rather, "their inferiors," that is, domestics. pits--cisterns for collecting rain water, often met with in the East where there are no springs. covered ... heads--(2Sa 15:30). A sign of humiliation and mourning.Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 14:3

• Drought
• Famine
• Impenitence
• Mourning

In the dictionaries

• Gebim
• Heal
• Pit
• Ashamed
• Cistern; Well; Pool; Aqueduct
• Gesture
• Head

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