Christian Standard Bible
Jeremiah 9:1
1If my head were a flowing spring, my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night over the slain of my dear people.
Jeremiah 9:1 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
- New International Version (NIV)Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.
- English Standard Version (ESV)Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
- New King James Version (NKJV)Oh, that my head were waters, And my eyes a fountain of tears, That I might weep day and night For the slain of the daughter of my people!
Context of Jeremiah 9:1
If my head were a flowing spring, my eyes a fountain of tears, I would weep day and night over the slain of my dear people. 2If only I had a traveler’s lodging place in the wilderness, I would abandon my people and depart from them, for they are all adulterers, a solemn assembly of treacherous people. 3They bent their tongues like their bows; lies and not faithfulness prevail in the land, for they proceed from one evil to another, and they do not take me into account. This is the Lord’s declaration.
Read all of Jeremiah 9Jeremiah 9:1 word by word
מִֽי־יִתֵּ֤ן רֹאשִׁי֙ מַ֔יִם וְעֵינִ֖י מְק֣וֹר דִּמְעָ֑ה וְאֶבְכֶּה֙ יוֹמָ֣ם וָלַ֔יְלָה אֵ֖ת חַֽלְלֵ֥י בַת־עַמִּֽי׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Oh thatנָתַןnâthan · to give: giveH5414
- my headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218
- were watersמַיmayim · waterH4325
- and mine eyesעַ֫יִן‛ayin · eyeH5869
- a fountainמָקוֹרmâqôr mâqôr · fountainH4726
- of tearsדִּמְעָהdim‛âh · tearsH1832
- that I might weepבָּכָהbâkâh · to weepH1058
- dayיוֹמָםyômâm · by dayH3119
- and nightלַ֫יְלָהlayil lêyl layelâh · nightH3915
- for the slainחָלָלchâlâl · slain: killedH2491
- of the daughterבַּתbath · daughterH1323
- of my peopleעַם‛am · peopleH5971
Cross-references for Jeremiah 9:1
- Jeremiah 4:19My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in agony! Oh, the pain in my heart! My heart pounds; I cannot be silent. For you, my soul, have heard the sound of the ram’s horn — the shout of battle.
- Jeremiah 13:17But if you will not listen, my innermost being will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, for the Lord’s flock has been taken captive.
- Jeremiah 14:17You are to speak this word to them: Let my eyes overflow with tears; day and night may they not stop, for my dearest people have been destroyed by a crushing blow, an extremely severe wound.
- Psalms 119:136My eyes pour out streams of tears because people do not follow your instruction.
- Isaiah 16:9So I join with Jazer to weep for the vines of Sibmah; I drench Heshbon and Elealeh with my tears. Triumphant shouts have fallen silent over your summer fruit and your harvest.
- Isaiah 22:4Therefore I said, “Look away from me! Let me weep bitterly! Do not try to comfort me about the destruction of my dear people.”
- Lamentations 2:11My eyes are worn out from weeping; I am churning within. My heart is poured out in grief because of the destruction of my dear people, because infants and nursing babies faint in the streets of the city.
- Lamentations 3:48My eyes flow with streams of tears because of the destruction of my dear people.
- Ezekiel 21:6“But you, son of man, groan! Groan bitterly with a broken heart right before their eyes.
- Psalms 42:3My tears have been my food day and night, while all day long people say to me, “Where is your God?”
- Jeremiah 6:26My dear people, dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in the dust. Mourn as you would for an only son, a bitter lament, for suddenly the destroyer will come on us.
- Jeremiah 8:21I am broken by the brokenness of my dear people. I mourn; horror has taken hold of me.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 9:1
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 1O that my head were waters - מים ראשי יתן מי mi yitten roshi mayim, "who will give to my head waters?" My mourning for the sins and desolations of my people has already exhausted the source of tears: I wish to have a fountain opened there, that I may weep day and night for the slain of my people. This has been the sorrowful language of many a pastor who has preached long to a hardened, rebellious people, to little or no effect. This verse belongs to the…Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 1This verse is joined in the Hebrew to the preceding chapter. But any break at all here interrupts the meaning. A fountain - Rather, “a reservoir,” in which tears had been stored up, so that the prophet might weep abundantly.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 1The people are corrected, Jerusalem is destroyed. (Jr 9:1-11) The captives suffer in a foreign land. (Jr 9:12-22) God's loving-kindness, He threatens the enemies of his people. (Jr 9:23-26) Verses 1-11 Jeremiah wept much, yet wished he could weep more, that he might rouse the people to a due sense of the hand of God. But even the desert, without communion with God, through Christ Jesus, and the influences of the Holy Spirit, must be a place for temptation…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 1-26The priests in the Temple memorized and repeated prayers as part of their rituals. They believed using the exact words was crucial; otherwise, the prayers lost their magical power. The character of the priests saying the prayers was not very important. This was also true for lamentations. In contrast, Jeremiah's prayers and lamentations were spontaneous and deeply personal.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1-261. This verse is more fitly joined to the last chapter, as verse 23 in the Hebrew (compare Is 22:4; La 2:11; 3:48).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 9:1
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 9
- 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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