Jeremiah 9:1

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

‘My head should be like a pool of water. My eyes should be like a river of tears. Then I would never stop crying for my dear people who have died in war. 2I would like to live in a hut in the desert. Then I could leave my people. I could forget about them. They have all turned away from God. They have not been faithful to him. They are a crowd of people that nobody can trust.’ 3The Lord says, ‘The tongues of these people speak lies, like the bows of soldiers shoot arrows. They have become powerful in the land, but they have used lies to do that. They do more and more evil things, and they do not respect me.

Jeremiah 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 4:19I am so upset! My body is shaking with pain. My heart beats hard inside me. I cannot keep still. I cannot keep quiet. I have heard the noise of the enemy's trumpets and the shouts of their soldiers.
• Jeremiah 13:17If you refuse to listen to God's message, I will hide myself and I will weep. Because you are so proud, tears will pour from my eyes. I will cry because the Lord has sent his own people away as prisoners to a foreign land.
• Jeremiah 14:17Say this to the people, Jeremiah: “Tears pour from my eyes all the time. I weep through each day and each night. I am sad about my own dear people. A great trouble has knocked them to the ground. They have received a very bad wound.
• Psalms 119:136I weep with streams of tears, because people do not obey your Law.
• Isaiah 16:9Because of that, I weep for the vines of Sibmah, as Jazer weeps. I pour out my tears all over you, Heshbon and Elealeh. Your people no longer sing because they are happy at harvest time. There is no more fruit on your trees or crops in your fields.
• Isaiah 22:4So I say, ‘Leave me alone! Let me weep with many tears. The enemy has killed many of my people, so do not try to comfort me.’
• Lamentations 2:11I have cried so much that my eyes are red now. Even the parts inside my body hurt, because my people are dying. I feel ill because I am so sad. The children and babies fall in the city's streets because they are so weak.
• Lamentations 3:48I weep, and my eyes are red with all my tears. It is because the enemy has killed my people.
• Ezekiel 21:6So now, son of man, cry aloud. Let the people see how sad and upset you are.
• Psalms 42:3All day and all night I weep. My tears are my only food! My enemies say to me all the time, ‘Where is your God?’
• Jeremiah 6:26So I say, ‘My dear people, show that you are sorry. Wear sackcloth and sit in ashes. Weep and cry aloud, as if your only child had died. Realize that the enemy's army will soon be here and they are ready to destroy us.’
• Jeremiah 8:21I am very upset because my dear people have so much pain. I weep and I cry, as if a friend had died.

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

• Church
• Jeremiah
• Patriotism
• Weeping
• Wicked (People)
• Zeal, Religious

In the dictionaries

• Day and Night
• Adulterer
• Arrow
• Desolate
• Heaven
• Perish
• Teach
• Wait
• Burial
• Covenant, the New

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