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

1The Lord spoke his word to Jeremiah about the drought. 2Judah mourns; its gates fall apart. The people of Judah sit in mourning on the ground. Their cry goes up from Jerusalem. Important people send their assistants out for water. They go to the cisterns, but they don’t find any water. They come back with their containers empty. They cover their heads, because they are ashamed and disgraced. 4The ground is cracked because there has been no rain in the land. The farmers are disappointed. They cover their heads. 5Even deer in the fields give birth and abandon their young because there’s 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 told Obadiah, “Let’s go throughout the countryside to every spring and stream. If we can find grass, then we can keep the horses and mules alive and not lose any animals.”
• Jeremiah 2:13“My people have done two things wrong. They have abandoned me, the fountain of life-giving water. They have also dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that can’t hold water.
• 1 Kings 17:7But after some time the stream dried up because no rain had fallen in the land.
• 2 Kings 18:31Don’t listen to Hezekiah, because this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me! Come out and give yourselves up to me! Everyone will eat from his own grapevine and fig tree and drink from his own cistern.
• Joel 1:20Even wild animals long for you. Streams run dry. Fire has burned up the open pastures.
• Amos 4:8So people from two or three cities staggered as they walked to another city in order to get a drink of water. But they couldn’t get enough. And you still didn’t return to me, declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 2:26“As a thief feels ashamed when he’s caught, so the nation of Israel will feel ashamed. Their kings, princes, priests, and prophets will also feel ashamed.
• Jeremiah 20:11But the Lord is on my side like a terrifying warrior. That is why those who persecute me will stumble. They can’t win. They will be very ashamed that they can’t succeed. Their eternal shame will not be forgotten.
• Psalms 40:14Let all those who seek to end my life be confused and put to shame. Let those who want my downfall be turned back and disgraced.
• Psalms 109:29Let those who accuse me wear disgrace as though it were clothing. Let them be wrapped in their shame as though it were a robe.
• Isaiah 45:16Those who make idols will be ashamed and disgraced. They will go away completely disgraced.
• Jeremiah 14:4The ground is cracked because there has been no rain in the land. The farmers are disappointed. They cover their heads.
• 2 Samuel 15:30David cried as he went up the Mount of Olives. He covered his head and walked barefoot. And all of the troops with him covered their heads and cried as they went.
• 2 Samuel 19:4The king covered his face and cried loudly, “My son Absalom! Absalom, my son, my son!”
• Esther 6:12After that, Mordecai returned to the king’s gate, but Haman hurried home. He was in despair and covered his head.

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