God’s Word Translation
Jeremiah 9:1
1“I wish that my head were ⌞filled with⌟ water and my eyes were a fountain of tears so that I could cry day and night for my dear people who have been killed.
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
“I wish that my head were ⌞filled with⌟ water and my eyes were a fountain of tears so that I could cry day and night for my dear people who have been killed. 2I wish I had a place to stay in the desert. I would abandon my people and go away from them. They are all adulterers, a mob of traitors. 3They use their tongues like bows that shoot arrows. Lies and dishonesty rule the land. They go from one evil thing to another, and they don’t know me,” declares the Lord.
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 pain. My heart is beating wildly! My heart is pounding! I can’t keep quiet because I hear a ram’s horn sounding the alarm for war.
- Jeremiah 13:17If you won’t listen, I will cry secretly over your arrogance. I will cry bitterly, and my eyes will flow with tears because the Lord’s flock will be taken captive.
- Jeremiah 14:17“Say this to them: ‘My eyes flow with tears day and night without stopping because my dear people will suffer massive destruction. It will be a very serious blow.’ ”
- Psalms 119:136Streams of tears flow from my eyes because others do not follow your teachings.
- Isaiah 16:9I will cry for the grapevines of Sibmah as Jazer cries for them. I will drench you with my tears, Heshbon and Elealeh. The shouts of joy for your ripened fruits and your harvest will be silenced.
- Isaiah 22:4That is why I say, “Turn away from me so that I can cry bitterly. Don’t try to comfort me because of the destruction brought on my people.”
- Lamentations 2:11My eyes are worn out with tears. My stomach is churning. My heart is poured out on the ground because of the destruction of my people. Little children and infants faint in the city streets.
- Lamentations 3:48“Streams of tears run down from my eyes over the ruin of my dear people.
- Ezekiel 21:6“So, son of man, groan with a breaking heart and with bitter crying while the people watch you.
- Psalms 42:3My tears are my food day and night. People ask me all day long, “Where is your God?”
- Jeremiah 6:26Wear sackcloth, and roll around in ashes, my people. Mourn as if you have lost your only child, and cry bitterly. The destroyer will suddenly attack us.
- Jeremiah 8:21I am crushed because my dear people have been crushed. I mourn; terror grips 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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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