New English Translation
Jeremiah 14:18
18If I go out into the countryside, I see those who have been killed in battle. If I go into the city, I see those who are sick because of starvation. For both prophet and priest go about their own business in the land without having any real understanding.’”
Jeremiah 14:18 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not.
- New International Version (NIV)If I go into the country, I see those slain by the sword; if I go into the city, I see the ravages of famine. Both prophet and priest have gone to a land they know not.’ ”
- English Standard Version (ESV)If I go out into the field, behold, those pierced by the sword! And if I enter the city, behold, the diseases of famine! For both prophet and priest ply their trade through the land and have no knowledge.'"
- New King James Version (NKJV)If I go out to the field, Then behold, those slain with the sword! And if I enter the city, Then behold, those sick from famine! Yes, both prophet and priest go about in a land they do not know.’ ”
Context of Jeremiah 14:18
16The people to whom they are prophesying will die through war and famine. Their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem and there will be no one to bury them. This will happen to the men and their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out on them the destruction they deserve.” 17“Tell these people this, Jeremiah: ‘My eyes overflow with tears day and night without ceasing. For my people, my dear children, have suffered a crushing blow. They have suffered a serious wound. If I go out into the countryside, I see those who have been killed in battle. If I go into the city, I see those who are sick because of starvation. For both prophet and priest go about their own business in the land without having any real understanding.’” 19Then I said, “Lord, have you completely rejected the nation of Judah? Do you despise the city of Zion? Why have you struck us with such force that we are beyond recovery? We hope for peace, but nothing good has come of it. We hope for a time of relief from our troubles, but experience terror. 20Lord, we confess that we have been wicked. We confess that our ancestors have done wrong. We have indeed sinned against you.
Read all of Jeremiah 14Jeremiah 14:18 word by word
אִם־יָצָ֣אתִי הַשָּׂדֶ֗ה וְהִנֵּה֙ חַלְלֵי־חֶ֔רֶב וְאִם֙ בָּ֣אתִי הָעִ֔יר וְהִנֵּ֖ה תַּחֲלוּאֵ֣י רָעָ֑ב כִּֽי־גַם־נָבִ֧יא גַם־כֹּהֵ֛ן סָחֲר֥וּ אֶל־אֶ֖רֶץ וְלֹ֥א יָדָֽעוּ׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- If I go forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
- into the fieldשָׂדֶהώâdeh ώâday · land: countryH7704
- then behold the slainחָלָלchâlâl · slain: killedH2491
- with the swordחֶ֫רֶבchereb · swordH2719
- and if I enterבּוֹאbô' · to come (in): comeH935
- into the cityעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
- then behold them that are sickתַּחֲלֻאִיםtachălû' tachălû' · diseaseH8463
- with famineרָעָבrâ‛âb · famineH7458
- yea, both the prophetנָבִיאnâbîy' · prophetH5030
- and the priestכֹּהֵןkôhên · priestH3548
- go aboutסָחַרsâchar · to tradeH5503
- into a landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
- that they knowיָדַעyâda‛ · to knowH3045
Cross-references for Jeremiah 14:18
- Jeremiah 52:6By the ninth day of the fourth month the famine in the city was so severe the residents had no food.
- Lamentations 1:20Look, O Lord! I am distressed; my stomach is in knots! My heart is pounding inside me. Yes, I was terribly rebellious! Out in the street the sword bereaves a mother of her children; Inside the house death is present. ש (Sin/Shin)
- Lamentations 4:9Those who died by the sword are better off than those who die of hunger, those who waste away, struck down from lack of food. י (Yod)
- Ezekiel 7:15The sword is outside; pestilence and famine are inside the house. Whoever is in the open field will die by the sword, and famine and pestilence will consume everyone in the city.
- Jeremiah 6:13“That is because, from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all of them practice deceit.
- Jeremiah 8:10So I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.
- Jeremiah 23:21I did not send those prophets. Yet they were in a hurry to give their message. I did not tell them anything. Yet they prophesied anyway.
- Deuteronomy 28:36The Lord will force you and your king whom you will appoint over you to go away to a people whom you and your ancestors have not known, and you will serve other gods of wood and stone there.
- Isaiah 28:7Even these men stagger because of wine, they stumble around because of beer – priests and prophets stagger because of beer, they are confused because of wine, they stumble around because of beer; they stagger while seeing prophetic visions, they totter while making legal decisions.
- Lamentations 4:13But it happened due to the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who poured out in her midst the blood of the righteous. נ (Nun)
- Jeremiah 2:8Your priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those responsible for teaching my law did not really know me. Your rulers rebelled against me. Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal. They all worshiped idols that could not help them.
- Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy lies. The priests exercise power by their own authority. And my people love to have it this way. But they will not be able to help you when the time of judgment comes!
- Micah 3:11Her leaders take bribes when they decide legal cases, her priests proclaim rulings for profit, and her prophets read omens for pay. Yet they claim to trust the Lord and say, “The Lord is among us. Disaster will not overtake us!”
- 2 Peter 2:3And in their greed they will exploit you with deceptive words. Their condemnation pronounced long ago is not sitting idly by; their destruction is not asleep.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 14:18
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 18If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword - Every place presents frightful spectacles; the wounded, the dying, the starving, and the slain; none to bury the dead, none to commiserate the dying, none to bring either relief or consolation. Even the prophets and the priests are obliged to leave the cities, and wander about in unfrequented and unknown places, seeking for the necessaries of life. Dr. Blayney thinks that the going about…Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-22Verses 17-22 Jeremiah acknowledged his own sins, and those of the people, but pleaded with the Lord to remember his covenant. In their distress none of the idols of the Gentiles could help them, nor could the heavens give rain of themselves. The Lord will always have a people to plead with him at his mercy-seat. He will heal every truly repenting sinner. Should he not see fit to hear our prayers on behalf of our guilty land, he will certainly bless with…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17-18As he looked at Judah's state, God clearly showed his sadness through a short poem. The Lord does not enjoy the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23; 33:11).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1818. go about--that is, shall have to migrate into a land of exile. Horsley translates, "go trafficking about the land (see Jr 5:31, Margin; 2Co 4:2; 2Pe 2:3), and take no knowledge" (that is, pay no regard to the miseries before their eyes) (Is 1:3; 58:3). If the literal sense of the Hebrew verb be retained, I would with English Version understand the words as referring to the exile to Babylon; thus, "the prophet and the priest shall have to go to a…Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 14:18
In the dictionaries
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
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