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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)The nobles send servants to get water, but all the wells are dry. The servants return with empty pitchers, confused and desperate, covering their heads in grief.

Context of Jeremiah 14:3

1This is the word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought: 2“Judah mourns, her cities languish; they wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem. 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. 4The ground is cracked because there is no rain in the land; the farmers are dismayed and cover their heads. 5Even the doe in the field deserts her newborn fawn because there is 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 had said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs and valleys. Maybe we can find some grass to keep the horses and mules alive so we will not have to kill any of our animals.”
• Jeremiah 2:13“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
• 1 Kings 17:7Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
• 2 Kings 18:31“Do not listen to Hezekiah. This is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern,
• Joel 1:20Even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have dried up and fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness.
• Amos 4:8People staggered from town to town for water but did not get enough to drink, yet you have not returned to me,” declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 2:26“As a thief is disgraced when he is caught, so the people of Israel are disgraced— they, their kings and their officials, their priests and their prophets.
• Jeremiah 20:11But the Lord is with me like a mighty warrior; so my persecutors will stumble and not prevail. They will fail and be thoroughly disgraced; their dishonor will never be forgotten.
• Psalms 40:14May all who want to take my life be put to shame and confusion; may all who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace.
• Psalms 109:29May my accusers be clothed with disgrace and wrapped in shame as in a cloak.
• Isaiah 45:16All the makers of idols will be put to shame and disgraced; they will go off into disgrace together.
• Jeremiah 14:4The ground is cracked because there is no rain in the land; the farmers are dismayed and cover their heads.
• 2 Samuel 15:30But David continued up the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went; his head was covered and he was barefoot. All the people with him covered their heads too and were weeping as they went up.
• 2 Samuel 19:4The king covered his face and cried aloud, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”
• Esther 6:12Afterward Mordecai returned to the king’s gate. But Haman rushed home, with his head covered in grief,

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