Jeremiah 18:16

Jeremiah 18:16 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.
• English Standard Version (ESV)making their land a horror, a thing to be hissed at forever. Everyone who passes by it is horrified and shakes his head.
• New King James Version (NKJV)To make their land desolate and a perpetual hissing; Everyone who passes by it will be astonished And shake his head.
• New Living Translation (NLT)Therefore, their land will become desolate, a monument to their stupidity. All who pass by will be astonished and will shake their heads in amazement.

Context of Jeremiah 18:16

14Does the snow of Lebanon ever vanish from its rocky slopes? Do its cool waters from distant sources ever stop flowing? 15Yet my people have forgotten me; they burn incense to worthless idols, which made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient paths. They made them walk in byways, on roads not built up. Their land will be an object of horror and of lasting scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will shake their heads. 17Like a wind from the east, I will scatter them before their enemies; I will show them my back and not my face in the day of their disaster.” 18They said, “Come, let’s make plans against Jeremiah; for the teaching of the law by the priest will not cease, nor will counsel from the wise, nor the word from the prophets. So come, let’s attack him with our tongues and pay no attention to anything he says.”

Jeremiah 18:16 word by word

לָשׂ֥וּם אַרְצָ֛ם לְשַׁמָּ֖ה שְׁרִיק֣וֹת עוֹלָ֑ם כֹּ֚ל עוֹבֵ֣ר עָלֶ֔יהָ יִשֹּׁ֖ם וְיָנִ֥יד בְּרֹאשֽׁוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• To makeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
• their landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• desolateשַׁמָּהshammâh · horror: appalledH8047
• a perpetualעוֹלָם‛ôlâm ‛ôlâm · forever: enduringH5769
• hissingשְׁרִיקָהsherûqâh sherîyqâh · pipingH8292
• every one that passethעָבַר‛âbar · to passH5674
• thereby shall be astonishedשָׁמֵםshâmêm · be desolate: appalledH8074
• and wagנוּדnûd · to wanderH5110
• his headרֹאשׁrô'sh · headH7218

Cross-references for Jeremiah 18:16

• Jeremiah 9:11“I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals; and I will lay waste the towns of Judah so no one can live there.”
• Jeremiah 19:8I will devastate this city and make it an object of horror and scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will scoff because of all its wounds.
• Jeremiah 25:9I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the Lord, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin.
• Jeremiah 49:13I swear by myself,” declares the Lord, “that Bozrah will become a ruin and a curse, an object of horror and reproach; and all its towns will be in ruins forever.”
• Jeremiah 50:13Because of the Lord’s anger she will not be inhabited but will be completely desolate. All who pass Babylon will be appalled; they will scoff because of all her wounds.
• Leviticus 26:33I will scatter you among the nations and will draw out my sword and pursue you. Your land will be laid waste, and your cities will lie in ruins.
• Deuteronomy 29:23The whole land will be a burning waste of salt and sulfur—nothing planted, nothing sprouting, no vegetation growing on it. It will be like the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboyim, which the Lord overthrew in fierce anger.
• Isaiah 6:11Then I said, “For how long, Lord?” And he answered: “Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged,
• Ezekiel 6:14And I will stretch out my hand against them and make the land a desolate waste from the desert to Diblah—wherever they live. Then they will know that I am the Lord.’ ”
• Ezekiel 12:19Say to the people of the land: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says about those living in Jerusalem and in the land of Israel: They will eat their food in anxiety and drink their water in despair, for their land will be stripped of everything in it because of the violence of all who live there.
• Ezekiel 33:28I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will become desolate so that no one will cross them.
• 1 Kings 9:8This temple will become a heap of rubble. All who pass by will be appalled and will scoff and say, ‘Why has the Lord done such a thing to this land and to this temple?’
• 2 Chronicles 7:20then I will uproot Israel from my land, which I have given them, and will reject this temple I have consecrated for my Name. I will make it a byword and an object of ridicule among all peoples.
• Lamentations 2:15All who pass your way clap their hands at you; they scoff and shake their heads at Daughter Jerusalem: “Is this the city that was called the perfection of beauty, the joy of the whole earth?”
• Micah 6:16You have observed the statutes of Omri and all the practices of Ahab’s house; you have followed their traditions. Therefore I will give you over to ruin and your people to derision; you will bear the scorn of the nations.”
• Deuteronomy 28:59the Lord will send fearful plagues on you and your descendants, harsh and prolonged disasters, and severe and lingering illnesses.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 18:16

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16A perpetual hissing - שריקות sherikoth . a shrieking, hissing; an expression of contempt.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16Hissing - Not derision, but the drawing in of the breath quickly as men do when they shudder. Way his head - Or, “shake his head,” a sign among the Jews not of scorn but of pity. The desolation of the land of Israel is to fill people with dismay.Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 11-17Verses 11-17 Sinners call it liberty to live at large; whereas for a man to be a slave to his lusts, is the very worst slavery. They forsook God for idols. When men are parched with heat, and meet with cooling, refreshing streams, they use them. In these things men will not leave a certainty for an uncertainty; but Israel left the ancient paths appointed by the Divine law. They walked not in the highway, in which they might travel safely, but in a way in…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 16-17The Lord declared judgment on Judah and Jerusalem. They have made their land a desolation...I will scatter them: Between 605 and 586 BC, Judah and Jerusalem gradually lost their residents. like the east wind: In the summer, a strong hot wind from the east can blow sand and dust from the desert into Judah. I will show them My back: The people would no longer have a covenant relationship with the Lord.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. hissing--(1Ki 9:8). In sign of contempt. That which was to be only the event is ascribed to the purpose of the people, although altogether different from what they would have been likely to hope for. Their purpose is represented as being the destruction of their country, because it was the inevitable result of their course of acting. wag ... head--in mockery (2Ki 19:21; Mt 27:39). As "wag ... head" answers to "hissing," so "astonished" answers to…Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 18:16

• Church
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning

In the dictionaries

• Smite
• Wag
• Gesture
• Head
• Hiss
• Providence

Commentaries on Jeremiah 18

• 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