New Living Translation
Jeremiah 14:3
3The 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.
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
1This message came to Jeremiah from the Lord, explaining why he was holding back the rain: 2“Judah wilts; commerce at the city gates grinds to a halt. All the people sit on the ground in mourning, and a great cry rises from Jerusalem. 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. 4The ground is parched and cracked for lack of rain. The farmers are deeply troubled; they, too, cover their heads. 5Even the doe abandons her newborn fawn because there is no grass in the field.
Read all of Jeremiah 14Jeremiah 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 said to Obadiah, “We must check every spring and valley in the land to see if we can find enough grass to save at least some of my horses and mules.”
- Jeremiah 2:13“For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me— the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!
- 1 Kings 17:7But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land.
- 2 Kings 18:31“Don’t listen to Hezekiah! These are the terms the king of Assyria is offering: Make peace with me—open the gates and come out. Then each of you can continue eating from your own grapevine and fig tree and drinking from your own well.
- Joel 1:20Even the wild animals cry out to you because the streams have dried up, and fire has consumed the wilderness pastures.
- Amos 4:8People staggered from town to town looking for water, but there was never enough. But still you would not return to me,” says the Lord.
- Jeremiah 2:26“Israel is like a thief who feels shame only when he gets caught. They, their kings, officials, priests, and prophets— all are alike in this.
- Jeremiah 20:11But the Lord stands beside me like a great warrior. Before him my persecutors will stumble. They cannot defeat me. They will fail and be thoroughly humiliated. Their dishonor will never be forgotten.
- Psalms 40:14May those who try to destroy me be humiliated and put to shame. May those who take delight in my trouble be turned back in disgrace.
- Psalms 109:29May my accusers be clothed with disgrace; may their humiliation cover them like a cloak.
- Isaiah 45:16All craftsmen who make idols will be humiliated. They will all be disgraced together.
- Jeremiah 14:4The ground is parched and cracked for lack of rain. The farmers are deeply troubled; they, too, cover their heads.
- 2 Samuel 15:30David walked up the road to the Mount of Olives, weeping as he went. His head was covered and his feet were bare as a sign of mourning. And the people who were with him covered their heads and wept as they climbed the hill.
- 2 Samuel 19:4The king covered his face with his hands and kept on crying, “O my son Absalom! O Absalom, my son, my son!”
- Esther 6:12Afterward Mordecai returned to the palace gate, but Haman hurried home dejected and completely humiliated.
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
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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