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.
• New International Version (NIV)Their land will be an object of horror and of lasting scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will shake their heads.
• 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.

Context of Jeremiah 18:16

14Does the snow ever disappear from the mountaintops of Lebanon? Do the cold streams flowing from those distant mountains ever run dry? 15But my people are not so reliable, for they have deserted me; they burn incense to worthless idols. They have stumbled off the ancient highways and walk in muddy paths. 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. 17I will scatter my people before their enemies as the east wind scatters dust. And in all their trouble I will turn my back on them and refuse to notice their distress.” 18Then the people said, “Come on, let’s plot a way to stop Jeremiah. We have plenty of priests and wise men and prophets. We don’t need him to teach the word and give us advice and prophecies. Let’s spread rumors about him and ignore what 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 into a heap of ruins,” says the Lord. “It will be a place haunted by jackals. The towns of Judah will be ghost towns, with no one living in them.”
• Jeremiah 19:8I will reduce Jerusalem to ruins, making it a monument to their stupidity. All who pass by will be astonished and will gasp at the destruction they see there.
• Jeremiah 25:9I will gather together all the armies of the north under King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, whom I have appointed as my deputy. I will bring them all against this land and its people and against the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy you and make you an object of horror and contempt and a ruin forever.
• Jeremiah 49:13For I have sworn by my own name,” says the Lord, “that Bozrah will become an object of horror and a heap of ruins; it will be mocked and cursed. All its towns and villages will be desolate forever.”
• Jeremiah 50:13Because of the Lord’s anger, Babylon will become a deserted wasteland. All who pass by will be horrified and will gasp at the destruction they see there.
• Leviticus 26:33I will scatter you among the nations and bring out my sword against you. Your land will become desolate, and your cities will lie in ruins.
• Deuteronomy 29:23They will exclaim, ‘The whole land is devastated by sulfur and salt. It is a wasteland with nothing planted and nothing growing, not even a blade of grass. It is like the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Admah and Zeboiim, which the Lord destroyed in his intense anger.’
• Isaiah 6:11Then I said, “Lord, how long will this go on?” And he replied, “Until their towns are empty, their houses are deserted, and the whole country is a wasteland;
• Ezekiel 6:14I will crush them and make their cities desolate from the wilderness in the south to Riblah in the north. Then they will know that I am the Lord.”
• Ezekiel 12:19Tell the people, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says concerning those living in Israel and Jerusalem: They will eat their food with trembling and sip their water in despair, for their land will be stripped bare because of their violence.
• Ezekiel 33:28I will completely destroy the land and demolish her pride. Her arrogant power will come to an end. The mountains of Israel will be so desolate that no one will even travel through them.
• 1 Kings 9:8And though this Temple is impressive now, all who pass by will be appalled and will gasp in horror. They will ask, ‘Why did the Lord do such terrible things to this land and to this Temple?’
• 2 Chronicles 7:20then I will uproot the people from this land that I have given them. I will reject this Temple that I have made holy to honor my name. I will make it an object of mockery and ridicule among the nations.
• Lamentations 2:15All who pass by jeer at you. They scoff and insult beautiful Jerusalem, saying, “Is this the city called ‘Most Beautiful in All the World’ and ‘Joy of All the Earth’?”
• Micah 6:16You keep only the laws of evil King Omri; you follow only the example of wicked King Ahab! Therefore, I will make an example of you, bringing you to complete ruin. You will be treated with contempt, mocked by all who see you.”
• Deuteronomy 28:59then the Lord will overwhelm you and your children with indescribable plagues. These plagues will be intense and without relief, making you miserable and unbearably sick.

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