Revised Literal Translation
Jeremiah 14:3
3And 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.
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
1The word of Yhwh that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth. 2Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up. 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. 4Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. 5Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass.
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
- 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 18:5And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts.
- Jeremiah 2:13For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
- 1 Kings 17:7And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
- 2 Kings 18:31Hearken not to Hezekiah: for thus saith the king of Assyria, Make an agreement with me by a present, and come out to me, and then eat ye every man of his own vine, and every one of his fig tree, and drink ye every one the waters of his cistern:
- Joel 1:20The beasts of the field cry also unto thee: for the rivers of waters are dried up, and the fire hath devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
- Amos 4:8So two or three cities wandered unto one city, to drink water; but they were not satisfied: yet have ye not returned unto me, saith Yhwh.
- Jeremiah 2:26As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets,
- Jeremiah 20:11But Yhwh is with me as a mighty dread warrior: therefore my persecutors shall stumble, and they shall not prevail: they shall be greatly ashamed; for they shall not prosper: their everlasting confusion shall never be forgotten.
- Psalms 40:14Let them be ashamed and confounded together that seek after my soul to destroy it; let them be driven backward and put to shame that wish me evil.
- Psalms 109:29Let mine adversaries be clothed with shame, and let them cover themselves with their own confusion, as with a mantle.
- Isaiah 45:16They shall be ashamed, and also confounded, all of them: they shall go to confusion together that are makers of idols.
- Jeremiah 14:4Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.
- 2 Samuel 15:30And David went up by the ascent of mount Olivet, and wept as he went up, and had his head covered, and he went barefoot: and all the people that was with him covered every man his head, and they went up, weeping as they went up.
- 2 Samuel 19:4But the king covered his face, and the king cried with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom, my son, my son!
- Esther 6:12And Mordecai came again to the king’s gate. But Haman hasted to his house mourning, and having his head covered.
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
Revised Literal Translation — © 2018 Michael W. Jones, Sr. — GPL
Commentaries