Tree of Life Version
Jeremiah 14:3
3Their nobles will send their lads for water. They come to the cisterns, but find no water. Their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover 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 Adonai that came to Jeremiah concerning the droughts: 2Judah will mourn, and her gates languish. They will bow in black to the ground And Jerusalem’s wail will go up. Their nobles will send their lads for water. They come to the cisterns, but find no water. Their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads. 4Because the ground is cracked, since there has been no rain in the land, the farmers are ashamed— they cover their heads. 5For even the doe in the field abandons her newborn fawn, because there is 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
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 18:5Then Ahab said to Obadiah, “Go through the land to all the springs of water and to all the wadis. Perhaps we may find grass and so keep the horses and mules alive and not lose all the animals.”
- Jeremiah 2:13“My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me —the spring of living water— and they dug their own cisterns— cracked cisterns that hold no water.
- 1 Kings 17:7Then it came to pass after a while that the wadi dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
- 2 Kings 18:31“Don’t listen to Hezekiah! For thus says the king of Assyria: ‘Make peace with me and come out to me. Then everyone will eat from his own vine and fig tree, and everyone will drink water from his own cistern,
- Joel 1:20Also beasts of the field pant toward You. For the water of wadis are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
- Amos 4:8So two or three cities go staggering to one city to drink water, but would not be satisfied— yet you have not returned to Me,” declares Adonai.
- Jeremiah 2:26As a thief is shamed when caught, so the house of Israel is shamed— they, their kings, their princes, their kohanim and their prophets.
- Jeremiah 20:11But Adonai is with me like a dreadful warrior. Therefore my persecutors will stumble and will not prevail. Since they are not insightful and not wise, they will be utterly shamed— an everlasting disgrace, never to be forgotten.
- Psalms 40:14Adonai, please deliver me! Adonai, come quickly to help me!
- Psalms 109:29My accusers will be clothed in disgrace, and wrapped in shame as in a cloak.
- Isaiah 45:16All of them will be ashamed, disgraced— idol-makers go in dishonor together.
- Jeremiah 14:4Because the ground is cracked, since there has been no rain in the land, the farmers are ashamed— they cover their heads.
- 2 Samuel 15:30Then David continued to go up the ascent of the Mount of Olives, weeping as he ascended. He had his head covered and was walking barefoot. So all the people with him each covered his head as they went up, weeping as they ascended.
- 2 Samuel 19:4So the troops entered into the city stealthily that day, like troops who are ashamed after running away in battle.
- Esther 6:12Afterwards, Mordecai then returned to the king’s gate, but Haman rushed to his home, grief-stricken and with 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
Tree of Life Version — © 2015 The Messianic Jewish Family Bible Society
Commentaries