2 Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
2 Judah H3063 mourneth, H56 and the gates H8179 thereof languish; H535 they are black H6937 unto the ground; H776 and the cry H6682 of Jerusalem H3389 is gone up. H5927
2 Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they sit in black upon the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
2 Mourned hath Judah, and her gates have languished, They have mourned to the earth, And the cry of Jerusalem hath gone up.
2 Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem goeth up.
2 Judah mourns, and the gates of it languish, they sit in black on the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
2 Judah is weeping and its doors are dark with sorrow, and people are seated on the earth clothed in black; and the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.
For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.
Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts:
Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick. They that be slain with the sword are better than they that be slain with hunger: for these pine away, stricken through for want of the fruits of the field.
Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD.
Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.
Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.
How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.
The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.
The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.
My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible » Commentary on Jeremiah 14
Commentary on Jeremiah 14 Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
CHAPTER 14
Jer 14:1-22. Prophecies on the Occasion of a Drought Sent in Judgment on Judea.
1. Literally, "That which was the word of Jehovah to Jeremiah concerning the dearth"
drought—literally, the "withholdings," namely, of rain (De 11:17; 2Ch 7:13). This word should be used especially of the withholding of rain because rain is in those regions of all things the one chiefly needed (Jer 17:8, Margin).
2. gates—The place of public concourse in each city looks sad, as being no longer frequented (Isa 3:26; 24:4).
black—that is, they mourn (blackness being indicative of sorrow), (Jer 8:21).
unto the ground—bowing towards it.
cry—of distress (1Sa 5:12; Isa 24:11).
3. 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.
5. The brute creation is reduced to the utmost extremity for the want of food. The "hind," famed for her affection to her young, abandons them.
6. wild asses—They repair to "the high places" most exposed to the winds, which they "snuff in" to relieve their thirst.
dragons—jackals [Henderson].
eyes—which are usually most keen in detecting grass or water from the "heights," so much so that the traveller guesses from their presence that there must be herbage and water near; but now "their eyes fail." Rather the reference is to the great boas and python serpents which raise a large portion of their body up in a vertical column ten or twelve feet high, to survey the neighborhood above the surrounding bushes, while with open jaws they drink in the air. These giant serpents originated the widely spread notions which typified the deluge and all destructive agents under the form of a dragon or monster serpent; hence, the dragon temples always near water, in Asia, Africa, and Britain; for example, at Abury, in Wiltshire; a symbol of the ark is often associated with the dragon as the preserver from the waters [Kitto, Biblical Cyclopædia].
7. do thou it—what we beg of Thee; interpose to remove the drought. Jeremiah pleads in the name of his nation (Ps 109:21). So "work for us," absolutely used (1Sa 14:6).
for thy name's sake—"for our backslidings are so many" that we cannot urge Thee for the sake of our doings, but for the glory of Thy name; lest, if Thou give us not aid, it should be said it was owing to Thy want of power (Jos 7:9; Ps 79:9; 106:8; Isa 48:9; Eze 20:44). The same appeal to God's mercy, "for His name's sake," as our only hope, since our sin precludes trust in ourselves, occurs in Ps 25:11.
8. The reference is, not to the faith of Israel which had almost ceased, but to the promise and everlasting covenant of God. None but the true Israel make God their "hope." (Jer 17:13).
turneth aside to tarry—The traveller cares little for the land he tarries but a night in; but Thou hast promised to dwell always in the midst of Thy people (2Ch 33:7, 8). Maurer translates, "spreadeth," namely, his tent.
9. astonied—like a "mighty man," at other times able to help (Isa 59:1), but now stunned by a sudden calamity so as to disappoint the hopes drawn from him.
art in the midst of us—(Ex 29:45, 46; Le 26:11, 12).
called by thy name—(Da 9:18, 19) as Thine own peculiar people (De 9:29).
10. Jehovah's reply to the prayer (Jer 14:7-9; Jer 2:23-25).
Thus—So greatly.
loved—(Jer 5:31).
not refrained … feet—They did not obey God's command; "withhold thy foot" (Jer 2:25), namely, from following after idols.
remember … iniquity—(Ho 8:13; 9:9). Their sin is so great, God must punish them.
11. (Jer 7:16; Ex 32:10).
12. not hear—because their prayers are hypocritical: their hearts are still idolatrous. God never refuses to hear real prayer (Jer 7:21, 22; Pr 1:28; Isa 1:15; 58:3).
sword … famine … pestilence—the three sorest judgments at once; any one of which would be enough for their ruin (2Sa 24:12, 13).
13. Jeremiah urges that much of the guilt of the people is due to the false prophets' influence.
assured peace—solid and lasting peace. Literally, "peace of truth" (Isa 39:8).
14. (Jer 23:21).
15. (Jer 5:12, 13).
By sword and famine … consumed—retribution in kind both to the false prophets and to their hearers (Jer 14:16).
16. none to bury—(Ps 79:3).
pour their wickedness—that is, the punishment incurred by their wickedness (Jer 2:19).
17. (Jer 9:1; La 1:16). Jeremiah is desired to weep ceaselessly for the calamities coming on his nation (called a "virgin," as being heretofore never under foreign yoke), (Isa 23:4).
18. go about—that is, shall have to migrate into a land of exile. Horsley translates, "go trafficking about the land (see Jer 5:31, Margin; 2Co 4:2; 2Pe 2:3), and take no knowledge" (that is, pay no regard to the miseries before their eyes) (Isa 1:3; 58:3). If the literal sense of the Hebrew verb be retained, I would with English Version understand the words as referring to the exile to Babylon; thus, "the prophet and the priest shall have to go to a strange land to practise their religious traffic (Isa 56:11; Eze 34:2, 3; Mic 3:11).
19. The people plead with God, Jeremiah being forbidden to do so.
no healing—(Jer 15:18).
peace … no good—(Jer 8:15).
20. (Da 9:8).
21. us—"the throne of Thy glory" may be the object of "abhor not" ("reject not"); or "Zion" (Jer 14:19).
throne of thy glory—Jerusalem, or, the temple, called God's "footstool" and "habitation" (1Ch 28:2; Ps 132:5).
thy covenant—(Ps 106:45; Da 9:19).
22. vanities—idols (De 32:21).
rain—(Zec 10:1, 2).
heavens—namely, of themselves without God (Mt 5:45; Ac 14:17); they are not the First Cause, and ought not to be deified, as they were by the heathen. The disjunctive "or" favors Calvin's explanation: "Not even the heavens themselves can give rain, much less can the idol vanities."
art not thou he—namely, who canst give rain?