Lectionary Calendar
Friday, August 22nd, 2025
the Week of Proper 15 / Ordinary 20
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Read the Bible

THE MESSAGE

Jeremiah 14:2

This verse is not available in the MSG!

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:

- Nave's Topical Bible - Drought;   Famine;   Gates;   Impenitence;   Mourning;   Thompson Chain Reference - Gates;   Torrey's Topical Textbook - Famine;  

Dictionaries:

- American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Gate;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Colour;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Black;   Economic Life;   Famine and Drought;   Jeremiah;   Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament - Gate (2);   Wilson's Dictionary of Bible Types - Black;  

Encyclopedias:

- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Color;   Complaining;   Gate;   Zechariah, Book of;   Kitto Biblical Cyclopedia - Black;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Color;   Joel, Book of;   Small and Large Letters;  

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
Judah mourns;her city gates languish.Her people are on the ground in mourning;Jerusalem’s cry rises up.
Hebrew Names Version
Yehudah mourns, and the gates of it languish, they sit in black on the ground; and the cry of Yerushalayim is gone up.
King James Version
Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
English Standard Version
"Judah mourns, and her gates languish; her people lament on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
New American Standard Bible
"Judah mourns And her gates languish; Her people sit on the ground in mourning garments, And the cry of Jerusalem has ascended.
New Century Version
"The nation of Judah cries as if someone has died, and her cities are very sad. They are distressed over the land. A cry goes up to God from Jerusalem.
Amplified Bible
"Judah mourns And her gates languish; Her people sit on the ground in mourning clothes And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
World English Bible
Judah mourns, and the gates of it languish, they sit in black on the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
Geneva Bible (1587)
Iudah hath mourned, and the gates thereof are desolate, they haue bene brought to heauinesse vnto the grounde, and the cry of Ierusalem goeth vp.
Legacy Standard Bible
"Judah mourns,And her gates languish;They sit on the ground in mourning,And the outcry of Jerusalem has gone up.
Berean Standard Bible
"Judah mourns and her gates languish. Her people wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
Contemporary English Version
Judah and Jerusalem weep as the land dries up.
Complete Jewish Bible
"Y'hudah is mourning, her gates are languishing; they sit on the ground in gloom; Yerushalayim sends up a cry of anguish.
Darby Translation
Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem goeth up.
Easy-to-Read Version
"The nation of Judah cries for people who have died. The people in the cities of Judah grow weaker and weaker. They lie on the ground. People in Jerusalem, cry to God for help.
George Lamsa Translation
Judah mourns and her gates are desolate; they are fallen on the ground, and the painful cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
Good News Translation
"Judah is in mourning; its cities are dying, its people lie on the ground in sorrow, and Jerusalem cries out for help.
Lexham English Bible
"Judah mourns, and her gates languish, they are in mourning on the ground, and the cry of lament of Jerusalem goes up.
Literal Translation
Judah mourns, and her gates droop. They put on mourning for the land, and the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Iuda shal mourne, men shall not go moch more thorow his gates: the londe shal be nomore had in reputacion, & the crie of Ierusale shal breake out.
American Standard Version
Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they sit in black upon the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
Bible in Basic English
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.
JPS Old Testament (1917)
Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they bow down in black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
King James Version (1611)
Iudah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they are blacke vnto the ground, and the crie of Ierusalem is gone vp.
Bishop's Bible (1568)
Iuda hath mourned, his gates are desolate, they are brought to heauinesse, euen vnto the grounde, and the crye of Hierusalem goeth vp.
Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Judea has mourned, and her gates are emptied, and are darkened upon the earth; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
English Revised Version
Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they sit in black upon the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Jude weilide, and the yatis therof fellen doun, and ben maad derk in erthe, and the cry of Jerusalem stiede.
Update Bible Version
Judah mourns, and the gates thereof languish, they sit in black on the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
Webster's Bible Translation
Judah mourneth, and her gates languish; they are black to the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
New English Translation
"The people of Judah are in mourning. The people in her cities are pining away. They lie on the ground expressing their sorrow. Cries of distress come up to me from Jerusalem.
New King James Version
"Judah mourns, And her gates languish; They mourn for the land, And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
New Living Translation
"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.
New Life Bible
"Judah is full of sorrow and her gates are weak. Her people sit on the ground in sorrow, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
New Revised Standard
Judah mourns and her gates languish; they lie in gloom on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Judah mourneth, And the gates thereof, pine They lie in gloom on the ground, - And the outcry Jerusalem, hath ascended;
Douay-Rheims Bible
Judea hath mourned, and the gates thereof are fallen, and are become obscure on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
Revised Standard Version
"Judah mourns and her gates languish; her people lament on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
Young's Literal Translation
Mourned hath Judah, and her gates have languished, They have mourned to the earth, And the cry of Jerusalem hath gone up.
New American Standard Bible (1995)
"Judah mourns And her gates languish; They sit on the ground in mourning, And the cry of Jerusalem has ascended.

Contextual Overview

1 God 's Message that came to Jeremiah regarding the drought: "Judah weeps, her cities mourn. The people fall to the ground, moaning, while sounds of Jerusalem's sobs rise up, up. The rich people sent their servants for water. They went to the cisterns, but the cisterns were dry. They came back with empty buckets, wringing their hands, shaking their heads. All the farm work has stopped. Not a drop of rain has fallen. The farmers don't know what to do. They wring their hands, they shake their heads. Even the doe abandons her fawn in the field because there is no grass— Eyes glazed over, on her last legs, nothing but skin and bones." 7We know we're guilty. We've lived bad lives— but do something, God . Do it for your sake! Time and time again we've betrayed you. No doubt about it—we've sinned against you. Hope of Israel! Our only hope! Israel's last chance in this trouble! Why are you acting like a tourist, taking in the sights, here today and gone tomorrow? Why do you just stand there and stare, like someone who doesn't know what to do in a crisis? But God , you are, in fact, here, here with us! You know who we are—you named us! Don't leave us in the lurch.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

mourneth: Jeremiah 4:28, Jeremiah 12:4, Isaiah 3:26, Hosea 4:3, Joel 1:10

the gates: Isaiah 24:4, Isaiah 24:7, Isaiah 33:9

they: Jeremiah 8:21, Lamentations 2:9, Lamentations 4:8, Lamentations 4:9, Lamentations 5:10, Joel 2:6

the cry: Jeremiah 11:11, Jeremiah 18:22, Exodus 2:24, 1 Samuel 5:12, 1 Samuel 9:16, Job 34:28, Isaiah 5:7, Isaiah 15:5, Zechariah 7:13

Reciprocal: Deuteronomy 28:16 - in the field 1 Kings 18:2 - a sore Jeremiah 4:26 - the fruitful Jeremiah 12:11 - it mourneth Jeremiah 23:10 - the land Jeremiah 46:12 - thy cry Lamentations 1:4 - ways Lamentations 2:8 - he made Amos 1:2 - the habitations Habakkuk 3:17 - the fig tree

Cross-References

Genesis 13:10
Lot looked. He saw the whole plain of the Jordan spread out, well watered (this was before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah), like God 's garden, like Egypt, and stretching all the way to Zoar. Lot took the whole plain of the Jordan. Lot set out to the east. That's how they came to part company, uncle and nephew. Abram settled in Canaan; Lot settled in the cities of the plain and pitched his tent near Sodom. The people of Sodom were evil—flagrant sinners against God . After Lot separated from him, God said to Abram, "Open your eyes, look around. Look north, south, east, and west. Everything you see, the whole land spread out before you, I will give to you and your children forever. I'll make your descendants like dust—counting your descendants will be as impossible as counting the dust of the Earth. So—on your feet, get moving! Walk through the country, its length and breadth; I'm giving it all to you." Abram moved his tent. He went and settled by the Oaks of Mamre in Hebron. There he built an altar to God .
Genesis 14:10
The Valley of Siddim was full of tar pits. When the kings of Sodom and Gomorrah fled, they fell into the tar pits, but the rest escaped into the mountains. The four kings captured all the possessions of Sodom and Gomorrah, all their food and equipment, and went on their way. They captured Lot, Abram's nephew who was living in Sodom at the time, taking everything he owned with them.
Isaiah 15:5
Oh, how I grieve for Moab! Refugees stream to Zoar and then on to Eglath-shelishiyah. Up the slopes of Luhith they weep; on the road to Horonaim they cry their loss. The springs of Nimrim are dried up— grass brown, buds stunted, nothing grows. They leave, carrying all their possessions on their backs, everything they own, Making their way as best they can across Willow Creek to safety. Poignant cries reverberate all through Moab, Gut-wrenching sobs as far as Eglaim, heart-racking sobs all the way to Beer-elim. The banks of the Dibon crest with blood, but God has worse in store for Dibon: A lion—a lion to finish off the fugitives, to clean up whoever's left in the land.
Jeremiah 48:34
"Heshbon and Elealeh will cry out, and the people in Jahaz will hear the cries. They will hear them all the way from Zoar to Horonaim and Eglath-shelishiyah. Even the waters of Nimrim will be dried up.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Judah mourneth,.... That is, the inhabitants of Judah; those of the house of Judah, as the Targum; these mourned because of the drought and famine that were upon the land:

and the gates thereof languish; the cities of Judah, as the Targum; the inhabitants of them, which used to be supplied from the field, and out of the country; gates may be mentioned, because through the gates the provisions were brought into the city; but now none; and therefore are said to languish; or else those that sat in the gates are meant, the elders of the people, the senators, the judges, and civil magistrates; these shared in the common calamity:

they are black unto the ground; that is, the inhabitants of the cities, and those that sit in the gates, their faces are black through famine; see Lamentations 4:8, so the Targum,

"their faces are covered with blackness, they are black as a pot;''

and which they turned to the ground, and looked downwards, not being able to lift them up through the sorrow and distress they were in, and through faintness of spirit for want of food:

and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up: meaning the cry and lamentation of the inhabitants of Jerusalem because of the famine, for that city was not exempted from it, it having its supply from the country; or the prayer of them, and of the people from all parts got together there, which went up to heaven for rain: it being usual, in times of common distress, for the people in the country to come up to Jerusalem to the temple to pray to God, and particularly for rain, when there was a want of it.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

They are black unto the ground - The people assembled at the gates, the usual places of concourse, are in deep mourning and sit humbly on the ground.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 14:2. The gates thereof languish — The gates being the places of public resort, they are put here for the people.

They are black unto the ground — Covered from head to foot with a black garment, the emblem of sorrow and calamity.


 
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