Jeremiah 14:1

Lexham English Bible

Contextual Overview

¹ That which came as the word of Yahweh to Jeremiah concerning the matter of the severe drought. ² "Judah mourns, and her gates languish, they are in mourning on the ground, and the cry of lament of Jerusalem goes up. ³ And their nobles send their servants for water. They come to the pits, they find no water. They return with their vessels empty. They are ashamed, and they are confounded, and they cover their heads. ⁴ Because of the ground, which is cracked because there was no rain on the ground. The farmers are ashamed, they cover their heads. ⁵ For even the doe in the field gives birth and forsakes her young, because there is no green growth. ⁶ And wild asses stand on the barren heights, they gasp for breath like the jackals. Their eyes fail because there is no vegetation." ⁷ Although our iniquities testify against us, O Yahweh, act for the sake of your name. Yes, our apostasies are many; we have sinned against you. ⁸ You are the hope of Israel, its savior in time of distress. Why should you be like an alien in the land, or like a traveler who spreads out his tent to spend the night? ⁹ Why should you be like a confused man, like a warrior who is not able to help? Yet you are in our midst, O Yahweh, and your name is called upon us. You must not leave us!

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

am 3399, bc 605

The word: This discourse is supposed to have been delivered after the fourth year of Jehoiakim. The Hebrew batzaroth rendered dearth, signifies restraint, that is, "when the heaven is shut up that there is no rain;" which Houbigant thinks happened early in the reign of Zedekiah.

the dearth: Heb. the words of the dearths, or restraints, Jeremiah 17:8

Reciprocal: Genesis 12:10 - was a Genesis 41:55 - famished Genesis 47:13 - so that Leviticus 26:19 - make Deuteronomy 11:17 - shut up Deuteronomy 28:23 - General Joshua 15:57 - Timnah Ruth 1:1 - a famine 2 Samuel 21:1 - a famine 2 Samuel 21:14 - God 1 Kings 8:35 - heaven 2 Kings 4:38 - a dearth 2 Chronicles 6:26 - if they pray Haggai 1:10 - General

Cross-References

Genesis 10:22
The sons of Shem: Elam, Asshur, Arphaxad, Lud, and Aram.

Genesis 11:2
And as people migrated from the east they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there.

Isaiah 11:11
And this shall happen on that day: The Lord will again extend his hand a second time to acquire the remnant of his people that is left, from Assyria, Egypt, Pathros, Cush, Elam, Shinar, Hamath, and the coastlands of the sea,

Isaiah 21:2
A hard revelation is told to me; the treacherous deals treacherously, and the destroyer destroys. Go up, Elam; lay siege, Media! I put an end to all of her sighing.

Isaiah 22:6
And Elam lifted up the quiver, with chariots of men and cavalry. And Kir uncovered the shield.

Isaiah 37:12
Did the gods of the nations that my predecessors destroyed deliver them—Gozan, Haran, Rezeph, and the sons of Eden who were in Telassar?

Jeremiah 25:25
and all the kings of Zimri, and all the kings of Elam, and all the kings of Media;

Ezekiel 32:24
Elam is there and all of its hordes, all around its grave, all of them dead who fell by the sword, those who went down uncircumcised to the depths of the underworld, those who spread their terror to the land of the living, and now they bear their disgrace with the people going down to the grave.

Daniel 1:2
And the Lord gave Jehoiakim the king of Judah into his hand and some of of the utensils of the temple of God, and he brought them to the land of Shinar to the temple of his gods, and he brought the utensils to the treasury of his gods.

Zechariah 5:11
And he said to me, "To build for it a house in the land of Shinar, and when it is put in place, it will be placed there on its site."

Gill's Notes on the Bible

The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the dearth. Or, "concerning the words of straints" x; that is, concerning the businesses of a drought, as the Targum; concerning the Lord's restraining rain from the earth, and forbidding the heavens dropping it down; the consequence of which is a drought, or dryness of the earth; and the effect of that a famine; when this was it is not anywhere said; it could not be the famine at the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, because that only affected the city; this all Judea. Some think it was in the beginning of the reign of Zedekiah, long before the siege; and others, that it was in the reign of Jehoiakim, since we read of a fast in his time, Jeremiah 36:9, which might be on this occasion; and it appears that there was one at this time, though not acceptable to God; see

Jeremiah 14:12.

x על דברי הבצרות "super verbis, cohibitionum", Junius Tremellius "retentionum"; Tigurine version; "prohibitionum", Pagninus, Montanus.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

The dearth - Really, the drought,

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

CHAPTER XIV

This chapter begins with foretelling a drought that should

greatly distress the land of Judea, the effects of which are

described in a most pathetic manner, 1-6.

The prophet then, in the people's name, makes a confession of

sins, and supplication for pardon, 7-9.

But God declares his purpose to punish, forbidding Jeremiah to

pray for the people, 10-12.

False prophets are then complained of, and threatened with

destruction, as are also those who attend to them, 13-16.

The prophet, therefore, bewails their misery, 17, 18;

and though he had just now been forbidden to intercede for

them, yet, like a tender pastor, who could not cease to be

concerned for their welfare, he falls on the happy expedient of

introducing themselves as supplicating in their own name that

mercy which he was not allowed to ask in his, 19-22.

NOTES ON CHAP. XIV

Verse Jeremiah 14:1. The word - that came - concerning the dearth. — This discourse is supposed to have been delivered, after the fourth year of Jehoiakim. Concerning the dearth. We have no historic record of any dearth that may fall in with the time of this prophecy, and perhaps it does not refer to any particular dearth: but this was a calamity to which Judea was very liable. They had ordinarily very dry summers, for scarcely any rain fell from April to the middle of October; and during much of this time, the rivers were generally either very low or entirely dry. They kept the rain of the winter in tanks and reservoirs; and if little fell in winter, a dearth was unavoidable. See an account of a dearth in the time of Elijah, 1 Kings 18:5, through which almost all the cattle were lost.