Jeremiah 14:2
in Jeremiah 14“Judah mourns and her gates languish. Her people wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they sit in black upon the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
KJV
Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
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This verse in Jeremiah 14
Commentary
8 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
came to Jeremiah concerning the drought
on Jeremiah 14:1-6
The drought reaches every rank of creature, from nobles whose servants find the cisterns empty to farmers who “cover their heads” over cracked ground. Even “the doe in the field deserts her newborn fawn”. The spread from noble to farmer to beast shows a judgment on Judah as a whole.
This site's exposition
Judah mourns and her gates languish
The gates were where a town met in public. Adam Clarke takes them as a name for the people, and Barnes pictures those people sitting on the ground in mourning. Matthew Henry hears two things in the cry from Jerusalem, the wail of their trouble and a prayer for rain.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 2) Judah (or Judea) lamented and its gates collapsed (or became empty), and it was darkened (or obscured) over the land, and the cry of Jerusalem went up. In times of drought, when the multitude suffers from hunger for hearing and learning the word of God, Judea mourns, boasting of having the worship of God first, and the confession of true faith, and its gates are either emptied or fall down, which we should attribute to the senses, through which discipline is conceived by souls.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
The cry of Jerusalem has gone up; that is, of the citizens (for the city is served by the field ), or of people from all parts of the country met at Jerusalem to pray for rain; so some. But I fear it was rather the cry of their trouble, and the cry of their prayer. The great men of the land felt from this judgment (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
Judah mourneth,....
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
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;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
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.
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
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.
The words behind it
9 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אָבְלָ֣ה | ʾavelah | it is in mourning | H56 → | 39 times |
| יְהוּדָ֔ה | yehudah | Judah | H3063 → | 819 times |
| וּשְׁעָרֶ֥יהָ | usheareiha | and gates its | H8179 → | 374 times |
| אֻמְלְל֖וּ | ʾumlelu | they are languishing | H535 → | |
| קָדְר֣וּ | kaderu | they are in mourning | H6937 → | 17 times |
| לָאָ֑רֶץ | laaretz | to the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְצִוְחַ֥ת | vetzivchat | and [the] outcry of | H6682 → | |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| עָלָֽתָה׃ | ʾalatah | it has gone up | H5927 → | 890 times |
אָבְלָ֣הit is in mourning
ʾavelahH56 →39 times
יְהוּדָ֔הJudah
yehudahH3063 →819 times
וּשְׁעָרֶ֥יהָand gates its
usheareihaH8179 →374 times
אֻמְלְל֖וּthey are languishing
ʾumleluH535 →
קָדְר֣וּthey are in mourning
kaderuH6937 →17 times
לָאָ֑רֶץto the earth
laaretzH776 →2504 times
וְצִוְחַ֥תand [the] outcry of
vetzivchatH6682 →
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖םJerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
עָלָֽתָה׃it has gone up
ʾalatahH5927 →890 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Zechariah 7:13And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts.
it leads to
- Proverbs 1:24–28
Because you refused my call, and no one took my outstretched hand,
- Jeremiah 14:12
Although they may fast, I will not listen to their cry; although they may offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them. Instead, I will finish them off by sword and…
- Isaiah 1:15
When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
- Jeremiah 11:11
Therefore this is what the LORD says: ‘I am about to bring upon them a disaster that they cannot escape. They will cry out to Me, but I will not listen to them.
- Micah 3:4
Then they will cry out to the LORD, but He will not answer them. At that time He will hide His face from them because of the evil they have done.
- Proverbs 1:24–28
Through
Isaiah 3:26And the gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground.
it leads to
- Lamentations 2:10
The elders of the Daughter of Zion sit on the ground in silence. They have thrown dust on their heads and put on sackcloth. The young women of Jerusalem have bowed their heads to…
- Lamentations 2:10
Through
Jeremiah 8:21For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am crushed. I mourn; horror has gripped me.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 14:17
You are to speak this word to them: ‘My eyes overflow with tears; day and night they do not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people has been shattered by a crushing blow,…
- Jeremiah 14:17
Through
1 Samuel 5:12Those who did not die were afflicted with tumors, and the outcry of the city went up to heaven.
it leads to
- Exodus 12:30
During the night Pharaoh got up—he and all his officials and all the Egyptians—and there was loud wailing in Egypt; for there was no house without someone dead.
- Exodus 12:30
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
Who and where
2 names in this verse with a page on the site.
- PersonPatriarchsJudahJacob's fourth son who pledges himself for Benjamin; the tribe that carries the scepter to Shiloh (49:10) and the line to Christ (…
- PlaceJerusalemJerusalemThe city David took from the Jebusites and made his capital, where Solomon built the temple, where Christ was crucified and rose,…
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.