Jeremiah 18:22
in Jeremiah 18Let a cry be heard from their houses when You suddenly bring raiders against them, for they have dug a pit to capture me and have hidden snares for my feet.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
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.
KJV
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.
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This verse in Jeremiah 18
Commentary
7 notes on this verseThis site's exposition
Attend to me, O LORD. Hear
on Jeremiah 18:19-23
Jeremiah’s harshest recorded prayer asks God to “hand their children over to famine” because “they have dug a pit for me.” He reminds God how he “stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn Your wrath from them.”
This site's exposition
Let a cry be heard from their houses
Albert Barnes sees the sack of the city in these lines, with all the cruelty of such a day. The raiders come suddenly, and the cry rises from the houses. The pit and the snares repeat the charge of verse 20.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Vers. 22, 23.) For he brings upon them suddenly a robber, because they dug a pit to capture me, and hid snares for my feet. But you, Lord, know all their counsel against me to bring about my death. Do not forgive their iniquity, and let not their sin be blotted out from your sight. Let them be overthrown (or let them stumble) before you; in the time of your anger, deal with them (or do to them).
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
5 Then the word of the L ORD came to me, saying, 6 O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the L ORD . Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in mine hand, O house of Israel. 7 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it;
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:94%@v5-7
Let a cry be heard from their houses,....
(4.) That they might be dealt with according to the desert of this sin, which was without excuse: " Forgive not their iniquity, neither blot out their sin from thy sight; that is, let them not escape the just punishment of it; let them lie under all the miseries of those whose sins are unpardoned." (5.) That God's wrath against them might be their ruin: Let them be overthrown before thee.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The sack of the city follows with all the horrible cruelties practiced at such a time.
The words behind it
15 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| תִּשָּׁמַ֤ע | tishama' | may it be heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| זְעָקָה֙ | zeakah | a cry of distress | H2201 → | 18 times |
| מִבָּ֣תֵּיהֶ֔ם | mibateihem | from houses their | H1004 → | 2046 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | if | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| תָבִ֧יא | tavi' | you will bring | H935 → | 2568 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם | ʾaleihem | on them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| גְּד֖וּד | gedud | a marauding band | H1416 → | |
| פִּתְאֹ֑ם | pitom | suddenly | H6597 → | 25 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| כָר֤וּ | kharu | they have dug | H3738 → | |
| שׁוּחָה֙ | shichah | a pit | H7745 → | 5 times |
| לְלָכְדֵ֔נִי | lelakhedeni | to capture me | H3920 → | 121 times |
| וּפַחִ֖ים | ufachim | and snares | H6341 → | 27 times |
| טָמְנ֥וּ | tamenu | they have hidden | H2934 → | 31 times |
| לְרַגְלָֽי׃ | leraglai | for feet my | H7272 → | 247 times |
תִּשָּׁמַ֤עmay it be heard
tishama'H8085 →1159 times
זְעָקָה֙a cry of distress
zeakahH2201 →18 times
מִבָּ֣תֵּיהֶ֔םfrom houses their
mibateihemH1004 →2046 times
כִּֽי־if
ki-H3588 →4482 times
תָבִ֧יאyou will bring
tavi'H935 →2568 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֛םon them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
גְּד֖וּדa marauding band
gedudH1416 →
פִּתְאֹ֑םsuddenly
pitomH6597 →25 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
כָר֤וּthey have dug
kharuH3738 →
שׁוּחָה֙a pit
shichahH7745 →5 times
לְלָכְדֵ֔נִיto capture me
lelakhedeniH3920 →121 times
וּפַחִ֖יםand snares
ufachimH6341 →27 times
טָמְנ֥וּthey have hidden
tamenuH2934 →31 times
לְרַגְלָֽי׃for feet my
leraglaiH7272 →247 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
Psalms 140:5The proud hide a snare for me; the cords of their net are spread along the path, and lures are set out for me. Selah
it leads to
- Psalms 142:3
Although my spirit grows faint within me, You know my way. Along the path I travel they have hidden a snare for me.
- Psalms 35:7
For without cause they laid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my soul.
- Jeremiah 18:20
Should good be repaid with evil? Yet they have dug a pit for me. Remember how I stood before You to speak good on their behalf, to turn Your wrath from them.
- Psalms 123:3–4
Have mercy on us, O LORD, have mercy, for we have endured much contempt.
- Psalms 119:85
The arrogant have dug pits for me in violation of Your law.
- Psalms 142:3
Through
Jeremiah 6:26O daughter of my people, dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter wailing, as you would for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:8
So put on sackcloth, mourn and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.”
- Zechariah 12:10
Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They…
- Jeremiah 4:8
Through
Zephaniah 1:16a day of horn blast and battle cry against the fortified cities, and against the high corner towers.
it leads to
- Amos 3:6
If a ram’s horn sounds in a city, do the people not tremble? If calamity comes to a city, has not the LORD caused it?
- Amos 3:6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies3
About Jeremiah

This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
