Jeremiah 4:19
in Jeremiah 4My anguish, my anguish! I writhe in pain! Oh, the pain in my chest! My heart pounds within me; I cannot be silent. For I have heard the sound of the horn, the alarm of battle.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
My anguish, my anguish! I am pained at my very heart; my heart is disquieted in me; I cannot hold my peace; because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
KJV
My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.
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This verse in Jeremiah 4
Commentary
4 notes on this verseon Jeremiah 4:19-20
(Verse 19, 20.) My belly, my belly is in pain: the feelings of my heart are troubled within me. I will not be silent because my soul has heard the sound of the trumpet, the cry of battle. Destruction upon destruction is called out, and the whole land is laid waste. Suddenly my tents are destroyed, my curtains in an instant. When we stood by Symmachus, we were troubled, and in Hebrew it is written, Homa (); the Septuagint and Theodotion used the word μαιμάσσει, which I do not know the meaning of to this day.
This site's exposition
My bowels, my bowels!
on Jeremiah 4:19-22
The prophet's own body answers the trumpet before he can compose a sentence about it, bowels, heart, and a noise he cannot still, the same licensed grief that runs through the confessions of chapters 11 to 20 breaking out here at the first sound of the enemy rather than waiting for the city's fall. The indictment that follows, my people is foolish, they have not known me, wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge, is Jeremiah's own diagnosis inside his own weeping, sin and sorrow held together rather than one replacing the other.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
My bowels, my bowels,.... These are either the words of the people, unto whose heart the calamity reached, as in the preceding verse; or rather of the prophet, who either, from a sympathizing heart, expresses himself in this manner; or puts on an appearance of mourning and distress, in order to awaken his people to a sense of their condition. The repetition of the word is after the manner of persons in pain and uneasiness, as, "my head, my head", 2Ki 4:19, I am pained at my very heart; as a woman in labour.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
The prophet suddenly assumes the language of the Jewish state personified, lamenting its affliction (Jer 10:19, 20; Isa 15:5; compare Lu 19:41). at my very heart--Hebrew, "at the walls of my heart"; the muscles round the heart. There is a climax, the "bowels," the pericardium, the "heart" itself. maketh . . . noise--moaneth [HENDERSON]. alarm--the battle shout.
The words behind it
17 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| מֵעַ֣י׀ | meai | inward parts my | H4578 → | 32 times |
| מֵעַ֨י׀ | meai | inward parts my | H4578 → | 32 times |
| אוֹחִ֜ילָה | ʾachulah | I am waiting | H3176 → | |
| קִיר֥וֹת | kirot | [the] walls of | H7023 → | |
| לִבִּ֛י | libi | heart my | H3820 → | 595 times |
| הֹֽמֶה־ | homeh- | [is] in turmoil | H1993 → | 34 times |
| לִּ֥י | li | to <the> me | ||
| לִבִּ֖י | libi | heart my | H3820 → | 595 times |
| לֹ֣א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| אַחֲרִ֑ישׁ | ʾacharish | I will keep silent | H2790 → | 74 times |
| כִּ֣י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| ק֤וֹל | kol | [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| שׁוֹפָר֙ | shofar | a trumpet | H7782 → | 72 times |
| שָׁמַ֣עַתְּ | shama'ti | you have heard | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| נַפְשִׁ֔י | nafshi | O self my | H5315 → | 754 times |
| תְּרוּעַ֖ת | teruat | [the] shout of | H8643 → | 36 times |
| מִלְחָמָֽה׃ | milchamah | battle | H4421 → | 320 times |
מֵעַ֣י׀inward parts my
meaiH4578 →32 times
מֵעַ֨י׀inward parts my
meaiH4578 →32 times
אוֹחִ֜ילָהI am waiting
ʾachulahH3176 →
קִיר֥וֹת[the] walls of
kirotH7023 →
לִבִּ֛יheart my
libiH3820 →595 times
הֹֽמֶה־[is] in turmoil
homeh-H1993 →34 times
לִּ֥יto <the> me
li
לִבִּ֖יheart my
libiH3820 →595 times
לֹ֣אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
אַחֲרִ֑ישׁI will keep silent
ʾacharishH2790 →74 times
כִּ֣יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
ק֤וֹל[the] sound of
kolH6963 →506 times
שׁוֹפָר֙a trumpet
shofarH7782 →72 times
שָׁמַ֣עַתְּyou have heard
shama'tiH8085 →1159 times
נַפְשִׁ֔יO self my
nafshiH5315 →754 times
תְּרוּעַ֖ת[the] shout of
teruatH8643 →36 times
מִלְחָמָֽה׃battle
milchamahH4421 →320 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
Jeremiah 9:1Oh, that my head were a spring of water, and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night over the slain daughter of my people.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 13:17
But if you do not listen, I will weep in secret because of your pride. My eyes will overflow with tears, because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 22:4
Therefore I said, “Turn away from me, let me weep bitterly! Do not try to console me over the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
- Lamentations 2:11
My eyes fail from weeping; I am churning within. My heart is poured out in grief over the destruction of the daughter of my people, because children and infants faint in the streets of…
- Jeremiah 13:17
Through
Habakkuk 3:16I heard and trembled within; my lips quivered at the sound. Decay entered my bones; I trembled where I stood. Yet I must wait patiently for the day of distress to come upon the…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 23:9
As for the prophets: My heart is broken within me, and all my bones tremble. I have become like a drunkard, like a man overcome by wine, because of the LORD, because of His…
- Habakkuk 1:5–11
“Look at the nations and observe—be utterly astounded! For I am doing a work in your days that you would never believe even if someone told you.
- Habakkuk 3:2
O LORD, I have heard the report of You; I stand in awe, O LORD, of Your deeds. Revive them in these years; make them known in these years. In Your wrath, remember mercy!
- Daniel 10:8
So I was left alone, gazing at this great vision. No strength remained in me; my face grew deathly pale, and I was powerless.
- Psalms 119:120
My flesh trembles in awe of You; I stand in fear of Your judgments.
- Jeremiah 23:9
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About Jeremiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah and John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763).