Jeremiah 8:19
in Jeremiah 8Listen to the cry of the daughter of my people from a land far away: “Is the LORD no longer in Zion? Is her King no longer there?” “Why have they provoked Me to anger with their carved images, with their worthless foreign idols?”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a land that is very far off: is not Jehovah in Zion? is not her King in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with foreign vanities?
KJV
Behold the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people because of them that dwell in a far country: Is not the Lord in Zion? is not her king in her? Why have they provoked me to anger with their graven images, and with strange vanities?
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This verse in Jeremiah 8
Commentary
4 notes on this verse(Verse 19) Behold, the voice of the cry of the daughter of my people from a distant land. She describes weeping and the howling of the city of Jerusalem as the enemies enter. Is not the Lord in Zion, and is not his king in her? Indeed, the Lord himself is the king. Or certainly the Lord refers to the Father, and the king refers to the Son, according to that which is written under the name of Solomon: 'Give your judgment, O God, to the king, and your justice to the king's son' (Psalm 72:1).
This site's exposition
When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me
on Jeremiah 8:18-22
When I would comfort myself against sorrow, my heart is faint in me opens the chapter's turn from third-person indictment to the prophet's own grief, Jeremiah heard weeping inside his own oracle rather than merely delivering it. The exiles' own bewildered question, is not the Lord in Zion, is not her king in her, is answered only by the silence of verse 20, the harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved, opportunity named as having simply run out. Is there no balm in Gilead, is there no physician there, closes the unit as the book's most quoted line of grief, Gilead's balm a real regional export named for its medicinal trade, asked here as a question with no answer supplied in the text itself.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
on Jeremiah 8:18-22
Death shall not now be, as it always used to be--the repose of the dead. When Job makes his court to the grave it is in hope of this, that there he shall rest with kings and counsellors of the earth; but now the ashes of the dead, even of kings and princes, shall be disturbed, and their bones scattered at the grave's mouth, Ps. cxli.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
In the latter half of the verse God replies that their own idolatry, not want of faithfulness on His part, is the cause. because of them that dwell in a far country--rather, "from a land of distances," that is, a distant land (Isa 39:3).
The words behind it
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הִנֵּה־ | hineh- | there! | H2009 → | 843 times |
| ק֞וֹל | kol | [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| שַֽׁוְעַ֣ת | shavat | [the] cry for help of | H7775 → | |
| בַּת־ | bat- | [the] daughter of | H1323 → | 588 times |
| עַמִּ֗י | ʾami | people my | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| מֵאֶ֙רֶץ֙ | meeretz | from a land of | H776 → | 2504 times |
| מַרְחַקִּ֔ים | marchakim | distance<s> | H4801 → | 18 times |
| הַֽיהוָה֙ | hayahweh | ¿ [is] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֵ֣ין | ʾein | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| בְּצִיּ֔וֹן | betziyon | in Zion | H6726 → | 154 times |
| אִם־ | ʾim- | or? | H518 → | 1069 times |
| מַלְכָּ֖הּ | malkah | [is] king its | H4428 → | 2525 times |
| אֵ֣ין | ʾein | not | H369 → | 789 times |
| בָּ֑הּ | bah | in <the> it | ||
| מַדּ֗וּעַ | madua' | why? | H4069 → | 72 times |
| הִכְעִס֛וּנִי | hikhisuni | have they provoked to anger me | H3707 → | 54 times |
| בִּפְסִלֵיהֶ֖ם | bifsileihem | by idols their | H6456 → | 23 times |
| בְּהַבְלֵ֥י | behavlei | by vanities of | H1892 → | 73 times |
| נֵכָֽר׃ | nekhar | foreignness | H5236 → |
הִנֵּה־there!
hineh-H2009 →843 times
ק֞וֹל[the] sound of
kolH6963 →506 times
שַֽׁוְעַ֣ת[the] cry for help of
shavatH7775 →
בַּת־[the] daughter of
bat-H1323 →588 times
עַמִּ֗יpeople my
ʾamiH5971 →1873 times
מֵאֶ֙רֶץ֙from a land of
meeretzH776 →2504 times
מַרְחַקִּ֔יםdistance<s>
marchakimH4801 →18 times
הַֽיהוָה֙¿ [is] Yahweh
hayahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֵ֣יןnot
ʾeinH369 →789 times
בְּצִיּ֔וֹןin Zion
betziyonH6726 →154 times
אִם־or?
ʾim-H518 →1069 times
מַלְכָּ֖הּ[is] king its
malkahH4428 →2525 times
אֵ֣יןnot
ʾeinH369 →789 times
בָּ֑הּin <the> it
bah
מַדּ֗וּעַwhy?
madua'H4069 →72 times
הִכְעִס֛וּנִיhave they provoked to anger me
hikhisuniH3707 →54 times
בִּפְסִלֵיהֶ֖םby idols their
bifsileihemH6456 →23 times
בְּהַבְלֵ֥יby vanities of
behavleiH1892 →73 times
נֵכָֽר׃foreignness
nekharH5236 →
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
Joel 2:32And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by…
it leads to
- Romans 10:11–14
It is just as the Scripture says: “Anyone who believes in Him will never be put to shame.”
- Acts 2:20–21
The sun will be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the coming of the great and glorious Day of the Lord.
- Isaiah 46:13
I am bringing My righteousness near; it is not far away, and My salvation will not be delayed. I will grant salvation to Zion and adorn Israel with My splendor.
- Jeremiah 31:7
For this is what the LORD says: “Sing with joy for Jacob; shout for the foremost of the nations! Make your praises heard, and say, ‘O LORD, save Your people, the remnant of Israel!’
- Psalms 50:15
Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.”
- Romans 10:11–14
Through
Revelation 2:1“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of Him who holds the seven stars in His right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands.
it leads to
- Revelation 1:20
This is the mystery of the seven stars you saw in My right hand and of the seven golden lampstands: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands…
- Revelation 1:16
He held in His right hand seven stars, and a sharp double-edged sword came from His mouth. His face was like the sun shining at its brightest.
- Revelation 1:11–13
saying, “Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea.”
- Revelation 1:20
About Jeremiah
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.