Jeremiah 9:10
in Jeremiah 9I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, a dirge over the wilderness pasture, for they have been scorched so no one passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they have gone away.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none passeth through; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the birds of the heavens and the beasts are fled, they are gone.
KJV
For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.
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This verse in Jeremiah 9
Commentary
6 notes on this verseFor the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing,.... Because of the desolation of them; because no pasture upon them, nor flocks feeding there; or "concerning" them, as the Arabic version; or "upon" them (y), in order to cause the lamentation to be heard the further; but the former sense seems best, as appears by what follows. The Septuagint, Syriac, and Arabic versions, read it as an exhortation to others, "take up a weeping": but they are the words of the prophet, declaring what he would do.
This site's exposition
a weeping and wailing for the mountains
on Jeremiah 9:10-11
The words “I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains” turn the coming devastation into a funeral for the land itself. Jerusalem becomes “a heap of rubble, a haunt for jackals”, the city built for worship now home to the wild.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Ver. 10.) Over the mountains I will lift up weeping and lamentation, and over the beautiful paths of the deserted plains there will be mourning. For they are burned up because there is no man passing through, and they have not heard the voice of the possessor, from the bird of the sky to the livestock they migrate and depart.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Though he dwells in Judah where God is known, in Salem where his tabernacle is, yet he is ready to cry out, Woe is me that I sojourn in Mesech! While all his neighbours are fleeing to the defenced cities, and Jerusalem especially, in dread of the enemies' rage ( ch. iv. 5, 6 ) he is contriving to retire into some desert, in detestation of his people's sin (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled - The land shall be so utterly devastated, that neither beast nor bird shall be able to live in it.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The punishment described in general terms in the preceding three verses is now detailed at great length. Jer 9:10 The habitations i. e - the temporary encampments of the shepherds (see Jer 6:3). So that none can ... - Or, “They are parched up, with no man to pass through them; neither do they hear the voice of cattle; from the birds of the heaven even to the beasts they “are fled, they are gone.” Jer 9:11 Dragons - Rather, jackals. Jer 9:12 For what the land perisheth ... - This is the question proposed for consideration. The prophet calls upon the wise man to explain his question; that question being, Wherefore did the land perish? He follows it by the assertion of a fact: “It is parched like the wilderness with no man to pass through.” Jer 9:13 The cause of the chastisement about to fall upon Jerusalem, was their desertion of the divine Law. Jer 9:14 Imagination - Or, as in the margin. Which their fathers taught them - It was not the sin of one generation that brought upon them chastisement: it was a sin, which had been handed down from father to son. Jer 9:15 I will feed them ... - Rather, I am feeding them. The present participle used here, followed by three verbs in the future, shows that the judgment has beam, of which the successive stages are given in the next clause. Wormwood - See Deu 29:18, note, and for “water of gall,” Jer 8:14, note. Jer 9:16 This verse is taken from Lev 26:33. The fulfillment of what had been so long before appointed as the penalty for the violation of Yahweh’s covenant is one of the most remarkable proofs that prophecy was something more than human foresight. Till I have consumed them - See Jer 4:27 note. How is this “consuming” consistent with the promise to the contrary there given? Because it is limited by the terms of Jer 9:7. […]
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Who is the man so wise Who will understand this, and who is the prophet to whom the mouth of the Lord has spoken,
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 7 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
24 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| הֶ֨הָרִ֜ים | heharim | the mountains | H2022 → | 546 times |
| אֶשָּׂ֧א | ʾesa' | I will take up | H5375 → | 656 times |
| בְכִ֣י | vekhi | weeping | H1065 → | 30 times |
| וָנֶ֗הִי | vanehi | and wailing | H5092 → | 7 times |
| וְעַל־ | veal- | and on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| נְא֤וֹת | neot | [the] pastures of | H4999 → | 12 times |
| מִדְבָּר֙ | midbar | [the] wilderness | H4057 → | 270 times |
| קִינָ֔ה | kinah | lamentation | H7015 → | 18 times |
| כִּ֤י | ki | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| נִצְּתוּ֙ | nitzetu | they are left desolate | H3341 → | 29 times |
| מִבְּלִי־ | mibeli- | because not | H1097 → | 58 times |
| אִ֣ישׁ | ʾish | anyone | H376 → | 1663 times |
| עֹבֵ֔ר | ʾover | [who] passes through | H5674 → | 556 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| שָׁמְע֖וּ | shameu | people hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| ק֣וֹל | kol | [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| מִקְנֶ֑ה | mikneh | livestock | H4735 → | |
| מֵע֤וֹף | meof | from [the] bird[s] of | H5775 → | 71 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וְעַד־ | vead- | and unto | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| בְּהֵמָ֔ה | behemah | animal[s] | H929 → | 190 times |
| נָדְד֖וּ | nadedu | they have fled | H5074 → | 28 times |
| הָלָֽכוּ׃ | halakhu | they have gone | H1980 → | 1546 times |
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
הֶ֨הָרִ֜יםthe mountains
heharimH2022 →546 times
אֶשָּׂ֧אI will take up
ʾesa'H5375 →656 times
בְכִ֣יweeping
vekhiH1065 →30 times
וָנֶ֗הִיand wailing
vanehiH5092 →7 times
וְעַל־and on
veal-H5921 →5755 times
נְא֤וֹת[the] pastures of
neotH4999 →12 times
מִדְבָּר֙[the] wilderness
midbarH4057 →270 times
קִינָ֔הlamentation
kinahH7015 →18 times
כִּ֤יfor
kiH3588 →4482 times
נִצְּתוּ֙they are left desolate
nitzetuH3341 →29 times
מִבְּלִי־because not
mibeli-H1097 →58 times
אִ֣ישׁanyone
ʾishH376 →1663 times
עֹבֵ֔ר[who] passes through
ʾoverH5674 →556 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
שָׁמְע֖וּpeople hear
shameuH8085 →1159 times
ק֣וֹל[the] sound of
kolH6963 →506 times
מִקְנֶ֑הlivestock
miknehH4735 →
מֵע֤וֹףfrom [the] bird[s] of
meofH5775 →71 times
הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙the heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
וְעַד־and unto
vead-H5704 →1261 times
בְּהֵמָ֔הanimal[s]
behemahH929 →190 times
נָדְד֖וּthey have fled
nadeduH5074 →28 times
הָלָֽכוּ׃they have gone
halakhuH1980 →1546 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
Hosea 4:3Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.
it leads to
- Zephaniah 1:3
“I will sweep away man and beast; I will sweep away the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea, and the idols with their wicked worshipers. I will cut off mankind…
- Isaiah 24:4–12
The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and fades; the exalted of the earth waste away.
- Nahum 1:4
He rebukes the sea and dries it up; He makes all the rivers run dry. Bashan and Carmel wither, and the flower of Lebanon wilts.
- Ezekiel 38:20
The fish of the sea, the birds of the air, the beasts of the field, every creature that crawls upon the ground, and all mankind on the face of the earth will tremble at…
- Amos 5:16
Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Hosts, the Lord, says: “There will be wailing in all the public squares and cries of ‘Alas! Alas!’ in all the streets. The farmer will…
- Zephaniah 1:3
Through
Jeremiah 12:4How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field be withered? Because of the evil of its residents, the animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said,…
it leads to
- Psalms 107:34
and fruitful land into fields of salt, because of the wickedness of its dwellers.
- Hosea 4:3
Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.
- Psalms 107:34
Through
Jeremiah 7:29Cut off your hair and throw it away. Raise up a lamentation on the barren heights, for the LORD has rejected and forsaken the generation of His wrath.’
it leads to
- Job 1:20
Then Job stood up, tore his robe, and shaved his head. He fell to the ground and worshiped,
- Job 1:20
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.