Jeremiah 9:22
in Jeremiah 9Declare that this is what the LORD says: “The corpses of men will fall like dung upon the open field, like newly cut grain behind the reaper, with no one to gather it.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Speak, Thus saith Jehovah, The dead bodies of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman; and none shall gather them.
KJV
Speak, Thus saith the Lord, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.
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This verse in Jeremiah 9
Commentary
12 notes on this verse(Verse 22.) Speak these things, says the Lord, and the mortality of man (or the corpses of men) will fall like dung on the face of the region (or the field) and like hay behind the reaper, and there is no one to gather. The Hebrew word, which is written with three letters Daleth, Beth, Res (for it does not have vowels in the middle), signifies speech for a consequence and at the discretion of the reader if it is read as Dabar (), it signifies a word; if Deber, it signifies death; if Daber, it signifies speak.
This site's exposition
summon the wailing women
on Jeremiah 9:17-22
The call to “summon the wailing women” and “send for the most skillful among them” names the professional mourners, whose trade was grief on command. Yet “the sound of wailing is heard from Zion” before they arrive, and the women are told “Teach your daughters to wail”.
This site's exposition
like newly cut grain behind the reaper
Jerome notes that the Hebrew word behind Declare is written dbr without vowels, and it can be read as word, as pestilence or as speak. Clarke pictures death as the reaper, with no binder following to gather the fallen. The field is left as it lies.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
Amid so many passions of this body of ours, amid so many enticements of this world, who indeed can keep his footstep safe and undefiled? The eye looks back and leads the mind's perception astray, the ear hears and turns one's attention away, a whiff of fragrance hinders thought, a kiss of the mouth introduces guilt, a touch kindles the fire of passion. "Death has entered in through the window," the prophet said. Your eye is your window.
By "windows" he refers to the error of their thinking: through them they gave entrance to the error and the blow inflicted by it. You would not be wide of the mark to call the body's senses "windows"—sight, taste, smell, hearing and touch. Both life …
O Lord, keep watch over my mouth, for it is written, "Death and life are in the power of the tongue." Again, you have declared, "I tell you, that of every idle word people speak, they shall give account on the day of judgment." The prophet prays, therefore, that his words may not be vain but holy and pleasing to God. "Set a guard at the door of my lips." He is asking for a guard around his lips like the rampart of a castle, that he may never capitulate to sin. It is Jeremiah who says, "Death has come up through our windows." A person has five windows: sight, hearing, taste, smell and touch. If I look at a woman to lust after her, I have already committed adultery in my heart, and death has come through my window of sight. If the sound of the harp, organ or flute unnerves me, death has entered my soul through the sense of hearing. Again, if I touch something soft and supple, and wantonness breaks down the resistance of my flesh, death has entered through touch, and so down the line.
The prophet says, "Death is come up through the windows." Surely he does not mean actual windows—otherwise we could shut our windows and never die. But the bodily senses—sight, hearing, and so on—are windows to us and death enters us through them if we sin …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Speak, thus saith the Lord,.... These are the words of the Lord to Jeremiah, to go on with his prophecy in his name; so the Targum, "prophesy, thus saith the Lord:'' even the carcasses of men shall fall as dung upon the open field; or, "upon the face of the field" (f); this shows the reason why the women are called to mourning, because the men would fall by the sword in the open field, and there lie and rot, and become dung upon it.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
As the handful - They shall be no more regarded than a few scattered ears that drop out of the reapers hand, which either lie on the ground and are eaten by birds, or trod to dirt by beasts.
23 Thus saith the L ORD , Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: 24 But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the L ORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the L ORD .
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — scripture-overlap:92%@v23-24
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
And as the handful after the harvestman - The reapers, after having cut enough to fill their hand, threw it down; and the binders, following after, collected those handfuls, and bound them in sheaves. Death is represented as having cut down the inhabitants of the land, as the reapers do the corn; but so general was the slaughter, that there was none to bury the dead, to gather up these handfuls; so that they lay in a state of putrescence, as dung upon the open field.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
saith the Lord--continuing the thread of discourse from Jer 9:20. dung-- (Jer 8:2). handful . . . none . . . gather them--implying that the handful has been so trodden as to be not worth even the poor gleaner's effort to gather it. Or the Eastern custom may be referred to: the reaper cuts the grain and is followed by another who gathers it.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| דַּבֵּ֗ר | daber | speak | H1696 → | 1141 times |
| כֹּ֚ה | koh | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָ֔ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| וְנָֽפְלָה֙ | venafelah | and it will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| נִבְלַ֣ת | nivlat | [the] corpse[s] of | H5038 → | 48 times |
| הָֽאָדָ֔ם | haadam | <the> people | H120 → | 551 times |
| כְּדֹ֖מֶן | kedomen | like dung | H1828 → | 6 times |
| עַל־ | ʾal- | on | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| פְּנֵ֣י | penei | [the] surface of | H6440 → | 2123 times |
| הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה | hasadeh | the field[s] | H7704 → | 334 times |
| וּכְעָמִ֛יר | ukheamir | and like cut grain | H5995 → | |
| מֵאַחֲרֵ֥י | meacharei | from behind | H310 → | 715 times |
| הַקֹּצֵ֖ר | hakotzer | the reaper | H7114 → | |
| וְאֵ֥ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מְאַסֵּֽף׃ ס | measef | [will be one who] gathers | H622 → | 200 times |
דַּבֵּ֗רspeak
daberH1696 →1141 times
כֹּ֚הthus
kohH3541 →577 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָ֔הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
וְנָֽפְלָה֙and it will fall
venafelahH5307 →435 times
נִבְלַ֣ת[the] corpse[s] of
nivlatH5038 →48 times
הָֽאָדָ֔ם<the> people
haadamH120 →551 times
כְּדֹ֖מֶןlike dung
kedomenH1828 →6 times
עַל־on
ʾal-H5921 →5755 times
פְּנֵ֣י[the] surface of
peneiH6440 →2123 times
הַשָּׂדֶ֑הthe field[s]
hasadehH7704 →334 times
וּכְעָמִ֛ירand like cut grain
ukheamirH5995 →
מֵאַחֲרֵ֥יfrom behind
meachareiH310 →715 times
הַקֹּצֵ֖רthe reaper
hakotzerH7114 →
וְאֵ֥יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
מְאַסֵּֽף׃ ס[will be one who] gathers
measefH622 →200 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 16:4“They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will…
it leads to
- Psalms 83:10
who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 25:33
Those slain by the LORD on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like dung lying…
- Psalms 83:10
Through
Isaiah 5:25Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people; His hand is raised against them to strike them down. The mountains quake, and the corpses lay like refuse in the streets. Despite all…
it leads to
- Isaiah 10:4
Nothing will remain but to crouch among the captives or fall among the slain. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
- Isaiah 9:21
Manasseh devours Ephraim, and Ephraim Manasseh; together they turn against Judah. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
- 2 Kings 9:37
And Jezebel’s body will lie like dung in the field on the plot of ground at Jezreel, so that no one can say: This is Jezebel.’”
- Isaiah 9:17
Therefore the Lord takes no pleasure in their young men; He has no compassion on their fatherless and widows. For every one of them is godless and wicked, and every mouth speaks folly. Despite…
- Jeremiah 4:24
I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking; all the hills were swaying.
- Isaiah 10:4
Through
Jeremiah 25:33Those slain by the LORD on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like dung lying…
it leads to
- Isaiah 66:16
For by fire and by His sword, the LORD will execute judgment on all flesh, and many will be slain by the LORD.
- Isaiah 66:16
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Ambrose of Milan, FLIGHT FROM THE WORLD 1:3; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Epiphanius of Salamis, PANARION 1:9.4:10; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; Jerome, HOMILIES ON THE PSALMS 51 (PS 140); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Theodoret of Cyrus, ON JEREMIAH 3:9.21.