You are to speak this word to them: ‘My eyes overflow with tears; day and night they do not cease, for the virgin daughter of my people has been shattered by a crushing blow, a severely grievous wound.
Parallel translations
- WEB “You shall say this word to them, “‘Let my eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease; for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous wound.
- KJV Therefore thou shalt say this word unto them; Let mine eyes run down with tears night and day, and let them not cease: for the virgin daughter of my people is broken with a great breach, with a very grievous blow.
- NKJV “Therefore you shall say this word to them: ‘Let my eyes flow with tears night and day, And let them not cease; For the virgin daughter of my people Has been broken with a mighty stroke, with a very severe blow.
- NASB “You will say this word to them, ‘Let my eyes stream down tears night and day, And let them not cease; For the virgin daughter of my people has been crushed with a mighty blow, With a sorely infected wound.
- NLT Now, Jeremiah, say this to them: “Night and day my eyes overflow with tears. I cannot stop weeping, for my virgin daughter—my precious people— has been struck down and lies mortally wounded.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God commands Jeremiah to weep ceaselessly over the grievous, crushing wound of His people. Even in judgment, God's heart and His prophet's grieve over the suffering of the people.
Overview
The LORD gives Jeremiah words of unending tears for the virgin daughter of His people, broken by a severe blow. This shows that divine judgment is not cold but accompanied by sorrow over sin's devastation. It foreshadows Christ, who wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41), the suffering Savior who bears the grief of His people even as He upholds God's justice.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Jer 8:21For the brokenness of the daughter of my people I am crushed. I mourn; horror has gripped me.
- Lam 1:15–16The Lord has rejected all the mighty men in my midst; He has summoned an army against me to crush my young warriors. Like grapes in a winepress, the Lord has trampled the Virgin Daughter of Judah.
- Jer 13:17But 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.
- Lam 2:13What can I say for you? To what can I compare you, O Daughter of Jerusalem? To what can I liken you, that I may console you, O Virgin Daughter of Zion? For your wound is as deep as the sea. Who can ever heal you?
- Jer 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.
- Mic 6:13Therefore I am striking you severely, to ruin you because of your sins.
- Lam 2:18The hearts of the people cry out to the Lord. O wall of the Daughter of Zion, let your tears run down like a river day and night. Give yourself no relief, and your eyes no rest.
- Ps 39:10Remove Your scourge from me; I am perishing by the force of Your hand.
- Ps 119:136My eyes shed streams of tears because Your law is not obeyed.
- Jer 10:19Woe to me because of my brokenness; my wound is grievous! But I said, “This is truly my sickness, and I must bear it.”
- Isa 37:22this is the word that the LORD has spoken against him: ‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion despises you and mocks you; the Daughter of Jerusalem shakes her head behind you.
- Amos 5:2“Fallen is Virgin Israel, never to rise again. She lies abandoned on her land, with no one to raise her up.”
- Jer 30:14–15All your lovers have forgotten you; they no longer seek you, for I have struck you as an enemy would, with the discipline of someone cruel, because of your great iniquity and your numerous sins.
- Lam 3:48–49Streams of tears flow from my eyes over the destruction of the daughter of my people.
- Jer 8:18My sorrow is beyond healing; my heart is faint within me.
- Ps 80:4–5O LORD God of Hosts, how long will Your anger smolder against the prayers of Your people?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 14:17 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.