Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Judah mourns, and its gates languish, they sit in black on the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
- BSB “Judah mourns and her gates languish. Her people wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.
- NKJV “Judah mourns, And her gates languish; They mourn for the land, And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.
- NASB “Judah mourns And her gates languish; Her people sit on the ground in mourning garments, And the cry of Jerusalem has ascended.
- NLT “Judah wilts; commerce at the city gates grinds to a halt. All the people sit on the ground in mourning, and a great cry rises from Jerusalem.
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
Judah mourns as her cities languish and the cry of Jerusalem rises up.
Overview
The whole land grieves under the drought's affliction, sitting in mourning on the ground. The 'cry of Jerusalem' going up depicts the people's distress reaching toward heaven. This communal lament reflects creation and society suffering under the weight of judgment for sin.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 22
- Isa 3:26And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.
- Jer 8:21For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.
- 1 Sam 5:12And the men that died not were smitten with the emerods: and the cry of the city went up to heaven.
- Zech 7:13Therefore it is come to pass, that as he cried, and they would not hear; so they cried, and I would not hear, saith the LORD of hosts:
- Lam 4:8–9Their visage is blacker than a coal; they are not known in the streets: their skin cleaveth to their bones; it is withered, it is become like a stick.
- Jer 11:11Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon them, which they shall not be able to escape; and though they shall cry unto me, I will not hearken unto them.
- Jer 18:22Let a cry be heard from their houses, when thou shalt bring a troop suddenly upon them: for they have digged a pit to take me, and hid snares for my feet.
- Joel 1:10The field is wasted, the land mourneth; for the corn is wasted: the new wine is dried up, the oil languisheth.
- Lam 2:9Her gates are sunk into the ground; he hath destroyed and broken her bars: her king and her princes are among the Gentiles: the law is no more; her prophets also find no vision from the LORD.
- Isa 15:5My heart shall cry out for Moab; his fugitives shall flee unto Zoar, an heifer of three years old: for by the mounting up of Luhith with weeping shall they go it up; for in the way of Horonaim they shall raise up a cry of destruction.
- Job 34:28So that they cause the cry of the poor to come unto him, and he heareth the cry of the afflicted.
- Hos 4:3Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
- Lam 5:10Our skin was black like an oven because of the terrible famine.
- Jer 12:4How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.
- 1 Sam 9:16To morrow about this time I will send thee a man out of the land of Benjamin, and thou shalt anoint him to be captain over my people Israel, that he may save my people out of the hand of the Philistines: for I have looked upon my people, because their cry is come unto me.
- Isa 24:4The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish.
- Joel 2:6Before their face the people shall be much pained: all faces shall gather blackness.
- Isa 5:7For the vineyard of the LORD of hosts is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah his pleasant plant: and he looked for judgment, but behold oppression; for righteousness, but behold a cry.
- Jer 4:28For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.
- Exod 2:24And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
- Isa 24:7The new wine mourneth, the vine languisheth, all the merryhearted do sigh.
- Isa 33:9The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.
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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 14:2 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
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