Because of the ground which is cracked, because no rain has been in the land. The plowmen are disappointed. They cover their heads.
Parallel translations
- KJV Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.
- BSB The ground is cracked because no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.
- NKJV Because the ground is parched, For there was no rain in the land, The plowmen were ashamed; They covered their heads.
- NASB Because the ground is cracked, For there has been no rain on the land. The farmers have been put to shame, They have covered their heads.
- NLT The ground is parched and cracked for lack of rain. The farmers are deeply troubled; they, too, cover their heads.
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
The drought is so severe that even the plowmen are ashamed, covering their heads in despair over the cracked, rainless ground. It shows how covenant disobedience brought God's promised judgment on the land itself.
Overview
Jeremiah describes a devastating drought in Judah, where the parched, fissured earth defeats the farmers who depend on it. In the covenant given through Moses, withheld rain was a sign of the LORD's discipline for unfaithfulness (Deuteronomy 28:23-24). The shame of the plowmen pictures a whole society confronted with its helplessness apart from God, who alone gives rain and harvest.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Joel 1:19–20Yahweh, I cry to you, For the fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and the flame has burned all the trees of the field.
- Joel 1:11Be confounded, you farmers! Wail, you vineyard keepers; for the wheat and for the barley; for the harvest of the field has perished.
- Jer 3:3Therefore the showers have been withheld, and there has been no latter rain; yet you have a prostitute’s forehead. You refused to be ashamed.
- Deut 29:23and that all of its land is sulfur, salt, and burning, that it is not sown, doesn’t produce, nor does any grass grow in it, like the overthrow of Sodom, Gomorrah, Admah, and Zeboiim, which Yahweh overthrew in his anger, and in his wrath;
- Lev 26:19–20I will break the pride of your power, and I will make your sky like iron, and your soil like brass.
- Joel 1:17The seeds rot under their clods. The granaries are laid desolate. The barns are broken down, for the grain has withered.
- Deut 28:23–24Your sky that is over your head will be brass, and the earth that is under you will be iron.
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 14:4 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.