Jeremiah 14:18

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Jeremiah 14:18 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “If I go forth into the field, then, behold, the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then, behold, they that are sick with famine! for both the prophet and the priest go about in the land, and have no knowledge.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

If I go forth into the field, then, behold, the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then, behold, they that are sick with famine! for both the prophet and the priest go about in the land, and have no knowledge.
Jeremiah 14:18 — American Standard Version

Context — Jeremiah 14

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
18If I go forth into the field, then, behold, the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then, behold, they that are sick with famine! for both the prophet and the priest go about in the land, and have no knowledge.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“If I go forth into the field, etc.] Without the city, where was the camp of the enemy besieging it then behold the slain with the sword! the sword of the enemy; who by sallying out of the city upon them, or by endeavouring to make their escape into the country, fell into their hands, and were slain by them. And if I enter into the city; the city of Jerusalem: then behold them that are sick with the famine! just ready to die, being starved for want of provisions; and multitudes dead, and their carcasses lying in the streets unburied; the prophet does not make mention of the dead indeed, only of the sick with famine; the reason of which, Kimchi says, is because the sick were more than the…”
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Jamieson, Fausset & Brown
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown · Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“go about--that is, shall have to migrate into a land of exile. HORSLEY translates, "go trafficking about the land (see Jer 5:31, Margin; Co2 4:2; Pe2 2:3), and take no knowledge" (that is, pay no regard to the miseries before their eyes) (Isa 1:3; Isa 58:3). If the sense of the Hebrew verb be retained, I would with English Version understand the words as referring to the exile to Babylon; thus, "the prophet and the priest shall have to go to a strange land to practise their religious traffic (Isa 56:11; Eze 34:2-3; Mic 3:11).”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“go forth: Jer 52:6, Jer 52:7; Lam 1:20, Lam 4:9; Eze 7:15 yea: Jer 6:13, Jer 8:10, Jer 23:21; Deu 28:36, Deu 28:64; Isa 28:7; Lam 4:13-16 go about: etc. or, make merchandise against a land, and men acknowledge it not, Jer 2:8, Jer 5:31; Mic 3:11; Pe2 2:3 Jeremiah 14:19”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification