Jeremiah 9:18

Old Testament Major Prophet ASV (1901)

What does Jeremiah 9:18 say?

The American Standard Version records this verse as: “and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.” Read the surrounding verses and the named sources below before drawing broader conclusions.

The verse

and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.
Jeremiah 9:18 — American Standard Version

Context — Jeremiah 9

American Standard Version (1901) — public domain. Click any verse for its study page.
18and let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters.

What do historical commentaries say?

John Gill's Exposition
John Gill (1697–1771) · Exposition of the Old and New Testament · 18th-century historical commentary
“And let them make haste, and take up a wailing for us, etc.] Deliver out a mournful song, as the Arabic version; setting forth their miseries and distresses, and affecting their minds with them. The prophet puts himself among the people, as being a party concealed in their sufferings, and sympathizing with them, as well as to show the certainty of then and how soon they would be involved in them: that our eyes may run down with tears, and our eyelids gush out with waters; or balls of the eye, as the Targum and Kimchi; these hyperbolical expressions are used to express the greatness of the calamity, and that no mourning was equal to it; (see <240901>Jeremiah 9:1).”
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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
“(Jer 14:17).”
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Barnes' Notes
Albert Barnes (1798–1870) · Notes on the Whole Bible · 19th-century historical commentary
“The punishment described in general terms in the preceding three verses is now detailed at great length. Jeremiah 9:10 The habitations i. e - the temporary encampments of the shepherds (see Jeremiah 6:3). So that none can ... - Or, “They are parched up, with no man to pass through them; neither do they hear the voice of cattle; from the birds of the heaven even to the beasts they “are fled, they are gone.” Jeremiah 9:11 Dragons - Rather, jackals. Jeremiah 9:12 For what the land perisheth ... - This is the question proposed for consideration. The prophet calls upon the wise man to explain his question; that question being, Wherefore did the land perish? He follows it by the assertion of a…”
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Tyndale Open Study Notes
Tyndale House Publishers · Tyndale Open Study Notes · Modern study notes
“9:18-19 The mourners had to start their work immediately, mourning those who had already died and grieving for doomed Jerusalem. The mourners were to join the people of Jerusalem who had no homes and were forced to flee as refugees.”
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Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge
R. A. Torrey and contributors · The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge · Cross-reference reference work
“take: Jer 9:10, Jer 9:20 our eyes: Jer 9:1, Jer 6:26, Jer 13:17, Jer 14:17; Isa 22:4; Lam 1:2, Lam 2:11, Lam 2:18; Luk 19:41 Jeremiah 9:19”
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Keil & Delitzsch
C. F. Keil & F. Delitzsch · Commentary on the Old Testament · 19th-century historical commentary
“Jer 9:18 gives the reason why the mourning women are to be called: Loud lamentation is heard out of Zion. Ew. takes "out of Zion" of the Israelites carried away from their country - a view arbitrary in itself, and incompatible with Jer 9:20. "How are we spoiled!" cf. Jer 4:13; brought utterly to shame, because we have left the land, i.e., have been forced to leave it, and because they (the enemies) have thrown down our dwellings! השׁליך, cast down, overthrow, Job 18:7, cf. Eze 19:12, and of buildings, Dan 8:11. Kimchi and Hitz., again, take "our dwellings" as subject: our dwellings have cast us out, and appeal to Lev 18:25 : The land vomited out its inhabitants. But the figurative style in…”
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Related study paths

Sources and verification