Jeremiah 14:2
New International Version
“Judah mourns, her cities languish; they wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.

New Living Translation
“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.

English Standard Version
“Judah mourns, and her gates languish; her people lament on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.

Berean Standard Bible
“Judah mourns and her gates languish. Her people wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.

King James Bible
Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.

New King James Version
“Judah mourns, And her gates languish; They mourn for the land, And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.

New American Standard Bible
“Judah mourns And her gates languish; Her people sit on the ground in mourning garments, And the cry of Jerusalem has ascended.

NASB 1995
“Judah mourns And her gates languish; They sit on the ground in mourning, And the cry of Jerusalem has ascended.

NASB 1977
“Judah mourns, And her gates languish; They sit on the ground in mourning, And the cry of Jerusalem has ascended.

Legacy Standard Bible
“Judah mourns, And her gates languish; They sit on the ground in mourning, And the outcry of Jerusalem has gone up.

Amplified Bible
“Judah mourns And her gates languish; Her people sit on the ground in mourning clothes And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.

Christian Standard Bible
Judah mourns; her city gates languish. Her people are on the ground in mourning; Jerusalem’s cry rises up.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
Judah mourns; her gates languish. Her people are on the ground in mourning; Jerusalem’s cry rises up.

American Standard Version
Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they sit in black upon the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.

Contemporary English Version
Judah and Jerusalem weep as the land dries up.

English Revised Version
Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they sit in black upon the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Judah mourns; its gates fall apart. The people of Judah sit in mourning on the ground. Their cry goes up from Jerusalem.

Good News Translation
"Judah is in mourning; its cities are dying, its people lie on the ground in sorrow, and Jerusalem cries out for help.

International Standard Version
"Judah mourns, and her gates languish. The people mourn for the land, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.

Majority Standard Bible
“Judah mourns and her gates languish. Her people wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem.

NET Bible
"The people of Judah are in mourning. The people in her cities are pining away. They lie on the ground expressing their sorrow. Cries of distress come up to me from Jerusalem.

New Heart English Bible
"Judah mourns, and its gates languish, they sit in black on the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.

Webster's Bible Translation
Judah mourneth, and her gates languish; they are black to the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.

World English Bible
“Judah mourns, and its gates languish. They sit in black on the ground. The cry of Jerusalem goes up.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
“Judah has mourned, and her gates have languished, "" They have mourned to the earth, "" And the cry of Jerusalem has gone up.

Young's Literal Translation
Mourned hath Judah, and her gates have languished, They have mourned to the earth, And the cry of Jerusalem hath gone up.

Smith's Literal Translation
Judah mourned and her gates languished; they were darkened to the earth, and the outcry of Jerusalem went up.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
Judea hath mourned, and the gates thereof are fallen, and are become obscure on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.

Catholic Public Domain Version
“Judea has mourned. And its gates have fallen and become hard to discern on the ground. And the outcry of Jerusalem has ascended.

New American Bible
Judah mourns, her gates are lifeless; They are bowed to the ground, and the outcry of Jerusalem goes up.

New Revised Standard Version
Judah mourns and her gates languish; they lie in gloom on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
Judah mourns and her gates are desolate; they are fallen on the ground, and the painful cry of Jerusalem is gone up.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
“Yehuda is destroyed and its gates are desolate, and they fell on the ground and the outcry of Jerusalem went up
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, They bow down in black unto the ground; And the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.

Brenton Septuagint Translation
Judea has mourned, and her gates are emptied, and are darkened upon the earth; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.
Audio Bible



Context
Drought, Famine, Sword, Pestilence
1This is the word of the LORD that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought: 2“Judah mourns and her gates languish. Her people wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem. 3The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns, but find no water; their jars return empty. They are ashamed and humiliated; they cover their heads.…

Cross References
Lamentations 1:3-4
Judah has gone into exile under affliction and harsh slavery; she dwells among the nations but finds no place to rest. All her pursuers have overtaken her in the midst of her distress. / The roads to Zion mourn, because no one comes to her appointed feasts. All her gates are deserted; her priests groan, her maidens grieve, and she herself is bitter with anguish.

Joel 1:10-12
The field is ruined; the land mourns. For the grain is destroyed, the new wine is dried up, and the oil fails. / Be dismayed, O farmers, wail, O vinedressers, over the wheat and barley, because the harvest of the field has perished. / The grapevine is dried up, and the fig tree is withered; the pomegranate, palm, and apple—all the trees of the orchard—are withered. Surely the joy of mankind has dried up.

Isaiah 3:26
And the gates of Zion will lament and mourn; destitute, she will sit on the ground.

Amos 8:10
I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation. I will cause everyone to wear sackcloth and every head to be shaved. I will make it like a time of mourning for an only son, and its outcome like a bitter day.

Zechariah 7:14
But I scattered them with a whirlwind among all the nations that they had not known, and the land was left desolate behind them so that no one could come or go. Thus they turned the pleasant land into a desolation.”

Ezekiel 7:27
The king will mourn, the prince will be clothed with despair, and the hands of the people of the land will tremble. I will deal with them according to their conduct, and I will judge them by their own standards. Then they will know that I am the LORD.’”

Isaiah 24:4
The earth mourns and withers; the world languishes and fades; the exalted of the earth waste away.

Hosea 4:3
Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.

Micah 1:8-9
Because of this I will lament and wail; I will walk barefoot and naked. I will howl like a jackal and mourn like an ostrich. / For her wound is incurable; it has reached even Judah; it has approached the gate of my people, as far as Jerusalem itself.

Isaiah 33:9
The land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is ashamed and decayed. Sharon is like a desert; Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.

Matthew 23:37-38
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling! / Look, your house is left to you desolate.

Luke 19:41-44
As Jesus approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it / and said, “If only you had known on this day what would bring you peace! But now it is hidden from your eyes. / For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side. ...

Revelation 18:10-11
In fear of her torment, they will stand at a distance and cry out: “Woe, woe to the great city, the mighty city of Babylon! For in a single hour your judgment has come.” / And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo—

Romans 9:2-3
I have deep sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart. / For I could wish that I myself were cursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my own flesh and blood,

James 5:1-2
Come now, you who are rich, weep and wail over the misery to come upon you. / Your riches have rotted and moths have eaten your clothes.


Treasury of Scripture

Judah mourns, and the gates thereof languish; they are black to the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up.

mourneth.

Jeremiah 4:28
For 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.

Jeremiah 12:4
How 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.

Isaiah 3:26
And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground.

the gates.

Isaiah 24:4,7
The earth mourneth and fadeth away, the world languisheth and fadeth away, the haughty people of the earth do languish…

Isaiah 33:9
The earth mourneth and languisheth: Lebanon is ashamed and hewn down: Sharon is like a wilderness; and Bashan and Carmel shake off their fruits.

they.

Jeremiah 8:21
For the hurt of the daughter of my people am I hurt; I am black; astonishment hath taken hold on me.

Lamentations 2:9
Her 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.

Lamentations 4:8,9
Their 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…

the cry.

Jeremiah 11:11
Therefore 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.

Jeremiah 18:22
Let 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.

Exodus 2:24
And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

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Jeremiah 14
1. The grievous famine,
7. causes Jeremiah to pray.
10. The Lord will not be entreated for the people.
13. false prophets are no excuse for them.
17. Jeremiah is moved to complain for them.














Judah mourns
The Hebrew word for "mourns" is "אבל" (aval), which conveys a deep sense of grief and lamentation. In the context of ancient Israel, mourning was often expressed through rituals such as wearing sackcloth, sitting in ashes, and loud lamentations. Judah, representing the southern kingdom, is depicted as being in a state of profound sorrow. This mourning is not just an emotional response but a reflection of the spiritual and physical desolation due to their disobedience to God. Historically, Judah faced numerous threats from surrounding nations, and this mourning could be seen as a response to the impending judgment and calamity.

her cities languish
The term "languish" comes from the Hebrew "אמלו" (amal), suggesting a state of weakness, decay, or withering. The cities of Judah, once vibrant and full of life, are now depicted as deteriorating. This imagery reflects the consequences of turning away from God, leading to societal and moral decay. Archaeological evidence from the period shows that many cities in Judah faced destruction and decline, aligning with the prophetic warnings given by Jeremiah.

they wail for the land
"Wail" in Hebrew is "קול" (kol), indicating a loud, mournful cry. This phrase suggests a communal lamentation for the land itself, which was central to the identity and covenant relationship of the Israelites with God. The land, promised to Abraham and his descendants, was a symbol of God's blessing and presence. The wailing signifies a recognition of the loss of divine favor and the impending desolation due to the people's unfaithfulness.

a cry goes up from Jerusalem
The "cry" here is "זעקה" (za'akah), a term often used in the Hebrew Bible to denote a desperate plea for help or deliverance. Jerusalem, the spiritual and political heart of Judah, is portrayed as sending up a cry, indicating the severity of the situation. This cry is both a literal and metaphorical expression of the city's distress. Historically, Jerusalem faced numerous sieges and hardships, and this cry can be seen as a call for divine intervention amidst the impending judgment. Theologically, it serves as a reminder of the need for repentance and turning back to God in times of crisis.

(2) The gates thereof languish.--The "gates" of the cities, as the chief places of concourse, like the agora of Greek cities, are taken figuratively for the inhabitants, who in the "black" garments of sorrow and with the pallor of the famine, in which all faces gather blackness, are crouching upon the ground in their despair.

Verse 2. - The tenses in the following description should be perfects and presents; the Authorized Version, by its inconsistency, destroys the unity of the picture. The gates thereof; i.e. the people assembled there. They are black unto the ground. "To be black," in Hebrew, is "to be dressed in mourning" (so e.g., Psalm 35:14, "I bowed down in black"). Here we must understand the same verb which is expressed in the psalm, "They bowed down in mourning attire to the ground." "Black," however, is not to be taken literally; it means rather "squalid, unwashed" (of garments).

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
“Judah
יְהוּדָ֔ה (yə·hū·ḏāh)
Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3063: Judah -- 'praised', a son of Jacob, also the southern kingdom, also four Israelites

mourns
אָבְלָ֣ה (’ā·ḇə·lāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 56: To bewail

and her gates
וּשְׁעָרֶ֥יהָ (ū·šə·‘ā·re·hā)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine plural construct | third person feminine singular
Strong's 8179: An opening, door, gate

languish.
אֻמְלְל֖וּ (’um·lə·lū)
Verb - Pual - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 535: To droop, to be sick, to mourn

[Her people] wail
קָדְר֣וּ (qā·ḏə·rū)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person common plural
Strong's 6937: To be ashy, darkcolored, to mourn

for the land,
לָאָ֑רֶץ (lā·’ā·reṣ)
Preposition-l, Article | Noun - feminine singular
Strong's 776: Earth, land

and a cry
וְצִוְחַ֥ת (wə·ṣiw·ḥaṯ)
Conjunctive waw | Noun - feminine singular construct
Strong's 6682: A screech

goes up
עָלָֽתָה׃ (‘ā·lā·ṯāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 5927: To ascend, in, actively

from Jerusalem.
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם (yə·rū·šā·lim)
Noun - proper - feminine singular
Strong's 3389: Jerusalem -- probably 'foundation of peace', capital city of all Israel


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OT Prophets: Jeremiah 14:2 Judah mourns and its gates languish they (Jer.)
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