Jeremiah 9:21
New International Version
Death has climbed in through our windows and has entered our fortresses; it has removed the children from the streets and the young men from the public squares.

New Living Translation
For death has crept in through our windows and has entered our mansions. It has killed off the flower of our youth: Children no longer play in the streets, and young men no longer gather in the squares.

English Standard Version
For death has come up into our windows; it has entered our palaces, cutting off the children from the streets and the young men from the squares.

Berean Standard Bible
For death has climbed in through our windows; it has entered our fortresses to cut off the children from the streets, the young men from the town squares.

King James Bible
For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.

New King James Version
For death has come through our windows, Has entered our palaces, To kill off the children— no longer to be outside! And the young men— no longer on the streets!

New American Standard Bible
For death has come up through our windows; It has entered our palaces To eliminate the children from the streets, The young men from the public squares.

NASB 1995
For death has come up through our windows; It has entered our palaces To cut off the children from the streets, The young men from the town squares.

NASB 1977
For death has come up through our windows; It has entered our palaces To cut off the children from the streets, The young men from the town squares.

Legacy Standard Bible
For death has come up through our windows; It has entered our palaces To cut off the infants from the streets, The choice men from the open squares.

Amplified Bible
For death has come up through our windows; It has entered our palaces, Cutting off the children from the streets And the young men from the town squares.

Christian Standard Bible
for Death has climbed through our windows; it has entered our fortresses, cutting off children from the streets, young men from the squares.

Holman Christian Standard Bible
for Death has climbed through our windows; it has entered our fortresses, cutting off children from the streets, young men from the squares.

American Standard Version
For death is come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.

Contemporary English Version
'We were in our fortress, but death sneaked in through our windows. It even struck down children at play and our strongest young men.'

English Revised Version
For death is come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.

GOD'S WORD® Translation
Death has come through our windows and entered our palaces. Death has cut down the children in the streets and the young men in the market places.

Good News Translation
Death has come in through our windows and entered our palaces; it has cut down the children in the streets and the young men in the marketplaces.

International Standard Version
For death comes up through our windows; it has come into our palaces to eliminate children from the streets and young men from the town squares.

Majority Standard Bible
For death has climbed in through our windows; it has entered our fortresses to cut off the children from the streets, the young men from the town squares.

NET Bible
Death has climbed in through our windows. It has entered into our fortified houses. It has taken away our children who play in the streets. It has taken away our young men who gather in the city squares.'

New Heart English Bible
'For death has come up into our windows, it is entered into our palaces; to cut off the children from outside, and the young men from the streets.'

Webster's Bible Translation
For death hath come up into our windows, and hath entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.

World English Bible
For death has come up into our windows. It has entered into our palaces to cut off the children from outside, and the young men from the streets.
Literal Translations
Literal Standard Version
For death has come up into our windows, "" It has come into our palaces, "" To cut off the suckling from outside, "" Young men from the broad places.

Young's Literal Translation
For death hath come up into our windows, It hath come into our palaces, To cut off the suckling from without, Young men from the broad places.

Smith's Literal Translation
For death came up into our windows, it came into our palaces to cut off the child from without, the young men from the streets.
Catholic Translations
Douay-Rheims Bible
For death is come up through our windows, it is entered into our houses to destroy the children from without, the young men from the streets.

Catholic Public Domain Version
‘For death has climbed through our windows. It has entered our houses to perish the little children from the outdoors, the youths from the streets.’ ”

New American Bible
Death has come up through our windows, has entered our citadels, To cut down children in the street, young people in the squares.

New Revised Standard Version
“Death has come up into our windows, it has entered our palaces, to cut off the children from the streets and the young men from the squares.”
Translations from Aramaic
Lamsa Bible
For death is come up into our windows and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from the streets and the young men from the broad ways.

Peshitta Holy Bible Translated
Because death has come up to our windows and it entered into our palaces to destroy boys from the streets, and young men from the broadways
OT Translations
JPS Tanakh 1917
For death is come up into our windows, It is entered into our palaces, To cut off the children from the street, And the young men from the broad places.--

Brenton Septuagint Translation
For death has come up through your windows, it has entered into our land, to destroy the infants without, and the young men from the streets.

Additional Translations ...
Audio Bible



Context
A Lament over Zion
20Now, O women, hear the word of the LORD. Open your ears to the word of His mouth. Teach your daughters to wail, and one another to lament. 21For death has climbed in through our windows; it has entered our fortresses to cut off the children from the streets, the young men from the town squares. 22Declare that this is what the LORD says: “The corpses of men will fall like dung upon the open field, like newly cut grain behind the reaper, with no one to gather it.”…

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

Lamentations 2:21
Both young and old lie together in the dust of the streets. My young men and maidens have fallen by the sword. You have slain them in the day of Your anger; You have slaughtered them without compassion.

Ezekiel 7:15
The sword is outside; plague and famine are within. Those in the country will die by the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague.

Amos 6:10
And when the relative who is to burn the bodies picks them up to remove them from the house, he will call to one inside, “Is anyone else with you?” “None,” that person will answer. “Silence,” the relative will retort, “for the name of the LORD must not be invoked.”

Isaiah 13:16
Their infants will be dashed to pieces before their eyes, their houses will be looted, and their wives will be ravished.

Lamentations 4:4
The nursing infant’s tongue clings in thirst to the roof of his mouth. Little children beg for bread, but no one gives them any.

Ezekiel 9:6
Slaughter the old men, the young men and maidens, the women and children; but do not go near anyone who has the mark. Now begin at My sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the temple.

Hosea 13:16
Samaria will bear her guilt because she has rebelled against her God. They will fall by the sword; their little ones will be dashed to pieces, and their pregnant women ripped open.

Matthew 24:19
How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers!

Luke 21:23
How miserable those days will be for pregnant and nursing mothers! For there will be great distress upon the land and wrath against this people.

Deuteronomy 32:25
Outside, the sword will take their children, and inside, terror will strike the young man and the young woman, the infant and the gray-haired man.

2 Kings 8:12
“Why is my lord weeping?” asked Hazael. “Because I know the evil you will do to the Israelites,” Elisha replied. “You will set fire to their fortresses, kill their young men with the sword, dash their little ones to pieces, and rip open their pregnant women.”

Isaiah 49:20
Yet the children of your bereavement will say in your hearing, ‘This place is too small for us; make room for us to live here.’

Revelation 6:8
Then I looked and saw a pale green horse. Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed close behind. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill by sword, by famine, by plague, and by the beasts of the earth.

Revelation 9:18
A third of mankind was killed by the three plagues of fire, smoke, and sulfur that proceeded from their mouths.


Treasury of Scripture

For death is come up into our windows, and is entered into our palaces, to cut off the children from without, and the young men from the streets.

Jeremiah 6:11
Therefore I am full of the fury of the LORD; I am weary with holding in: I will pour it out upon the children abroad, and upon the assembly of young men together: for even the husband with the wife shall be taken, the aged with him that is full of days.

Jeremiah 15:7
And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways.

2 Chronicles 36:17
Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand.

Jump to Previous
Broad Broadways Children Climbed Cut Cutting Death Entered Forcing Fortresses Great Houses Outside Palaces Places Squares Street Streets Suckling Way Wide Windows Young
Jump to Next
Broad Broadways Children Climbed Cut Cutting Death Entered Forcing Fortresses Great Houses Outside Palaces Places Squares Street Streets Suckling Way Wide Windows Young
Jeremiah 9
1. Jeremiah laments the people for their manifold sins;
9. and for their judgment.
12. Disobedience is the cause of their bitter calamity.
17. He exhorts to mourn for their destruction;
23. and to trust not in themselves, but in God.
25. He threatens both Jews and Gentiles.














For death has climbed in through our windows
The imagery of "death" climbing "in through our windows" is both vivid and haunting. In Hebrew, the word for death is "מָוֶת" (maveth), which signifies not just physical death but also a state of spiritual decay and judgment. The window, in ancient Near Eastern architecture, was often a small opening, symbolizing vulnerability. This phrase suggests an invasion of the most intimate and secure places, indicating that no place is safe from the consequences of sin and divine judgment. Historically, windows were also places of observation and communication with the outside world, symbolizing how pervasive and unavoidable the judgment has become.

it has entered our fortresses
The term "fortresses" refers to strongholds or places of refuge, known in Hebrew as "מִבְצָר" (mivtzar). These were typically well-defended structures meant to protect inhabitants from external threats. The fact that death has "entered" these fortresses underscores the totality of the calamity facing the people. It reflects the idea that human defenses are powerless against divine judgment. This serves as a reminder of the futility of relying on earthly strength and security when one is not aligned with God's will.

to cut off the children from the streets
The phrase "to cut off the children from the streets" speaks to the tragic loss of life and innocence. In Hebrew, "children" is "עוֹלֵל" (olel), which can refer to infants or young children, emphasizing vulnerability and potential. The "streets" were places of community and daily life, where children played and learned. The cutting off signifies a disruption of future generations and the cessation of normal life. This reflects the severe impact of sin and judgment on society, where even the most innocent are not spared.

the young men from the town squares
"Young men" in Hebrew is "בָּחוּר" (bachur), often representing strength, vitality, and the future of the community. The "town squares" were central places of gathering, commerce, and social interaction. The removal of young men from these areas indicates a breakdown of societal structure and the loss of leadership and productivity. This phrase highlights the comprehensive nature of the judgment, affecting all aspects of life and community. It serves as a sobering reminder of the consequences of turning away from God and the importance of repentance and obedience to His commandments.

(21) Death is come up into our windows.--"Death" stands here, as in Jeremiah 15:2, specifically for the pestilence, which is to add its horrors to those of the famine and the sword, and which creeps in with its fatal taint at the windows, even though the invader is for a time kept at bay, and cuts off the children who else would play "without," sc., in the court-yard of the house, and the "young men" who else would gather, as were their wont, in the streets or the open places of the city. The Hebrew word rehoboth (comp. Genesis 26:22) answers to "piazza," "square," "market-place," rather than to our street.

Verse 21. - Death is come up, etc. "Death," equivalent to "pestilence" (as Jeremiah 15:2), the most dreaded foe of a besieged population. (For the figure, comp. Joel 2:9.) The children from without. The ideal of Zechariah is that "the streets of the city should be full of boys and girls playing in the streets thereof" (Jeremiah 8:5). But the pitiless reaper, Death, shall cut off even "the playful child from the street" (so we might render more literally). Streets, in the parallel clause, means the "broad places" where men congregate to toll the news.

Parallel Commentaries ...


Hebrew
For
כִּֽי־ (kî-)
Conjunction
Strong's 3588: A relative conjunction

death
מָ֙וֶת֙ (mā·weṯ)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 4194: Death, the dead, their place, state, pestilence, ruin

has climbed in
עָ֤לָה (‘ā·lāh)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 5927: To ascend, in, actively

through our windows;
בְּחַלּוֹנֵ֔ינוּ (bə·ḥal·lō·w·nê·nū)
Preposition-b | Noun - common plural construct | first person common plural
Strong's 2474: A window

it has entered
בָּ֖א (bā)
Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 935: To come in, come, go in, go

our fortresses,
בְּאַרְמְנוֹתֵ֑ינוּ (bə·’ar·mə·nō·w·ṯê·nū)
Preposition-b | Noun - masculine plural construct | first person common plural
Strong's 759: A citadel

to cut off
לְהַכְרִ֤ית (lə·haḵ·rîṯ)
Preposition-l | Verb - Hifil - Infinitive construct
Strong's 3772: To cut, to destroy, consume, to covenant

the children
עוֹלָל֙ (‘ō·w·lāl)
Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 5768: A suckling

from the streets,
מִח֔וּץ (mi·ḥūṣ)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2351: Separate by a, wall, outside, outdoors

the young men
בַּחוּרִ֖ים (ba·ḥū·rîm)
Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 970: Selected, a youth

from the town squares.
מֵרְחֹבֽוֹת׃ (mê·rə·ḥō·ḇō·wṯ)
Preposition-m | Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 7339: A broad open place, plaza


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OT Prophets: Jeremiah 9:21 For death is come up into our (Jer.)
Jeremiah 9:20
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