The Meaning of Jeremiah 13:16 Explained

Jeremiah 13:16

KJV: Give glory to the LORD your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.

YLT: Give ye to Jehovah your God honour, Before He doth cause darkness, And before your feet stumble on dark mountains, And ye have waited for light, And He hath made it for death-shade, And hath appointed it for thick darkness.

Darby: Give glory to Jehovah your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the mountains of twilight; and ye shall look for light, but he will turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.

ASV: Give glory to Jehovah your God, before he cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye look for light, he turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Give  glory  to the LORD  your God,  before he cause darkness,  and before your feet  stumble  upon the dark  mountains,  and, while ye look  for light,  he turn  it into the shadow of death,  [and] make  {08675;07896:08799} [it] gross darkness. 

What does Jeremiah 13:16 Mean?

Verse Meaning

They were to give glory to Yahweh before the darkness of God"s judgment overwhelmed them and they stumbled in their walk, as people descending a mountain at twilight. Presently there was some light for the people to walk in, and they were hoping for more light, but deep darkness was about to overtake them. "Giving glory to the Lord" is an idiom for confessing sins (cf. Joshua 7:19; John 9:24).
The historical background for this oracle may be the deportation of Jehoiachin in597 B.C, which was as twilight compared to the darkness of586 B.C, when Jerusalem fell and Judah lost her independence. [1]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 13

1  By the type of a linen belt, hidden at Euphrates,
9  God prefigures the destruction of his people
12  By the parable of bottles filled with wine he foretells their drunkenness in misery
15  He exhorts to prevent their future judgments
22  He shows their abominations are the cause thereof

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 13:16 mean?

Give to Yahweh your God glory Before He causes darkness and before stumble your feet On the mountains dark and while you are looking for light and He turns it into the shadow of death - [And] makes [it] dense darkness
תְּנוּ֩ לַיהוָ֨ה אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֤ם כָּבוֹד֙ בְּטֶ֣רֶם יַחְשִׁ֔ךְ וּבְטֶ֛רֶם יִֽתְנַגְּפ֥וּ רַגְלֵיכֶ֖ם עַל־ הָ֣רֵי נָ֑שֶׁף וְקִוִּיתֶ֤ם לְאוֹר֙ וְשָׂמָ֣הּ לְצַלְמָ֔וֶת [ישית] (וְשִׁ֖ית) לַעֲרָפֶֽל

תְּנוּ֩  Give 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: יָתַן 
Sense: to give, put, set.
לַיהוָ֨ה  to  Yahweh 
Parse: Preposition-l, Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
אֱלֹהֵיכֶ֤ם  your  God 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, second person masculine plural
Root: אֱלֹהִים  
Sense: (plural).
כָּבוֹד֙  glory 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: כָּבֹוד  
Sense: glory, honour, glorious, abundance.
בְּטֶ֣רֶם  Before 
Parse: Preposition-b, Adverb
Root: טֶרֶם  
Sense: before, not yet, before that.
יַחְשִׁ֔ךְ  He  causes  darkness 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: חָשַׁךְ 
Sense: to be or become dark, grow dim, be darkened, be black, be hidden.
וּבְטֶ֛רֶם  and  before 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Adverb
Root: טֶרֶם  
Sense: before, not yet, before that.
יִֽתְנַגְּפ֥וּ  stumble 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: נָגַף  
Sense: to strike, smite.
רַגְלֵיכֶ֖ם  your  feet 
Parse: Noun, fdc, second person masculine plural
Root: רֶגֶל  
Sense: foot.
הָ֣רֵי  the  mountains 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
נָ֑שֶׁף  dark 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: נֶשֶׁף  
Sense: twilight.
וְקִוִּיתֶ֤ם  and  while  you  are  looking 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Piel, Conjunctive perfect, second person masculine plural
Root: קָוָה 
Sense: to wait, look for, hope, expect.
לְאוֹר֙  for  light 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, common singular
Root: אֹור  
Sense: light.
וְשָׂמָ֣הּ  and  He  turns  it 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular, third person feminine singular
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
לְצַלְמָ֔וֶת  into  the  shadow  of  death 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: צַלְמָוֶת  
Sense: death-shadow, deep shadow, deep darkness, shadow of death.
[ישית]  - 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
(וְשִׁ֖ית)  [And]  makes  [it] 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: שִׁית  
Sense: to put, set.
לַעֲרָפֶֽל  dense  darkness 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֲרָפֶל  
Sense: cloud, heavy or dark cloud, darkness, gross darkness, thick darkness.