The Meaning of Jeremiah 14:2 Explained

Jeremiah 14:2

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

YLT: Mourned hath Judah, and her gates have languished, They have mourned to the earth, And the cry of Jerusalem hath gone up.

Darby: Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish, they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem goeth up.

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

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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

What does Jeremiah 14:2 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Judah was in mourning. Her cities were languishing, as when their gates sagged on their hinges. The people sat on the ground as an expression of their humbled condition. The people of Jerusalem were crying out for relief.

Chapter Summary: 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

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 14:2 mean?

Mourns Judah and her gates languish they mourn for the land and the cry of Jerusalem has gone up
אָבְלָ֣ה יְהוּדָ֔ה וּשְׁעָרֶ֥יהָ אֻמְלְל֖וּ קָדְר֣וּ לָאָ֑רֶץ וְצִוְחַ֥ת יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם עָלָֽתָה

אָבְלָ֣ה  Mourns 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: אָבַל 
Sense: to mourn, lament.
יְהוּדָ֔ה  Judah 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יְהוּדָה  
Sense: the son of Jacob by Leah.
וּשְׁעָרֶ֥יהָ  and  her  gates 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: שַׁעַר  
Sense: gate.
אֻמְלְל֖וּ  languish 
Parse: Verb, Pual, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: אָמַל 
Sense: to be weak, to droop, to languish, to be exhausted.
קָדְר֣וּ  they  mourn 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: קָדַר  
Sense: to mourn, be dark.
לָאָ֑רֶץ  for  the  land 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
וְצִוְחַ֥ת  and  the  cry 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: צְוָחָה  
Sense: outcry, shout.
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֖ם  of  Jerusalem 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: יְרוּשָׁלַםִ  
Sense: the chief city of Palestine and capital of the united kingdom and the nation of Judah after the split.
עָלָֽתָה  has  gone  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.