The Meaning of Jeremiah 50:38 Explained

Jeremiah 50:38

KJV: A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.

YLT: A sword is on her waters, and they have been dried up, For it is a land of graven images, And in idols they do boast themselves.

Darby: a drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad after frightful idols.

ASV: A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad over idols.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

A drought  [is] upon her waters;  and they shall be dried up:  for it [is] the land  of graven images,  and they are mad  upon [their] idols. 

What does Jeremiah 50:38 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Babylon"s waters would dry up, too, in judgment, because of the idolatry that was rampant there. The city of Babylon depended on waterways for irrigation and agriculture, just as the whole nation relied on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers and their tributaries and canals. When Cyrus captured Babylon, he may have entered under the walls, using the dry riverbed, after he diverted the Euphrates River that flowed through the city. [1] But cuneiform documents have put this account of Babylon"s fall by Herodotus in question. [2]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 50

1  The judgment of Babylon and the redemption of Israel

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 50:38 mean?

A drought [is] against her waters and they will be dried up for the land of carved images it [is] and with terror they are insane
חֹ֥רֶב אֶל־ מֵימֶ֖יהָ וְיָבֵ֑שׁוּ כִּ֣י אֶ֤רֶץ פְּסִלִים֙ הִ֔יא וּבָאֵימִ֖ים יִתְהֹלָֽלוּ

חֹ֥רֶב  A  drought  [is] 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: חֹרֶב 
Sense: dryness, desolation, drought, heat.
אֶל־  against 
Parse: Preposition
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
מֵימֶ֖יהָ  her  waters 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, third person feminine singular
Root: מַיִם  
Sense: water, waters.
וְיָבֵ֑שׁוּ  and  they  will  be  dried  up 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person common plural
Root: יָבֵשׁ  
Sense: to make dry, wither, be dry, become dry, be dried up, be withered.
אֶ֤רֶץ  the  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
פְּסִלִים֙  of  carved  images 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: פָּסִיל  
Sense: image, idol, graven image.
הִ֔יא  it  [is] 
Parse: Pronoun, third person feminine singular
Root: הוּא 
Sense: he, she, it.
וּבָאֵימִ֖ים  and  with  terror 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article, Noun, feminine plural
Root: אֵימָה 
Sense: terror, dread.
יִתְהֹלָֽלוּ  they  are  insane 
Parse: Verb, Hitpael, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: הָלַל 
Sense: to shine.