The Meaning of Jeremiah 9:1 Explained

Jeremiah 9:1

KJV: Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

YLT: Who doth make my head waters, And mine eye a fountain of tears? And I weep by day and by night, For the wounded of the daughter of my people.

Darby: Oh that my head were waters, and mine eye a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

ASV: Oh that my head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Oh that  my head  were waters,  and mine eyes  a fountain  of tears,  that I might weep  day  and night  for the slain  of the daughter  of my people! 

What does Jeremiah 9:1 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jeremiah loved his people so much that he wished he had more tears to shed for those of them that had died (cf. 2 Samuel 18:33; Matthew 23:37; Luke 19:41-44; Romans 9:1-5; Romans 10:1). His empathy with his people"s sufferings earned him the nickname "the weeping prophet" (cf. Jeremiah 13:17; Jeremiah 14:17). This is the last verse of chapter8 in the Hebrew Bible.
"It"s unusual today to find tears either in the pulpit or the pews; the emphasis seems to be on enjoyment." [1]

Context Summary

Jeremiah 9:1-16 - National Perversity
Jeremiah 9:1-6
Once the voice of joy and thanksgiving had been heard in Jerusalem, but now on every side there was bloodshed, and the patriot-prophet could only weep incessantly over the slain. A lodge in the wilderness seemed preferable to the most luxurious mansion in the city. Solitude would be better than association with the ungodly perpetrators of such crimes. Yet we must not go out of the fray so long as our Captain wants us to remain in it, in dependence upon him.
Jeremiah 9:7-16
What a magnificent description of the effect of God's judgments on the land! No bird, no beast, no lowing of cattle, but jackals gamboling over the ruins of Jerusalem. However fast we shut our doors and windows, death enters our homes. Neither palace nor cottage is exempted. There is no escape for young or old from the judgments of God, except in penitence and faith. The secret of national decay and overthrow is the same in all ages. The tree is rotten at the core before it falls beneath the hurricane. Let us turn to 1 Corinthians 1:18, which belongs to this chapter, and learn how little the wisdom and might of the world can avail us in the dread hour of universal desolation. Stand with the Crucified and glory in His Cross; be content to bear His reproach and shame, that you may become a son of the Resurrection, and be accounted worthy to escape those things that must come to pass, and at last stand, before Him. [source]

Chapter Summary: 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

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 9:1 mean?

Oh that were my head were waters and my eyes a fountain of tears that I might weep day and night - for the slain of the daughter of my people
מִֽי־ יִתֵּ֤ן רֹאשִׁי֙ מַ֔יִם וְעֵינִ֖י מְק֣וֹר דִּמְעָ֑ה וְאֶבְכֶּה֙ יוֹמָ֣ם וָלַ֔יְלָה אֵ֖ת חַֽלְלֵ֥י בַת־ ! עַמִּֽי

מִֽי־  Oh  that 
Parse: Interjection
Root: מִי  
Sense: who?, whose?, whom?, would that, whoever, whosoever.
רֹאשִׁי֙  my  head 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.
מַ֔יִם  were  waters 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: מַיִם  
Sense: water, waters.
וְעֵינִ֖י  and  my  eyes 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, common singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עֹונָה 
Sense: eye.
מְק֣וֹר  a  fountain 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מָקֹור  
Sense: spring, fountain.
דִּמְעָ֑ה  of  tears 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: דִּמְעָה  
Sense: tears.
וְאֶבְכֶּה֙  that  I  might  weep 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect Cohortative if contextual, first person common singular
Root: בָּכָה  
Sense: to weep, bewail, cry, shed tears.
יוֹמָ֣ם  day 
Parse: Adverb
Root: יׄומָם  
Sense: by day, in the daytime subst.
וָלַ֔יְלָה  and  night 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: לַיִל 
Sense: night.
אֵ֖ת  - 
Parse: Direct object marker
Root: אֹות 
Sense: sign of the definite direct object, not translated in English but generally preceding and indicating the accusative.
חַֽלְלֵ֥י  for  the  slain 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: חָלָל 
Sense: slain, fatally wounded, pierced.
בַת־  of  the  daughter 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: בַּת  
Sense: daughter.
! עַמִּֽי  of  my  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.