The Meaning of Jeremiah 13:18 Explained

Jeremiah 13:18

KJV: Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory.

YLT: Say to the king and to the mistress: Make yourselves low -- sit still, For come down have your principalities, The crown of your beauty.

Darby: Say unto the king and to the queen: Humble yourselves, sit down low; for from your heads shall come down the crown of your magnificence.

ASV: Say thou unto the king and to the queen-mother, Humble yourselves, sit down; for your headtires are come down, even the crown of your glory.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Say  unto the king  and to the queen,  Humble  yourselves, sit down:  for your principalities  shall come down,  [even] the crown  of your glory. 

What does Jeremiah 13:18 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jeremiah was to tell the king and the queen mother of Judah to humble themselves, because the Lord had removed their authority (in heaven) and would remove it soon (on earth). Pride was the besetting sin of royalty. The individuals in view are probably young King Jehoiachin and his mother Nehushta (cf. Jeremiah 22:26; 2 Kings 24:8-17). They were taken to Babylon as captives in597 B.C. [1]
The queen mother was an important official throughout Israel"s monarchy, evidently as a counselor to the king, as was common in the ancient Near East (cf. 1 Kings 2:19; 1 Kings 15:13; 2 Kings 10:13). Queen mothers assumed unusual prominence because of the widespread practice of polygamy among the kings.

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 13:18 mean?

Say to the king and to the queen mother Humble yourselves Sit down for shall collapse your rule the crown of your glory
אֱמֹ֥ר לַמֶּ֛לֶךְ וְלַגְּבִירָ֖ה הַשְׁפִּ֣ילוּ שֵׁ֑בוּ כִּ֤י יָרַד֙ מַרְאֲשׁ֣וֹתֵיכֶ֔ם עֲטֶ֖רֶת תִּֽפְאַרְתְּכֶֽם

אֱמֹ֥ר  Say 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
לַמֶּ֛לֶךְ  to  the  king 
Parse: Preposition-l, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
וְלַגְּבִירָ֖ה  and  to  the  queen  mother 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-l, Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: גְּבִירָה  
Sense: queen, lady.
הַשְׁפִּ֣ילוּ  Humble  yourselves 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: שָׁפֵל  
Sense: to be or become low, sink, be humbled, be abased.
שֵׁ֑בוּ  Sit  down 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperative, masculine plural
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
יָרַד֙  shall  collapse 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: יָרַד  
Sense: to go down, descend, decline, march down, sink down.
מַרְאֲשׁ֣וֹתֵיכֶ֔ם  your  rule 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct, second person masculine plural
Root: מְרַאֲשֹׁות  
Sense: place at the head, dominion, head place adv.
עֲטֶ֖רֶת  the  crown 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: עֲטָרָה  
Sense: crown, wreath.
תִּֽפְאַרְתְּכֶֽם  of  your  glory 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, second person masculine plural
Root: תִּפְאֶרֶת  
Sense: beauty, splendour, glory.