The Meaning of Jeremiah 4:29 Explained

Jeremiah 4:29

KJV: The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.

YLT: From the voice of the horseman, And of him shooting with the bow, all the city is fleeing, They have come into thickets, And on cliffs they have gone up, All the city is forsaken, And there is no one dwelling in them.

Darby: At the noise of the horsemen and bowmen, every city fleeth; they go into the thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city is forsaken and no man dwelleth therein.

ASV: Every city fleeth for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they go into the thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city is forsaken, and not a man dwelleth therein.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The whole city  shall flee  for the noise  of the horsemen  and bowmen;  they shall go  into thickets,  and climb up  upon the rocks:  every city  [shall be] forsaken,  and not a man  dwell  therein. 

What does Jeremiah 4:29 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The inhabitants of every Judean city would run and hide when they heard the enemy coming (cf. Isaiah 2:19-21; Revelation 6:15-16). The result would be vacant cities throughout the land. Archaeological monuments have shown that the Babylonians were a people of archers. [1]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 4

1  God calls Israel by his promise
3  He exhorts Judah to repentance by fearful judgments
19  A grievous lamentation for Judah

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 4:29 mean?

From the noise of the horsemen and bowmen shall flee whole the city they shall go into thickets and on the rocks climb up every city [shall be] forsaken and not shall dwell in it a man
מִקּ֨וֹל פָּרָ֜שׁ וְרֹ֣מֵה קֶ֗שֶׁת בֹּרַ֙חַת֙ כָּל־ הָעִ֔יר בָּ֚אוּ בֶּעָבִ֔ים וּבַכֵּפִ֖ים עָל֑וּ כָּל־ הָעִ֣יר עֲזוּבָ֔ה וְאֵין־ יוֹשֵׁ֥ב בָּהֵ֖ן אִֽישׁ

מִקּ֨וֹל  From  the  noise 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: קֹול 
Sense: voice, sound, noise.
פָּרָ֜שׁ  of  the  horsemen 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: פָּרָשׁ 
Sense: horse, steed, warhorse.
קֶ֗שֶׁת  bowmen 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: קֶשֶׁת  
Sense: bow.
בֹּרַ֙חַת֙  shall  flee 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular construct
Root: בָּרַח 
Sense: to go through, flee, run away, chase, drive away, put to flight, reach, shoot (extend), hurry away.
כָּל־  whole 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
הָעִ֔יר  the  city 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
בָּ֚אוּ  they  shall  go 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
בֶּעָבִ֔ים  into  thickets 
Parse: Preposition-b, Article, Noun, common plural
Root: עָב 
Sense: darkness, cloud, thicket.
וּבַכֵּפִ֖ים  and  on  the  rocks 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-b, Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: כֵּף  
Sense: rock, hollow of a rock.
עָל֑וּ  climb  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: סָלַק 
Sense: to go up, ascend, climb.
כָּל־  every 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
הָעִ֣יר  city 
Parse: Article, Noun, feminine singular
Root: עִיר 
Sense: excitement, anguish.
עֲזוּבָ֔ה  [shall  be]  forsaken 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, feminine singular
Root: עָזַב 
Sense: to leave, loose, forsake.
וְאֵין־  and  not 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
יוֹשֵׁ֥ב  shall  dwell 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָשַׁב 
Sense: to dwell, remain, sit, abide.
בָּהֵ֖ן  in  it 
Parse: Preposition-b, Pronoun, third person feminine plural
Root: ־הֶן 
Sense: they, these, the same, who.
אִֽישׁ  a  man 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.