The Meaning of Jeremiah 9:10 Explained

Jeremiah 9:10

KJV: For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.

YLT: For the mountains I lift up weeping and wailing, And for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, For they have been burnt up without any passing over, Nor have they heard the voice of cattle, From the fowl of the heavens unto the beast they have fled, they have gone.

Darby: For the mountains will I take up weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness, a lamentation; for they are burnt up, so that none passeth through them; and the voice of the cattle is not heard. Both the fowl of the heavens and the beasts are fled; they are gone.

ASV: For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none passeth through; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the birds of the heavens and the beasts are fled, they are gone.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

For the mountains  will I take up  a weeping  and wailing,  and for the habitations  of the wilderness  a lamentation,  because they are burned up,  so that none  can pass  through [them]; neither can [men] hear  the voice  of the cattle;  both the fowl  of the heavens  and the beast  are fled;  they are gone. 

What does Jeremiah 9:10 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord took up a lamentation on behalf of the land that suffered because of His people"s sin. The coming invasion would leave the land deserted-even by cattle and birds. The rest of this message indicates that the invasion had not yet taken place. Jeremiah was describing a future event as though it had already past.

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 9:10 mean?

For the mountains I will take up a weeping and wailing and for the dwelling places of the wilderness a lamentation because they are burned up so that no one one can pass through nor can [men] hear the voice of the cattle from the birds of the heavens and to the beasts have fled they are gone
עַל־ הֶ֨הָרִ֜ים אֶשָּׂ֧א בְכִ֣י וָנֶ֗הִי וְעַל־ נְא֤וֹת מִדְבָּר֙ קִינָ֔ה כִּ֤י נִצְּתוּ֙ מִבְּלִי־ אִ֣ישׁ עֹבֵ֔ר וְלֹ֥א שָׁמְע֖וּ ק֣וֹל מִקְנֶ֑ה מֵע֤וֹף הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙ וְעַד־ בְּהֵמָ֔ה נָדְד֖וּ הָלָֽכוּ

הֶ֨הָרִ֜ים  the  mountains 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
אֶשָּׂ֧א  I  will  take  up 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: נָשָׂא  
Sense: to lift, bear up, carry, take.
בְכִ֣י  a  weeping 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: בְּכִי  
Sense: a weeping, weeping.
וָנֶ֗הִי  and  wailing 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular
Root: נְהִי  
Sense: wailing, lamentation, mourning song.
וְעַל־  and  for 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
נְא֤וֹת  the  dwelling  places 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: נָוָה  
Sense: .
מִדְבָּר֙  of  the  wilderness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִדְבָּר 
Sense: wilderness.
קִינָ֔ה  a  lamentation 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: קִינָה  
Sense: lamentation, dirge, elegy.
כִּ֤י  because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
נִצְּתוּ֙  they  are  burned  up 
Parse: Verb, Nifal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: יָצַת  
Sense: to kindle, burn, set on fire.
מִבְּלִי־  so  that  no  one 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: בְּלִי 
Sense: wearing out adv of negation.
אִ֣ישׁ  one 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: אִישׁ 
Sense: man.
עֹבֵ֔ר  can  pass  through 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
וְלֹ֥א  nor 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
שָׁמְע֖וּ  can  [men]  hear 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
ק֣וֹל  the  voice 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: קֹול 
Sense: voice, sound, noise.
מִקְנֶ֑ה  of  the  cattle 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מִקְנֶה  
Sense: cattle, livestock.
מֵע֤וֹף  from  the  birds 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: עֹוף  
Sense: flying creatures, fowl, insects, birds.
הַשָּׁמַ֙יִם֙  of  the  heavens 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine plural
Root: שָׁמַיִם  
Sense: heaven, heavens, sky.
וְעַד־  and  to 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition
Root: עַד  
Sense: as far as, even to, until, up to, while, as far as.
בְּהֵמָ֔ה  the  beasts 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: בְּהֵמָה  
Sense: beast, cattle, animal.
נָדְד֖וּ  have  fled 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: נָדַד  
Sense: to retreat, flee, depart, move, wander abroad, stray, flutter.
הָלָֽכוּ  they  are  gone 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.