The Meaning of Jeremiah 9:22 Explained

Jeremiah 9:22

KJV: Speak, Thus saith the LORD, Even the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman, and none shall gather them.

YLT: Speak thus -- an affirmation of Jehovah, And fallen hath the carcase of man, As dung on the face of the field, And as a handful after the reaper, And there is none gathering.

Darby: Speak, Thus saith Jehovah: Yea, the carcases of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the reaper, and there shall be none to gather.

ASV: Speak, Thus saith Jehovah, The dead bodies of men shall fall as dung upon the open field, and as the handful after the harvestman; and none shall gather them .

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Speak,  Thus saith  the LORD,  Even the carcases  of men  shall fall  as dung  upon the open  field,  and as the handful  after  the harvestman,  and none shall gather  [them]. 

What does Jeremiah 9:22 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Men too would die, in the open fields, and lie there uncared for, like dung or like scraps of wheat left after a harvest.
"Here we see Death as the Grim Reaper. The custom was for a reaper to hold in his arm what a few strokes of his sickle had cut. Then he put it down, and behind him another laborer then gathered it into bundles and bound it into a sheaf. So death was to cover the ground with corpses, but the carcasses would lie there unburied because of the paucity of survivors and the great number of dead." [1]

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 9:22 mean?

Speak thus says Yahweh and Even shall fall the carcasses of men as refuse on open the field and Like cuttings after the harvester and no one shall gather [them] -
דַּבֵּ֗ר כֹּ֚ה נְאֻם־ יְהוָ֔ה וְנָֽפְלָה֙ נִבְלַ֣ת הָֽאָדָ֔ם כְּדֹ֖מֶן עַל־ פְּנֵ֣י הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה וּכְעָמִ֛יר מֵאַחֲרֵ֥י הַקֹּצֵ֖ר וְאֵ֥ין מְאַסֵּֽף ס

דַּבֵּ֗ר  Speak 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Imperative, masculine singular
Root: דָּבַר 
Sense: to speak, declare, converse, command, promise, warn, threaten, sing.
כֹּ֚ה  thus 
Parse: Adverb
Root: כֹּה  
Sense: thus, here, in this manner.
נְאֻם־  says 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: נְאֻם  
Sense: (Qal) utterance, declaration (of prophet).
יְהוָ֔ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
וְנָֽפְלָה֙  and  Even  shall  fall 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person feminine singular
Root: נָפַל  
Sense: to fall, lie, be cast down, fail.
נִבְלַ֣ת  the  carcasses 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: נְבֵלָה  
Sense: carcass, corpse.
הָֽאָדָ֔ם  of  men 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: אָדָם 
Sense: man, mankind.
כְּדֹ֖מֶן  as  refuse 
Parse: Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular
Root: דֹּמֶן  
Sense: dung (always of corpses) (fig.
פְּנֵ֣י  open 
Parse: Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
הַשָּׂדֶ֑ה  the  field 
Parse: Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: שָׂדֶה 
Sense: field, land.
וּכְעָמִ֛יר  and  Like  cuttings 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-k, Noun, masculine singular
Root: עָמִיר  
Sense: swath, a row of fallen grain.
מֵאַחֲרֵ֥י  after 
Parse: Preposition-m
Root: אַחַר 
Sense: after the following part, behind (of place), hinder, afterwards (of time).
הַקֹּצֵ֖ר  the  harvester 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: קָצוּר 
Sense: to be short, be impatient, be vexed, be grieved.
וְאֵ֥ין  and  no  one 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Adverb
Root: אַיִן 
Sense: nothing, not, nought n.
מְאַסֵּֽף  shall  gather  [them] 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Participle, masculine singular
Root: אָסַף 
Sense: to gather, receive, remove, gather in.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation