Jeremiah 14 · Verse 6

Jeremiah 14:6

And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass.

Jeremiah 14:6, King James Version

Jeremiah 14:6 in other translations

BSB	Wild donkeys stand on barren heights; they pant for air like jackals; their eyes fail for lack of pasture.”
WEB	The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights. They pant for air like jackals. Their eyes fail, because there is no vegetation.
ASV	And the wild asses stand on the bare heights, they pant for air like jackals; their eyes fail, because there is no herbage.
YLT	And wild asses have stood on high places, They have swallowed up wind like dragons, Consumed have been their eyes, for there is no herb.
DARBY	And the wild asses stand on the heights, they snuff up the wind like jackals; their eyes fail, because there is no herbage.
BBE	And the asses of the field on the open hilltops are opening their mouths wide like jackals to get air; their eyes are hollow because there is no grass.
Webster	And the wild asses stood in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes failed, because there was no grass.

What does Jeremiah 14:6 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

6. wild asses--They repair to "the high places" most exposed to the winds, which they "snuff in" to relieve their thirst. dragons--jackals [Henderson]. eyes--which are usually most keen in detecting grass or water from the "heights," so much so that the traveller guesses from their presence that there must be herbage and water near; but now "their eyes fail." Rather the reference is to the great boas and python serpents which raise a large portion of their body up in a vertical column ten or twelve feet high, to survey the neighborhood above the surrounding bushes, while with open jaws they drink in the air. These giant serpents originated the widely spread notions which typified the deluge and all destructive agents under the form of a dragon or monster serpent; hence, the dragon temples always near water, in Asia, Africa, and Britain; for example, at Abury, in Wiltshire; a symbol of the ark is often associated with the dragon as the preserver from the waters [Kitto, Biblical Cyclopædia].

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 6 Snuffed up the wind like dragons - תנים tannim here probably means the hippopotamus, who, after feeding under the water, is obliged to come to the surface in order to take in fresh draughts of air; or it may mean the wild asses.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 14:1-9

A drought upon the land of Judah. (Jr 14:1-7) A confession of sin in the name of the people. (Jr 14:8-9) The Divine purpose to punish is declared. (Jr 14:10-16) The people supplicate. (Jr 14:17-22) Verses 1-9 The people were in tears. But it was rather the cry of their trouble, and of their sin, than of their prayer. Let us be thankful for the mercy of water, that we may not be taught to value it by feeling the want…

Read the full comment on Jeremiah 14:1-9 →

Jeremiah 14:6 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

וּפְרָאִים֙u.fe.ra.'Imand wild donkeysH6501

עָמְד֣וּ'a.me.Duthey have stoodH5975

עַל\־'al-onH5921

שְׁפָיִ֔םshe.fa.Yim[the] bare heightsH8205

שָׁאֲפ֥וּsha.'a.Futhey have panted forH7602

ר֖וּחַRu.achbreathH7307

כַּתַּנִּ֑יםka.ta.Nimlike <the> jackalsH8577

כָּל֥וּka.Luthey have failedH3615

עֵינֵיהֶ֖ם'ei.nei.Hemeyes theirH5869

כִּי\־ki-forH3588

אֵ֥ין'einthere notH369

עֵֽשֶׂב\׃'E.sev[is] vegetationH6212

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Jeremiah 14:6

Jeremiah 2:24
A wild ass used to the wilderness, that snuffeth up the wind at her pleasure; in her occasion who can turn her away? all they that seek her will not weary themselves; in her month they shall find her.
Job 39:5-6
Who hath sent out the wild ass free? or who hath loosed the bands of the wild ass? Whose house I have made the wilderness, and the barren land his dwellings.
Joel 1:18
How do the beasts groan! the herds of cattle are perplexed, because they have no pasture; yea, the flocks of sheep are made desolate.
1 Samuel 14:29
Then said Jonathan, My father hath troubled the land: see, I pray you, how mine eyes have been enlightened, because I tasted a little of this honey.
Lamentations 4:17
As for us, our eyes as yet failed for our vain help: in our watching we have watched for a nation that could not save us.
Lamentations 5:17
For this our heart is faint; for these things our eyes are dim.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

the wild.
2:24; Job 39:5,6
they.They sucked in the air, for want of water, to cool their internal heat.
their.
1Sa 14:29; La 4:17; 5:17; Joe 1:18

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

Jeremiah 14:5
Yea, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass.
Jeremiah 14:6
And the wild asses did stand in the high places, they snuffed up the wind like dragons; their eyes did fail, because there was no grass.
Jeremiah 14:7
O Lord, though our iniquities testify against us, do thou it for thy name’s sake: for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against thee.

Read all of Jeremiah 14

Jeremiah 14:6 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Y los asnos monteses se ponían en los altos, aspiraban el viento como los chacales; sus ojos se ofuscaron, porque no había hierba.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	et les ânes sauvages se sont tenus sur les hauteurs, ils ont humé l’air comme des chacals; leurs yeux se sont consumés, parce qu’il n’y a point d’herbe.
German Elberfelder 1871	Und die Wildesel stehen auf den kahlen Höhen, schnappen nach Luft wie die Schakale; ihre Augen schmachten hin, denn kein Kraut ist da.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Et onagri steterunt in rupibus; traxerunt ventum quasi dracones: defecerunt oculi eorum, quia non erat herba.