Jeremiah 15 · Verse 8

Jeremiah 15:8

Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city.

Jeremiah 15:8, King James Version

Jeremiah 15:8 in other translations

BSB	I will make their widows more numerous than the sand of the sea. I will bring a destroyer at noon against the mothers of young men. I will suddenly bring upon them anguish and dismay.
WEB	Their widows are increased more than the sand of the seas. I have brought on them against the mother of the young men a destroyer at noonday. I have caused anguish and terrors to fall on her suddenly.
ASV	Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas; I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a destroyer at noonday: I have caused anguish and terrors to fall upon her suddenly.
YLT	Its widows have been more to Me than the sand of the seas, I brought in to them--against the mother--A young man--a spoiler--at noon. I caused to fall upon her suddenly, wrath and trouble.
DARBY	Their widows are increased to me more than the sand of the seas; I have brought upon them, against the mother of the young men, a spoiler at noonday; I have caused anguish and terror to fall upon her suddenly.
BBE	I have let their widows be increased in number more than the sand of the seas: I have sent against them, against the mother and the young men, one who makes waste in the heat of the day, causing pain and fears to come on her suddenly.
Webster	Their widows are multiplied to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noon-day: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city.

What does Jeremiah 15:8 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown

8. Their widows--My people's (Jr 15:7). have brought--prophetical past: I will bring. mother of the young men--"mother" is collective; after the "widows," He naturally mentions bereavement of their sons ("young men"), brought on the "mothers" by "the spoiler"; it was owing to the number of men slain that the "widows" were so many [Calvin]. Others take "mother," as in 2Sa 20:19, of Jerusalem, the metropolis; "I have brought on them, against the 'mother,' a young spoiler," namely, Nebuchadnezzar, sent by his father, Nabopolassar, to repulse the Egyptian invaders (2Ki 23:29; 24:1), and occupy Judea. But Jr 15:7 shows the future, not the past, is referred to; and "widows" being literal, "mother" is probably so, too. at noonday--the hottest part of the day, when military operations were usually suspended; thus it means unexpectedly, answering to the parallel, "suddenly"; openly, as others explain it, will not suit the parallelism (compare Psa 91:6). it--English Version seems to understand by "it" the mother city, and by "him" the "spoiler"; thus "it" will be parallel to "city." Rather, "I will cause to fall upon them (the 'mothers' about to be bereft of their sons) suddenly anguish and terrors." the city--rather, from a root "heat," anguish, or consternation. So the Septuagint.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary

Verse 8 The mother of the young men - The metropolis or mother city, Jerusalem.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 15:1-9

The destruction of the wicked described. (Jr 15:1-9) The prophet laments such messages, and is reproved. (Jr 15:10-14) He supplicates pardon, and is promised protection. (Jr 15:15-21) Verses 1-9 The Lord declares that even Moses and Samuel must have pleaded in vain. The putting of this as a case, though they should stand before him, shows that they do not, and that saints in heaven do not pray for saints on earth…

Read the full comment on Jeremiah 15:1-9 →

Jeremiah 15:8 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.

עָֽצְמוּ\־'a.tze.mu-they are numerousH6105

לִ֤יlito <the> me

אַלְמְנֹתָיו֙'al.me.no.Tavwidows itsH490

מֵח֣וֹלme.Cholmore than [the] sand ofH2344

יַמִּ֔יםya.Mim[the] seasH3220

הֵבֵ֨אתִיhe.Ve.tiI have broughtH935

לָהֶ֥םla.Hemto <the> them

עַל\־'al-onH5921

אֵ֛ם'ema mother ofH517

בָּח֖וּרba.Chura young manH970

שֹׁדֵ֣דsho.Deda destroyerH7703

בַּֽצָּהֳרָ֑יִםba.tzo.ho.Ra.yimat <the> noon<s>H6672

הִפַּ֤לְתִּיhi.Pal.tiI have made fallH5307

עָלֶ֙יהָ֙'a.Lei.haon herH5921

פִּתְאֹ֔םpit.'OmsuddenlyH6597

עִ֖יר'iranguishH5892

וּבֶהָלֽוֹת\׃u.ve.ha.Lotand sudden terrorH928

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

Cross references for Jeremiah 15:8

Isaiah 3:25-4:1
Thy men shall fall by the sword, and thy mighty in the war. And her gates shall lament and mourn; and she being desolate shall sit upon the ground. And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach.
Luke 21:35
For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
Jeremiah 4:16
Make ye mention to the nations; behold, publish against Jerusalem, that watchers come from a far country, and give out their voice against the cities of Judah.
Jeremiah 6:4-5
Prepare ye war against her; arise, and let us go up at noon. Woe unto us! for the day goeth away, for the shadows of the evening are stretched out. Arise, and let us go by night, and let us destroy her palaces.
Jeremiah 5:6
Wherefore a lion out of the forest shall slay them, and a wolf of the evenings shall spoil them, a leopard shall watch over their cities: every one that goeth out thence shall be torn in pieces: because their transgressions are many, and their backslidings are increased.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

widows.
Isa 3:25,26; 4:1
the mother, etc. or, the mother city a young man spoiling,etc. or, the mother and the young men. a spoiler.
4:16; 5:6; 6:4,5; Lu 21:35

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

Context

Jeremiah 15:7
And I will fan them with a fan in the gates of the land; I will bereave them of children, I will destroy my people, since they return not from their ways.
Jeremiah 15:8
Their widows are increased to me above the sand of the seas: I have brought upon them against the mother of the young men a spoiler at noonday: I have caused him to fall upon it suddenly, and terrors upon the city.
Jeremiah 15:9
She that hath borne seven languisheth: she hath given up the ghost; her sun is gone down while it was yet day: she hath been ashamed and confounded: and the residue of them will I deliver to the sword before their enemies, saith the Lord.

Read all of Jeremiah 15

Jeremiah 15:8 in other languages

Spanish Reina-Valera 1909	Sus viudas se me multiplicaron más que la arena de la mar; traje contra ellos destruidor á medio día sobre la madre y los hijos; sobre la ciudad hice que de repente cayesen terrores.
French Bible J.N. Darby 1885	Les veuves sont multipliées devant moi plus que le sable des mers; je fais venir contre eux, sur la mère des jeunes hommes, un dévastateur en plein midi; je fais tomber sur elle subitement l’angoisse et l’épouvante;
German Elberfelder 1871	Ihre Witwen werden mir zahlreicher sein als der Sand der Meere; ich bringe ihnen über die Mütter der Jünglinge einen Verwüster am hellen Mittag, lasse plötzlich Angst und Schrecken auf sie fallen.
Latin Clementine Vulgate	Multiplicatæ sunt mihi viduæ ejus super arenam maris: induxi eis super matrem adolescentis vastatorem meridie: misi super civitates repente terrorem.