Jeremiah 4 · Verse 9

Jeremiah 4:9

And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.
Jeremiah 4:9, King James Version

Jeremiah 4:9 in other translations

BSB“In that day,” declares the LORD, “the king and officials will lose their courage. The priests will tremble in fear, and the prophets will be astounded.”
WEB“It will happen at that day,” says the LORD, “that the heart of the king will perish, along with the heart of the princes. The priests will be astonished, and the prophets will wonder.”
ASVAnd it shall come to pass at that day, saith Jehovah, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.
YLTAnd it hath come to pass, in that day, An affirmation of Jehovah: ‘Perish doth the heart of the king, And the heart of the princes, And astonished have been the priests, And the prophets do wonder.'
DARBYAnd it shall come to pass in that day, saith Jehovah, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall be amazed.
BBEAnd it will come about in that day, says the Lord, that the heart of the king will be dead in him, and the hearts of the rulers; and the priests will be overcome with fear, and the prophets with wonder.
WebsterAnd it shall come to pass at that day, saith the LORD, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.

What does Jeremiah 4:9 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
9. heart--The wisdom of the most leading men will be utterly at a loss to devise means of relief.

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

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 9 The heart of the king shall perish - Shall lose all courage.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 4:5-18

The fierce conqueror of the neighbouring nations was to make Judah desolate. The prophet was afflicted to see the people lulled into security by false prophets. The approach of the enemy is described. Some attention was paid in Jerusalem to outward reformation; but it was necessary that their hearts should be washed, in the exercise of true repentance and faith, from the love and pollution of sin. When lesser…

Read the full comment on Jeremiah 4:5-18 →

Jeremiah 4:9 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.

וְהָיָ֤הve.ha.Yahand it will beH1961
בַיּוֹם\־vai.yom-on the dayH3117
הַהוּא֙ha.Hu'<the> thatH1931
נְאֻם\־ne.'um-[the] utterance ofH5002
יְהוָ֔הYah.wehYahwehH3068
יֹאבַ֥דyo.Vadit will perishH6
לֵב\־lev-[the] heart ofH3820
הַמֶּ֖לֶךְha.Me.lekhthe kingH4428
וְלֵ֣בve.Levand [the] heart ofH3820
הַשָּׂרִ֑יםha.sa.Rimthe officialsH8269
וְנָשַׁ֙מּוּ֙ve.na.Sha.muand they will be appalledH8074
הַכֹּ֣הֲנִ֔יםha.Ko.ha.Nimthe priestsH3548
וְהַנְּבִיאִ֖יםve.ha.ne.vi.'Imand the prophetsH5030
יִתְמָֽהוּ\׃yit.Ma.huthey will be astoundedH8539

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

Cross references for Jeremiah 4:9

  • Isaiah 22:3-5

    All thy rulers are fled together, they are bound by the archers: all that are found in thee are bound together, which have fled from far. Therefore said I, Look away from me; I will weep bitterly, labour not to comfort me, because of the spoiling of the daughter of my people. For it is a day of trouble, and of treading down, and of perplexity by the Lord God of hosts in the valley of vision, breaking down the walls, and of crying to the mountains.

  • Isaiah 29:9-10

    Stay yourselves, and wonder; cry ye out, and cry: they are drunken, but not with wine; they stagger, but not with strong drink. For the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, and hath closed your eyes: the prophets and your rulers, the seers hath he covered.

  • Ezekiel 13:9-16

    And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord God. Because, even because they have seduced my people, saying, Peace; and there was no peace; and one built up a wall, and, lo, others daubed it with untempered morter: Say unto them which daub it with untempered morter, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it. Lo, when the wall is fallen, shall it not be said unto you, Where is the daubing wherewith ye have daubed it? …

  • Isaiah 19:16

    In that day shall Egypt be like unto women: and it shall be afraid and fear because of the shaking of the hand of the Lord of hosts, which he shaketh over it.

  • Jeremiah 37:19

    Where are now your prophets which prophesied unto you, saying, The king of Babylon shall not come against you, nor against this land?

  • Jeremiah 39:4-5

    And it came to pass, that when Zedekiah the king of Judah saw them, and all the men of war, then they fled, and went forth out of the city by night, by the way of the king’s garden, by the gate betwixt the two walls: and he went out the way of the plain. But the Chaldeans’ army pursued after them, and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho: and when they had taken him, they brought him up to Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon to Riblah in the land of Hamath, where he gave judgment upon him.

  • Isaiah 19:11-12

    Surely the princes of Zoan are fools, the counsel of the wise counsellors of Pharaoh is become brutish: how say ye unto Pharaoh, I am the son of the wise, the son of ancient kings? Where are they? where are thy wise men? and let them tell thee now, and let them know what the Lord of hosts hath purposed upon Egypt.

  • 1 Samuel 25:37-38

    But it came to pass in the morning, when the wine was gone out of Nabal, and his wife had told him these things, that his heart died within him, and he became as a stone. And it came to pass about ten days after, that the Lord smote Nabal, that he died.

  • Psalms 102:4

    My heart is smitten, and withered like grass; so that I forget to eat my bread.

  • Jeremiah 52:7

    Then the city was broken up, and all the men of war fled, and went forth out of the city by night by the way of the gate between the two walls, which was by the king’s garden; (now the Chaldeans were by the city round about:) and they went by the way of the plain.

  • Jeremiah 5:31

    The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

  • Isaiah 19:3

    And the spirit of Egypt shall fail in the midst thereof; and I will destroy the counsel thereof: and they shall seek to the idols, and to the charmers, and to them that have familiar spirits, and to the wizards.

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

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
that the heart.
39:4,5; 52:7; 1Sa 25:37,38; 2Ki 25:4; Ps 102:4; Isa 19:3,11,12,16
Isa 21:3,4; 22:3-5
and the priests.
5:31; 6:13,14; 37:19; Isa 29:9,10; Eze 13:9-16; Ac 13:41

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

Context

  • Jeremiah 4:8

    For this gird you with sackcloth, lament and howl: for the fierce anger of the Lord is not turned back from us.

  • Jeremiah 4:9

    And it shall come to pass at that day, saith the Lord, that the heart of the king shall perish, and the heart of the princes; and the priests shall be astonished, and the prophets shall wonder.

  • Jeremiah 4:10

    Then said I, Ah, Lord God! surely thou hast greatly deceived this people and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall have peace; whereas the sword reacheth unto the soul.

Read all of Jeremiah 4

Jeremiah 4:9 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Y será en aquel día, dice Jehová, que desfallecerá el corazón del rey, y el corazón de los príncipes, y los sacerdotes estarán atónitos, y se maravillarán los profetas.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
Et il arrivera en ce jour-là, dit l’ Éternel, que le cœur du roi défaillira et le cœur des princes, et que les sacrificateurs seront étonnés, et les prophètes stupéfaits.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Und es wird geschehen an jenem Tage, spricht Jehova, da wird das Herz des Königs und das Herz der Fürsten vergehen; und die Priester werden sich entsetzen, und die Propheten erstarrt sein.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Et erit in die illa, dicit Dominus: peribit cor regis, et cor principum, et obstupescent sacerdotes, et prophetæ consternabuntur.