Jeremiah 14:4
 Jeremiah 14:4 
New International Version (©2011)
The ground is cracked because there is no rain in the land; the farmers are dismayed and cover their heads.

New Living Translation (©2007)
The ground is parched and cracked for lack of rain. The farmers are deeply troubled; they, too, cover their heads.

English Standard Version (©2001)
Because of the ground that is dismayed, since there is no rain on the land, the farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.

New American Standard Bible (©1995)
"Because the ground is cracked, For there has been no rain on the land; The farmers have been put to shame, They have covered their heads.

King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)
Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.

Holman Christian Standard Bible (©2009)
The ground is cracked since no rain has fallen on the land. The farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.

International Standard Version (©2012)
The ground is cracked, because there has been no rain in the land. The farmers are disappointed, and they cover their heads in shame.

NET Bible (©2006)
They are dismayed because the ground is cracked because there has been no rain in the land. The farmers, too, are dismayed and bury their faces in their hands.

GOD'S WORD® Translation (©1995)
The ground is cracked because there has been no rain in the land. The farmers are disappointed. They cover their heads.

King James 2000 Bible (©2003)
Because the ground is parched, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.

American King James Version
Because the ground is beat down, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.

American Standard Version
Because of the ground which is cracked, for that no rain hath been in the land, the plowmen are put to shame, they cover their heads.

Douay-Rheims Bible
For the destruction of the land, because there came no rain upon the earth, the husbandmen were confounded, they covered their heads.

Darby Bible Translation
Because the ground is chapt, for there hath been no rain on the earth, the ploughmen are ashamed, they cover their heads.

English Revised Version
Because of the ground which is chapt, for that no rain hath been in the land, the plowmen are ashamed, they cover their heads.

Webster's Bible Translation
Because the ground is chapt, for there was no rain on the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads.

World English Bible
Because of the ground which is cracked, because no rain has been in the land, the plowmen are disappointed, they cover their heads.

Young's Literal Translation
Because the ground hath been broken, For there hath been no rain in the land, Ashamed have been husbandmen, They have covered their head.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

14:1-9 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 of it. See what dependence husbandmen have upon the Divine providence. They cannot plough nor sow in hope, unless God water their furrows. The case even of the wild beasts was very pitiable. The people are not forward to pray, but the prophet prays for them. Sin is humbly confessed. Our sins not only accuse us, but answer against us. Our best pleas in prayer are those fetched from the glory of God's own name. We should dread God's departure, more than the removal of our creature-comforts. He has given Israel his word to hope in. It becomes us in prayer to show ourselves more concerned for God's glory than for our own comfort. And if we now return to the Lord, he will save us to the glory of his grace.


Pulpit Commentary

Verse 4. - The ground is chapt. Perhaps: but it is more obvious to render, is dismayed, according to the usual meaning of the word. Words which properly belong to human beings are often, by a "poetic fallacy," applied to inanimate objects (as in Ver. 2). In the earth; rather, in the land.


Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Because the ground is chapt,.... Through the violent heat of the sun, and want of rain; or, is broken (y); and crumbles into dust. The Targum is,

"because of sins, the inhabitants of the earth are broken:''

for there was no rain in the earth; this was the reason of the dearth, and of the famine, and why there was no water in the pits, and the ground was parched. It is to be understood of the land of Judea only, not of the whole earth:

the ploughmen were ashamed; because they could not work the earth with their plough; were obliged to sit still, could do no work, or go on with their husbandry; nothing could be done for want of rain: they covered their heads; as before; See Gill on Jeremiah 14:3.

(y) "confracta", Schmidt; "attritam", Junius & Tremellius, Piscator.


Jeremiah 14:4 Parallel Commentaries

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Drought, Famine, Sword, Pestilence
3And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads. 4Because the ground is beat down, for there was no rain in the earth, the plowmen were ashamed, they covered their heads. 5Yes, the hind also calved in the field, and forsook it, because there was no grass. …

Jeremiah 2:37 You will also leave that place with your hands on your head, for the LORD has rejected those you trust; you will not be helped by them.
Jeremiah 3:3 Therefore the showers have been withheld, and no spring rains have fallen. Yet you have the brazen look of a prostitute; you refuse to blush with shame.
Joel 1:11 Despair, you farmers, wail, you vine growers; grieve for the wheat and the barley, because the harvest of the field is destroyed.
Joel 1:19 To you, LORD, I call, for fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness and flames have burned up all the trees of the field.
Joel 1:20 Even the wild animals pant for you; the streams of water have dried up and fire has devoured the pastures in the wilderness.
Amos 4:8 People staggered from town to town for water but did not get enough to drink, yet you have not returned to me," declares the LORD.