Jeremiah 10 19

Jeremiah 10:19 kjv

Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous; but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.

Jeremiah 10:19 nkjv

Woe is me for my hurt! My wound is severe. But I say, "Truly this is an infirmity, And I must bear it."

Jeremiah 10:19 niv

Woe to me because of my injury! My wound is incurable! Yet I said to myself, "This is my sickness, and I must endure it."

Jeremiah 10:19 esv

Woe is me because of my hurt! My wound is grievous. But I said, "Truly this is an affliction, and I must bear it."

Jeremiah 10:19 nlt

My wound is severe,
and my grief is great.
My sickness is incurable,
but I must bear it.

Jeremiah 10 verses

Jeremiah 10 19 Meaning

Jeremiah 10:19 articulates Judah's lament and eventual resignation regarding the devastating judgment decreed by God, manifested as their impending destruction and exile by Babylon. The verse portrays the nation personified as experiencing a grievous, incurable wound, symbolizing its utter devastation. It shifts from an initial outcry of intense suffering and despair to a sobering, painful acceptance of this national calamity as a divine consequence that must be endured.

Jeremiah 10 19 Context

Jeremiah 10:19 is part of a lament by the prophet, reflecting the future cry of the nation Judah. The preceding verses (1-16) powerfully contrast the impotent, man-made idols of the nations with the living, true God, Yahweh, who created the universe and is the King of all creation. This polemic against idolatry highlights the folly and spiritual bankruptcy of Judah's turning away from God. Verses 17-25 then pivot abruptly to Judah's imminent judgment. Verse 19, in particular, becomes the voice of the personified nation acknowledging the bitter consequences of their sin, particularly their idolatry (implied by the preceding context) and their rejection of God's covenant. The "hurt" and "wound" refer to the impending Babylonian invasion, the destruction of Jerusalem, the Temple, and the exile of its people, which were the ultimate expressions of God's righteous judgment against a persistently unrepentant people. The passage emphasizes that this suffering is not random misfortune but a deserved consequence.

Jeremiah 10 19 Word analysis

• Woe (הוֹי - hoy): An exclamation expressing deep sorrow, pain, or lament. Often used in prophetic literature to introduce pronouncements of judgment (e.g., Isa 5:8), but here it functions as a cry of despair from the suffering entity.
• is me (לִי - li): A personal expression ("to me"), even though spoken on behalf of the nation. It deeply personalizes the suffering, conveying profound inner distress.
• for my hurt (עַל שֶׁבְרִי - ʿal shevrī): "Because of my breaking," "my ruin," or "my disaster." The Hebrew shever depicts a violent fracturing, an utter catastrophe. It speaks of an internal breaking and outward national devastation.
• My wound (מַכָּתִי - makkātī): "My stroke," "my blow." Makkah often signifies a divinely inflicted blow or a severe wound resulting from such a blow (e.g., Deut 28:59). This term subtly suggests the source of the suffering: God's judgment.
• is grievous (נֶחְלָה - neḥlāh): "Is sick," "is incurable," "is fatal." Neḥlah indicates a wound or illness beyond recovery, conveying the extreme severity and irreversible nature of the national calamity.
• but I said (וַאֲנִי אָמַרְתִּי - vaʾănī ʾāmartī): "And I said." The emphasizing personal pronoun ʾănī (I) underscores a solemn, internalized realization and response from the personified nation. It marks a transition from reactive wailing to conscious acceptance.
• Truly this (אַךְ זֶה - ʾakh zeh): "Indeed this," "only this." ʾAkh acts as a particle of affirmation or resignation, solidifying the acceptance of the painful truth. It asserts the unalterable reality of the situation.
• is a grief (תַחְלוּא - taḥlūʾ): "A sickness," "an affliction," "a disease." This term, related to neḥlāh, reaffirms the profound, debilitating suffering, explicitly labeling it as an illness that has overcome the nation.
• and I must bear it (אֶשָּׂאנוּ - ʾessaʾennū): "I will carry it," "I will endure it." Nāśāʾ implies taking up a heavy load, burden, or punishment. This signifies a reluctant but determined resignation to endure the consequence of their actions, understanding it to be inescapable and necessary.
• "Woe is me for my hurt! My wound is grievous!": This phrase represents the raw, visceral outcry of the nation. It depicts the initial shock and despair in the face of immense suffering, characterizing it as a deep, incapacitating, and seemingly terminal national ailment. It's a spontaneous cry recognizing internal and external collapse.
• "But I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.": This second part reveals a pivotal shift from raw lament to a somber, self-conscious acknowledgment and acceptance. The nation, after the initial outburst, has processed the inevitability and deservedness of their suffering, resigning themselves to carrying this heavy burden of divine judgment. This marks a bitter realization of their fate.

Jeremiah 10 19 Bonus section

• The voice speaking in Jeremiah 10:19, while uttered by Jeremiah, often represents a composite lament: the prophet identifies so deeply with his people that their anguish becomes his, and he vocalizes what should be their national confession of sorrow and resignation to God's judgment. It anticipates the ultimate despair and a grim self-awareness of the nation.
• The terms used for "hurt" (shever) and "wound" (makkah) resonate with the language of a "breaking" (referring to covenant-breaking as well as physical destruction) and a "stroke" or "blow" from God, implying the divine hand in their calamity.
• The final phrase "I must bear it" (אֶשָּׂאנוּ -essa'ennu) carries the connotation not just of passively enduring, but of taking up and carrying a heavy burden. It foreshadows the duration and intensity of the Babylonian exile, a national "burden" of consequence that they were divinely compelled to carry.

Jeremiah 10 19 Commentary

Jeremiah 10:19 is a profound and poignant expression of Judah's realization of its dire situation. It encapsulates the nation's agonizing suffering, initially an outcry of inconsolable grief and utter despair over a "hurt" and "wound" that are not merely physical but deeply spiritual and national—a collapse orchestrated by divine judgment. The imagery of an "incurable wound" vividly communicates the complete and irreversible nature of their devastation. Critically, the verse moves beyond mere lament to a grim acceptance: "Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it." This is not an immediate move to repentance, but a painful, sober resignation. The nation recognizes the source of their "grief" implicitly as the just hand of God, acknowledging it as a deserved consequence of their chronic unfaithfulness and idolatry (the preceding context of the chapter being key). They face the bitter truth that they must endure the full weight of God's chastisement—the impending exile and destruction. This declaration of "bearing it" implies a protracted and difficult period of national subjugation and suffering, an acceptance of their just due.