Jeremiah 18 14

Jeremiah 18:14 kjv

Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?

Jeremiah 18:14 nkjv

Will a man leave the snow water of Lebanon, Which comes from the rock of the field? Will the cold flowing waters be forsaken for strange waters?

Jeremiah 18:14 niv

Does the snow of Lebanon ever vanish from its rocky slopes? Do its cool waters from distant sources ever stop flowing?

Jeremiah 18:14 esv

Does the snow of Lebanon leave the crags of Sirion? Do the mountain waters run dry, the cold flowing streams?

Jeremiah 18:14 nlt

Does the snow ever disappear from the mountaintops of Lebanon?
Do the cold streams flowing from those distant mountains ever run dry?

Jeremiah 18 verses

Jeremiah 18 14 Meaning

Jeremiah 18:14 poses two rhetorical questions, contrasting the steadfastness and reliability of natural phenomena with Israel's inexplicable and unnatural unfaithfulness to God. The verse highlights that just as the permanent snow on Mount Lebanon's crags never disappears, and the cold, distant, ever-flowing springs never run dry, so too Israel's abandonment of the eternally faithful God is utterly illogical and perverse, an unnatural deviation from what should be. It implies a deeply rooted perversity in turning away from the source of life and truth, comparable to the most improbable natural occurrences ceasing.

Jeremiah 18 14 Context

Jeremiah 18:14 sits within a pivotal section of Jeremiah, immediately following the profound "potter and the clay" analogy (Jer 18:1-12). In this analogy, God asserts His sovereign right to mold and remold nations as a potter does clay. He threatens Judah with disaster but offers mercy upon repentance. However, Judah's defiant response is given in verse 12: "It is hopeless! We will continue to follow our own plans; each of us will persist in the stubbornness of our evil hearts." Jeremiah 18:14 directly confronts this stubborn and perverse refusal by contrasting it with the constancy of nature, emphasizing the utter unnaturalness of Israel's chosen path. It serves as a preamble to God's direct accusation against Judah for their forgottenness and idol worship in the verses that follow (18:15-17), highlighting their senseless deviation from their source of life. The historical context is a time of moral and spiritual decline in Judah, prior to the Babylonian exile, when idolatry and covenant unfaithfulness were rampant.

Jeremiah 18 14 Word analysis

• היעזב (Ha-ya'azov): From the root עזב ('azav), meaning "to leave," "to abandon," "to forsake." The initial "ה" (Ha-) indicates a rhetorical interrogative ("Will it be abandoned?"). It strongly implies a negative answer: "No, it will not be abandoned." This questions the natural order.

• מציון (mi-tzur): "From the crag" or "from the rock." צור (tzur) typically means a solid rock, a strong fortress. Here it refers to the high, rugged peaks of Lebanon.

• סלה (Selach): The exact reading varies in ancient manuscripts and translations. Some versions read סלה as צדה (tzādah) meaning "side/field" leading to "snow from the field of Lebanon". Others read סלע (sela') meaning "rock/crag." Modern translations mostly interpret it as "crag" or refer to the "snows of Lebanon" that emanate from its mountainous "crags." It describes the source of the water as originating from the high, snow-capped mountains.

• לבנון (Lǝvānon): Lebanon, the mountain range north of Israel, renowned for its snow-capped peaks and abundant water resources, making it a natural symbol of constancy and refreshment.

• אום-קרחה (ōm-qereḥāh): "from a strange/faraway, freezing-cold place" (KJV "that cometh from the rock of the field"). אום (ōm) can mean 'people' but in this context often seen as derived from אמם 'to hide, gather' implying something deep or from יָמַם to mean source/mother. קרחה (qereḥāh) implies 'coldness' or 'baldness' (as a frostbitten landscape or snowfield). Many scholars connect it to "waters flowing from a distance and cold."

• הינטשו (Ha-yintēshū): From the root נטשׁ (nātash), meaning "to abandon," "to forsake," "to give up," "to neglect." Again, the rhetorical interrogative "ה" (Ha-) implies "No, they will not be abandoned/dried up."

• מים (Mayim): "Waters."

• זרים (Zarim): "Alien," "foreign," "strange." Here it functions to describe waters coming from an unfamiliar or distant, perhaps deep, source—contrasting with readily available, superficial waters. It suggests a constant, deep wellspring, not dependent on immediate rainfall.

• קרים (Qarim): "Cold." Emphasizes the refreshing and pristine quality of the water, flowing directly from melting snows or deep springs.

• נוזלים (Nōzlīm): "Flowing" or "running." Highlights the continuous, uninterrupted nature of the water supply.

• Group of Words Analysis:

  • "היעזב מציון סלה לבנון אום-קרחה" (Ha-ya'azov mi-tzur Selach Lǝvānon ōm-qereḥāh?): "Will the snow/waters from the crags of Lebanon ever leave, from its freezing cold heights?" This phrase conjures an image of permanence. The high altitude snows of Lebanon are a perennial source of fresh water, melting gradually to feed streams. To imagine them disappearing is to imagine an impossible disruption of the natural order.
  • "הינטשו מים זרים קרים נוזלים" (Ha-yintēshū mayim zarim qarim nōzlīm?): "Or will cold flowing waters from afar ever run dry/be forsaken?" This complements the first question, referring to the deep, perhaps subterranean springs that ensure a continuous supply of cool, life-giving water, unaffected by surface conditions. Their permanence is equally unthinkable. Together, these two images form an undeniable truth about nature's reliability.

Jeremiah 18 14 Bonus section

The concept of זרים (zarim) meaning "alien/foreign" when applied to water, often suggests a pristine source that is untainted, perhaps even "hidden" or "unknown" to ordinary streams, signifying deep, reliable wellsprings. This word choice may subtly hint at the "alien" gods Israel pursued, highlighting the perverse irony of choosing literal "alien" deities over their own living God, despite His proven, unwavering constancy being as reliable as these foreign, pure waters. The geographical details, specifically Mount Lebanon, were well known to the ancient Israelites, as the mountain provided many of their primary river sources like the Jordan, emphasizing the common experience of these perennial water supplies as an unassailable truth. The verse implicitly underscores the cosmic law and order established by God Himself; to deny God is to deny the very principles upon which the dependable world operates.

Jeremiah 18 14 Commentary

Jeremiah 18:14 serves as a powerful rhetorical device, contrasting the unwavering reliability of natural processes, divinely instituted, with the profoundly irrational and unnatural unfaithfulness of God's chosen people, Israel. The continuous snowmelt from Mount Lebanon and the unending flow of distant, cold springs are common, stable elements in their natural world. Their cessation would signify a fundamental collapse of creation. Yet, Judah's abandonment of the Creator God, the ultimate and unending source of all good, is presented as an even greater, more absurd, and more tragic reversal of the natural order. It's a statement about moral perversion: why would one turn away from an eternally faithful and living God for utterly futile idols? The question expects a firm "no" to the natural phenomena ceasing, thereby intensifying the indictment against Judah, whose spiritual defection is a shocking contravention of every reasonable expectation, akin to water flowing uphill. This divine reasoning underpins God's just judgment, as Judah chooses the path of utter unnaturalness.