Jeremiah 9:10

KJV

For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through [them]; neither can [men] hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.

KJV (with Strong's)

For the mountains {H2022} will I take up {H5375} a weeping {H1065} and wailing {H5092}, and for the habitations {H4999} of the wilderness {H4057} a lamentation {H7015}, because they are burned up {H3341}, so that none {H376} can pass {H5674} through them; neither can men hear {H8085} the voice {H6963} of the cattle {H4735}; both the fowl {H5775} of the heavens {H8064} and the beast {H929} are fled {H5074}; they are gone {H1980}.

Complete Jewish Bible

I weep and wail for the mountains and lament over the desert pastures, because they have been burned up; no one passes through; they no longer hear the sound of cattle; the birds and wild animals have fled, are gone.

Berean Standard Bible

I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, a dirge over the wilderness pasture, for they have been scorched so no one passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they have gone away.

American Standard Version

For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none passeth through; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the birds of the heavens and the beasts are fled, they are gone.

Commentary

### SUMMARY
Jeremiah 9:10 unfolds a poignant prophetic lament, portraying a scene of profound desolation and cosmic grief over the land of Judah. The prophet, speaking with divine authority, declares that the very mountains and wilderness habitations will weep and wail, consumed by fire to such an extent that all life—human, animal, and avian—has vanished, leaving an eerie silence. This verse powerfully conveys the severe and comprehensive consequences of Judah's persistent rebellion and unfaithfulness to God's covenant, illustrating a divine sorrow so deep it permeates the natural world, mourning the judgment necessitated by a beloved but wayward people.

### CONTEXT
* **Literary Context:** Jeremiah 9:10 is situated within a deeply emotional and condemnatory section of Jeremiah's prophecy (Jeremiah 9:1-11), where the prophet expresses profound anguish over the moral decay and spiritual apostasy prevalent in Judah. The verses immediately preceding (Jeremiah 9:2-9) graphically detail the people's pervasive deceit, treachery, and their fundamental rejection of knowing the Lord, depicting a society steeped in falsehood and spiritual corruption. This moral bankruptcy necessitates the severe divine judgment that is the direct cause of the desolation described in verse 10. The lament expressed here transcends Jeremiah's personal sorrow, though he is famously known as the "weeping prophet" (e.g., [Jeremiah 9:1](/jeremiah/9-1 "Jeremiah 9:1 - Jeremiah's Personal Lament")), reflecting a cosmic grief that mirrors God's own pain over the destruction He must bring upon His land and people due to their covenant infidelity. The subsequent verse, [Jeremiah 9:11](/jeremiah/9-11 "Jeremiah 9:11 - Jerusalem a Desolation"), explicitly confirms God's intention to reduce Jerusalem to ruins, reinforcing the theme of inevitable judgment.

* **Historical & Cultural Context:** The historical setting for Jeremiah's prophetic ministry is the tumultuous late 7th and early 6th centuries BCE, a period marked by the decline of Assyrian power and the ascendance of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Judah found itself precariously positioned between these shifting geopolitical forces. Despite numerous warnings from Jeremiah and other prophets, the people of Judah stubbornly persisted in idolatry, social injustice, and the violation of their covenant with Yahweh, placing their trust in unreliable political alliances rather than in God. The imagery of the land being "burned up" in this verse directly foreshadows the devastating Babylonian invasions, culminating in the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in 586 BCE. Such widespread desolation was a common and brutal reality of warfare in the ancient Near East, where conquering armies would systematically lay waste to the land, destroying agricultural resources, cities, and infrastructure to cripple the defeated nation. Culturally, lamentation was an integral part of ancient Near Eastern life, often involving professional mourners and public expressions of grief for death, famine, or national catastrophe. Jeremiah's prophetic use of this imagery extends the human experience of mourning to the land itself, powerfully emphasizing the severity of God's judgment as a direct fulfillment of the covenant curses detailed in passages like [Deuteronomy 28](/deuteronomy/28 "Deuteronomy 28 - Blessings and Curses").

* **Key Themes:** Jeremiah 9:10 profoundly contributes to several overarching themes central to the book of Jeremiah and the broader prophetic corpus. Firstly, it highlights **Divine Grief and Lament**, revealing that God is not a distant, dispassionate judge but one who experiences deep sorrow over the necessity of bringing judgment upon His beloved people and creation. This lament underscores His unwavering covenant faithfulness even in the midst of wrath. Secondly, the verse vividly portrays **Utter Desolation**, employing stark and evocative imagery of a land utterly devoid of life—no human passage, no sound of cattle, no birds or wild animals—to emphasize the comprehensive and severe nature of the impending judgment. This ecological collapse serves as a powerful symbol of the spiritual barrenness and moral decay of the people. Thirdly, it reinforces the theme of the **Consequences of Disobedience**, serving as a stark reminder that persistent rebellion against God's covenant inevitably leads to severe spiritual, social, and physical ramifications. The "burned up" land is presented as a direct outcome of Judah's rejection of God's law and their pursuit of idolatry and deceit, a theme consistently echoed throughout Jeremiah, such as in [Jeremiah 7:23-24](/jeremiah/7-23-24 "Jeremiah 7:23-24 - Disobedience and Stubborn Hearts"), where their refusal to listen leads to disaster and ruin.

### EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
#### Key Word Analysis
* **Weeping (Hebrew, _Bᵉkîy'_):** From the root meaning "to weep," this term denotes a deep, emotional expression of sorrow, often characterized by tears or overflowing grief. In Jeremiah 9:10, its application to the mountains signifies a profound, almost cosmic, lament. It implies that the land itself is shedding tears over the impending desolation, mirroring the prophet's own anguish and suggesting a sympathetic response from creation to the tragedy of human sin.
* **Burned up (Hebrew, _yâtsath'_):** This primitive root means "to burn or set on fire," and figuratively, "to desolate." Here, it describes the catastrophic destruction of the land, not merely by literal fire but by the complete and utter devastation that renders it uninhabitable. It points to the active, destructive force of divine judgment that leaves the land barren, making passage impossible and extinguishing all signs of life, signifying a comprehensive ruin.
* **Fled (Hebrew, _nâdad'_):** This word describes the act of waving to and fro, or more commonly, to rove, flee, or be driven away. In this context, it vividly portrays the panicked departure and disappearance of all living creatures—fowl and beast—from the devastated land. Their flight underscores the uninhabitable nature of the "burned up" wilderness, emphasizing the completeness of the desolation and the chilling absence of any remaining life or vitality.

#### Verse Breakdown
* **"For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing":** This clause introduces a striking personification, attributing profound human emotions of sorrow and lament to the inanimate mountains. The phrase "I will take up" indicates that this lament is initiated by God Himself, or by the prophet on God's behalf, signifying a divine and cosmic grief over the impending judgment and destruction. It suggests that even creation mourns the consequences of human sin.
* **"and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation":** The scope of the lament expands from the prominent mountains to the "habitations of the wilderness," which can refer to pastures, dwelling places, or even temporary settlements within the less populated areas. The term "lamentation" (qîynâh) suggests a dirge or funeral song, deepening the sense of mourning and impending death for the land itself, emphasizing its complete desolation.
* **"because they are burned up, so that none can pass through [them];":** This clause provides the dire reason for the widespread lament: the land's devastation by fire, symbolizing total destruction and ruin. The immediate consequence is that the land becomes utterly impassable, indicating a complete disruption of normal life, movement, and commerce. This portrays an uninhabitable wasteland, cut off from human activity and interaction.
* **"neither can [men] hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.":** This final, powerful clause details the absolute silence and absence of life that characterizes the desolation. The lack of the familiar sounds of cattle signifies the destruction of livestock and the collapse of agricultural life. The flight and disappearance of birds and wild animals further underscore the ecological collapse, leaving the land utterly barren, devoid of the vibrant sounds and movements of living creatures, a chilling picture of complete emptiness.

#### Literary Devices
Jeremiah 9:10 is rich with **Imagery**, painting a vivid and desolate picture through stark sensory details: the "burned up" land, the chilling silence where "none can pass through," and the absence of "the voice of the cattle," "fowl," and "beast." This sensory deprivation powerfully emphasizes the completeness of the destruction. **Personification** is prominently employed as the prophet declares that the "mountains" and "habitations of the wilderness" will "weep and wail" and utter a "lamentation." This device elevates the scale of the tragedy, suggesting that even creation itself groans and mourns under the weight of human sin and the subsequent divine judgment. The description also utilizes **Hyperbole** to convey the utter completeness and severity of the devastation; the land is so thoroughly destroyed that it is impassable and utterly devoid of life, magnifying the impact of God's righteous judgment. The entire verse functions as a profound **Lament**, a poetic and heartfelt expression of sorrow and grief, reflecting both the prophet's and God's anguish over Judah's spiritual state and its inevitable, tragic consequences.

### THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Jeremiah 9:10 profoundly illustrates the cosmic implications of human sin and divine judgment. It reveals a God who, though just in executing judgment, is deeply grieved by the necessity of such widespread destruction. The lament over the land's desolation underscores the unbreakable link between humanity's spiritual condition and the well-being of creation, a theme echoed throughout Scripture. This passage serves as a stark reminder that covenant unfaithfulness has far-reaching consequences, extending beyond individual lives to impact communities, nations, and even the natural environment. It highlights God's sorrow over the brokenness of His creation and His people, even as His righteousness demands a response to persistent rebellion and sin.

* [Hosea 4:3](/hosea/4-3 "Hosea 4:3 - Land Mourns for Sin")
* [Romans 8:22](/romans/8-22 "Romans 8:22 - Creation Groans Under Sin")
* [Lamentations 2:13](/lamentations/2-13 "Lamentations 2:13 - Desolation of Zion")

### REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Jeremiah 9:10 compels us to confront the profound gravity of sin and its far-reaching, devastating consequences. It serves as a stark reminder that our actions, particularly our faithfulness or unfaithfulness to God's covenant, have ripple effects that extend beyond ourselves, impacting our communities, nations, and even the natural world around us. The divine lament over a devastated land challenges our often-superficial understanding of judgment, revealing it not as arbitrary wrath but as a sorrowful and necessary response from a holy God to persistent rebellion and spiritual decay. This passage calls us to a deeper empathy for God's heart, recognizing His profound grief even in the midst of His justice. It urges us to examine our own lives and communities for areas of spiritual barrenness, deceit, idolatry, or social injustice that might invite similar desolation. Ultimately, Jeremiah 9:10 functions as a powerful call to repentance, to turn from paths that lead to destruction and to seek reconciliation with the God who grieves over our unfaithfulness, yet always offers a path to restoration and new life.

#### Questions for Reflection
* **How does the imagery of the land weeping and wailing challenge or deepen your understanding of God's emotional response to sin and injustice?**
* **In what ways might our own actions, societal choices, or collective unfaithfulness contribute to a "desolation" in our communities or environment, whether spiritual, social, or physical?**
* **What specific steps can we take, individually and communally, to live in a way that honors God's covenant and brings life, rather than contributing to spiritual barrenness or desolation?**

### FAQ
**Why does God express such deep grief and lament over the land's destruction?**

Answer: God's lament in Jeremiah 9:10 reveals His profound emotional investment in His creation and His covenant people. It's not merely an act of punitive judgment but an expression of sorrow over the broken relationship and the tragic consequences of human sin. God is holy and just, requiring Him to respond to unfaithfulness, but He also loves His creation deeply. His grief underscores that the destruction is a necessary, painful outcome of Judah's persistent rebellion and covenant breaking, not an arbitrary act. This divine sorrow reflects the heart of a God who desires fellowship and flourishing for His people, as seen in His longing for their obedience in [Jeremiah 7:23](/jeremiah/7-23 "Jeremiah 7:23 - Hear My Voice").

**What does "burned up" signify in this context, beyond literal fire?**

Answer: While "burned up" certainly anticipates the literal destruction by fire during the Babylonian invasions, it also signifies a more profound and complete desolation. It implies a state of utter barrenness, making the land uninhabitable and unproductive. This imagery conveys a sense of irreversible ruin, where the land is stripped of its vitality, its ability to sustain life, and its very essence. It represents the comprehensive judgment that leaves nothing untouched, affecting both human dwelling and the natural ecosystem, echoing the curses for disobedience found in [Deuteronomy 29:23](/deuteronomy/29-23 "Deuteronomy 29:23 - Land Burned with Sulfur and Salt").

**How does Jeremiah 9:10 relate to Judah's sin and God's covenant?**

Answer: Jeremiah 9:10 is presented as a direct consequence of Judah's persistent sin and their breaking of the covenant with God. Throughout the book of Jeremiah, the prophet denounces the people's rampant idolatry, pervasive deceit, social injustice, and their stubborn refusal to heed God's repeated warnings. The covenant, established at Mount Sinai, explicitly promised blessings for obedience and severe curses for disobedience (e.g., [Leviticus 26](/leviticus/26 "Leviticus 26 - Blessings and Curses for Obedience and Disobedience")). The "burned up" land and its comprehensive desolation are thus the tragic fulfillment of these covenant curses, a divine and sorrowful response to a nation that had repeatedly turned its back on the Lord and His righteous ways.

### CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Jeremiah 9:10, with its poignant depiction of cosmic lament and the desolation caused by pervasive sin, finds its ultimate fulfillment and profound reversal in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The "weeping and wailing" of the land foreshadows the deep grief that sin inflicts upon all creation, a groaning that [Romans 8:22](/romans/8-22 "Romans 8:22 - Creation Groans Awaiting Redemption") tells us continues to this day, awaiting its full redemption. Jesus, the true "weeping prophet," embodies this divine grief most fully, not only weeping over Jerusalem's impending destruction due to its unbelief (e.g., [Luke 19:41-44](/luke/19-41-44 "Luke 19:41-44 - Jesus Weeps Over Jerusalem")) but also taking upon Himself the full weight of the "burned up" desolation that humanity's sin justly brings. On the cross, He became the ultimate "burnt offering," enduring the divine judgment and the profound separation from God that humanity's sin deserved, precisely so that the land and its inhabitants might not be utterly consumed. Through His atoning sacrifice and resurrection, the silence of death and the absence of life are overcome, as He brings forth a new creation and the promise of a renewed heaven and earth where "there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain" ([Revelation 21:4](/revelation/21-4 "Revelation 21:4 - No More Death or Pain")). The flight of creatures in Jeremiah 9:10 speaks of a world made uninhabitable by sin, but in Christ, all things are reconciled and restored, leading to a vibrant, life-filled creation where the voice of the Lamb is heard, and all creatures praise His name ([Revelation 5:13](/revelation/5-13 "Revelation 5:13 - All Creation Praises the Lamb")).

Note: Commentary is generated by AI with a directive for Biblical fidelity. Always rely on the Holy Spirit for discernment. The Scripture text and cross-references are from verified, non-AI sources.

Cross-References

Jeremiah 12:4

How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.

Hosea 4:3

Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.

Jeremiah 7:29

¶ Cut off thine hair, [O Jerusalem], and cast [it] away, and take up a lamentation on high places; for the LORD hath rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath.

Ezekiel 29:11

No foot of man shall pass through it, nor foot of beast shall pass through it, neither shall it be inhabited forty years.

Ezekiel 33:28

For I will lay the land most desolate, and the pomp of her strength shall cease; and the mountains of Israel shall be desolate, that none shall pass through.

Ezekiel 14:15

If I cause noisome beasts to pass through the land, and they spoil it, so that it be desolate, that no man may pass through because of the beasts:

Jeremiah 12:10

Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.