Jeremiah 14:18

If I go out to the country, I see those slain by the sword; if I enter the city, I see those ravaged by famine! For both prophet and priest travel to a land they do not know.’”

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jeremiah addresses the people of Judah amid a national crisis, describing the devastation he witnesses as he moves through the land. He speaks to a population enduring both military defeat and agricultural collapse.

The words — The Hebrew particle אִם ('im) means "if" and structures the conditional survey, while חֶרֶב (Che.rev) literally denotes "a sword" representing armed slaughter. יָצָאתִי (ya.Tza.ti) translates to "I went out," framing the prophet’s direct observation of the ruin.

The thread — Ezekiel 7:15 records the identical geographical division of disaster, noting that those in the country die by the sword while those in the city face famine. Lamentations 1:20 documents the resulting internal distress and acknowledged rebellion that accompany such national collapse.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that spiritual leadership has failed, as both prophets and priests wander into ignorance rather than guiding the people. It requires a clear-eyed assessment of consequences before any appeal for restoration.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Hebrew words

King James Version

If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter into the city, then behold them that are sick with famine! yea, both the prophet and the priest go about into a land that they know not.

Cross-references

Ezekiel 7:15 The sword is outside; plague and famine are within. Those in the country will die by the sword, and those in the city will be devoured by famine and plague.
Lamentations 1:20 See, O LORD, how distressed I am! I am churning within; my heart is pounding within me, for I have been most rebellious. Outside, the sword bereaves; inside, there is death.
Jeremiah 8:10 Therefore I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.
Deuteronomy 28:36 The LORD will bring you and the king you appoint to a nation neither you nor your fathers have known, and there you will worship other gods—gods of wood and stone.
Jeremiah 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it so, but what will you do in the end?
Jeremiah 6:13 “For from the least of them to the greatest, all are greedy for gain; from prophet to priest, all practice deceit.
Jeremiah 52:6 By the ninth day of the fourth month, the famine in the city was so severe that the people of the land had no food.
Deuteronomy 28:64 Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
Isaiah 28:7 These also stagger from wine and stumble from strong drink: Priests and prophets reel from strong drink and are befuddled by wine. They stumble because of strong drink, muddled in their visions and stumbling in their judgments.
Jeremiah 2:8 The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ The experts in the law no longer knew Me, and the leaders rebelled against Me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols.