“Judah mourns, and her gates languish; her people lament on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The verse paints a vivid picture of despair, not just with outward mourning, but with faces "black unto the ground." This striking phrase suggests not only the pallor of famine but also a profound shame and inability to even lift one's eyes, a visual representation of utter desolation.
“Judah mourns, and her gates languish; her people lament on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up.
English Standard Version (ESV)
The prophet Jeremiah is delivering God's word about a severe drought and famine gripping the land of Judah. This lament isn't just about dry wells; it's a visible sign of God's judgment on their sin. The verses paint a bleak picture of a nation in deep mourning, with its people utterly despondent and their cries of distress rising up.
The imagery in Jeremiah 14:2 paints a stark picture of a nation in deep distress. What does it mean for gates to 'languish'?
Jeremiah 14:2 uses powerful metaphors to convey the depth of Judah's suffering.
The Gates Languish
When the text says 'the gates thereof languish,' it's not just the physical structures that are failing. The gates were the centers of public life, commerce, and justice. When they 'languish,' it signifies that the lifeblood of the community has dried up. Commerce has ceased, justice is silent, and the usual bustle of life has been replaced by emptiness and despair. This is a picture of societal breakdown.
Judah Mourns
This mourning isn't just a private sorrow; it's a national one. The 'gates' represent the cities, and by extension, all of Judah. The people are described as 'lamenting on the ground,' a posture of deep grief and humility, perhaps even shame. This physical act of bowing down signifies their utter helplessness and the overwhelming nature of their crisis. It’s a collective expression of agony, where everyone, from the prominent to the common, is brought low by the circumstances. The 'cry of Jerusalem' going up is the culmination of this despair, a sound that pierces the heavens.
The profound suffering described in Jeremiah 14:2 isn't accidental. It's presented as a divine response to sin.
The vivid descriptions of drought and despair in Jeremiah 14:2 are not merely natural phenomena; they are understood within the biblical context as potential signs of God's judgment.
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A Visible Manifestation
When the land suffers extreme drought, and people and animals alike are perishing, the prophets often interpreted this as God withholding His blessings due to the nation's disobedience. The 'gates languishing' and the people 'black unto the ground' (a sign of deep sorrow and likely the pallor of famine) are presented as evidence that God's hand is against them.
Beyond Natural Causes
Commentaries emphasize that such widespread and severe calamity was intended to be unmistakable. It wasn't to be dismissed as just bad luck or a cyclical drought. The prophet's aim was to impress upon the people that this was an 'extraordinary judgment of God.' The failure of even the deepest wells and cisterns (as described in the following verses) underscores that this was not a normal occurrence, but a sign of divine displeasure.
The Cry of Despair
The 'cry of Jerusalem' ascending is the sound of a people facing consequences, a cry that arises not just from physical suffering but from a deep, perhaps unacknowledged, spiritual crisis. It's the sound of utter despair when all human remedies have failed.
Understand the original words
ʾāḇal · Hebrew Verb
To express deep sorrow, grief, or distress, often in the context of bereavement, national calamity, or repentance before God.
ʾāmal · Hebrew Verb
To become weak, feeble, or to wither away, often due to lack of sustenance or hope. In this context, it signifies the cessation of activity and life-giving vitality.
Jeremiah's vivid descriptions of mourning, languishing gates, and the rising cry of Jerusalem paint a picture of a land gripped by a devastating drought and famine, occurring during the period of Babylonian exile when Judah's hope was already severely diminished.
c. 605 BC
First Babylonian Deportation
Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, carries away citizens of Jerusalem and Judea to Babylon, including members of the royal family. This marks the beginning of Judah's subjugation to Babylon.
c. 597 BC
Second Babylonian Deportation
After a rebellion, Nebuchadnezzar deports more of Jerusalem's elite and citizens, including the prophet Ezekiel, to Babylon. King Jehoiachin is replaced by Zedekiah.
c. 587-586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Third Deportation
Jerusalem is besieged and destroyed by the Babylonians. The temple is plundered and burned, and a final large group of Judeans is exiled to Babylon.
During the Babylonian Exile (after 586 BC)— this verse
Widespread Drought and Famine in Judah
The land of Judah, already devastated by war and exile, suffers from a severe drought and famine. This dire situation leads to widespread mourning and despair.
This passage shares the same imagery of a once-great city now in mourning, emphasizing the profound desolation and grief that has befallen Jerusalem.
Isaiah 3:26This verse describes Jerusalem's gates groaning and mourning, mirroring Jeremiah 14:2's depiction of languishing gates as a symbol of collective sorrow and collapse.
Joel 1:10This passage vividly portrays the devastation of the land with imagery of mourning and withered crops, directly paralleling the drought and famine described in Jeremiah, leading to widespread lament.
Psalm 107:33-34This psalm speaks of God turning rivers into a wasteland and springs into a drought, directly connecting divine action to the kind of environmental desolation that causes the people's mourning and cries.
barnesJeremiah 14:2: "Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up."
They are black unto the ground - The people assembled at the gates, the usual places of concourse, are in deep mourning and sit humbly on the ground.
clarkeJeremiah 14:2: "Judah mourneth, and the gates thereof languish; they are black unto the ground; and the cry of Jerusalem is gone up."
The gates thereof languish - The gates being the places of public resort, they are put here for the people. They are black unto the ground - Covered from head to foot with a black garment, the emblem of sorrow and calamity.
The verse paints a vivid picture of despair, not just with outward mourning, but with faces "black unto the ground." This striking phrase suggests not only the pallor of famine but also a profound shame and inability to even lift one's eyes, a visual representation of utter desolation.
The prophet Jeremiah is delivering God's word about a severe drought and famine gripping the land of Judah. This lament isn't just about dry wells; it's a visible sign of God's judgment on their sin. The verses paint a bleak picture of a nation in deep mourning, with its people utterly despondent and their cries of distress rising up.
The prophet Jeremiah is delivering God's word about a severe drought and famine gripping the land of Judah. This lament isn't just about dry wells; it's a visible sign of God's judgment on their sin. The verses paint a bleak picture of a nation in deep mourning, with its people utterly despondent and their cries of distress rising up.
"“Judah mourns, and her gates languish; her people lament on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up." — The verse paints a vivid picture of despair, not just with outward mourning, but with faces "black unto the ground." This striking phrase suggests not only the pallor of famine but also a profound sh…
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Last reviewed October 2026