Jeremiah 14:3-4
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The verse highlights a profound reversal: the "nobles," those in positions of authority and privilege, are reduced to sending their "inferiors" (the common people or servants, referred to here with a unique term for "little ones") to find water, demonstrating the devastating reach of the drought beyond the poor. This desperate search, ending in empty vessels and covered heads, underscores that even the most ordinary means of survival have failed, signifying a crisis so deep it strips away rank and status.
Her nobles send their servants for water; they come to the cisterns; they find no water; they return with their vessels empty; they are ashamed and confounded and cover their heads. Because of the ground that is dismayed, since there is no rain on the land, the farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads.
English Standard Version (ESV)
Judah is in deep mourning because of a devastating drought, a visible sign of God's displeasure. Even the highest officials are desperate, sending their servants to search for water in reservoirs and cisterns, only to return with empty vessels, bringing shame and despair. This dire situation shows the people's utter lack of resources and their growing desperation as their basic needs go unmet.
When the worst happens, like a devastating drought, it's easy to blame nature or circumstances. But Jeremiah offers a starkly different perspective.
Jeremiah isn't just describing a natural disaster; he's revealing it as a divine judgment. He insists that such widespread and severe scarcity isn't just bad luck.
An Extraordinary Calamity
When even the deepest, most reliable water sources fail – the 'pits' and cisterns that should hold water – it points to something beyond ordinary weather patterns. The text emphasizes that this isn't a common drought that could be explained away by natural causes.
God's Anger Manifested
This failure of nature is presented as a sign of God's explicit anger. The land itself is withholding its bounty, reflecting God's displeasure with His people's sin. It's a powerful, visible manifestation of spiritual barrenness and God's judgment, meant to shock them out of their spiritual stupor.
Imagine the crushing disappointment and deep shame of sending out an urgent request for something as vital as water, only to have the messengers return with nothing.
The image of empty vessels returning from the cisterns is a powerful picture of total failure and profound shame.
A Universal Crisis
This drought isn't just affecting the poor or ordinary citizens. The 'nobles' – the leaders and the elite – are also desperate. They send their 'little ones' (meaning servants or inferiors) to fetch water. This shows the crisis has reached even the highest levels of society, where personal dignity is often paramount.
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Visible Humiliation
When the servants return with empty vessels, it's not just a practical problem; it's a public humiliation. The nobles, who expect to be served and to have their needs met, are instead met with the stark reality of their helplessness. The 'ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads' signifies a grief so deep it seeks to hide itself, a profound recognition of their desperate state and the frustration of all their hopes.
Understand the original words
bôr · Hebrew Noun
An artificial reservoir or pit constructed to store water. In biblical imagery, it represents human attempts to secure sustenance and life apart from the "fountain of living waters" (God).
bûš · Hebrew Verb
A feeling of humiliation, disappointment, or disgrace resulting from failed expectations, sin, or judgment. It is the opposite of being established or standing firm.
ḥāṯaṯ · Hebrew Verb
To be struck with terror, panic, or to be broken by a devastating event. It implies a state of shock resulting from catastrophic circumstances.
The extreme conditions described in Jeremiah 14:3, where even nobles sent servants to empty cisterns, were not seen as mere natural occurrences by the people but as direct, extraordinary judgments from God for their sin, highlighting the profound spiritual crisis Judah faced.
c. 874-853 BC
Great Drought under King Ahab
A severe drought afflicted Israel, forcing King Ahab and his officials, including Obadiah, to search extensively for water to save their livestock. This event is recorded in 1 Kings 18.
732 BC
Assyrian Conquest of Northern Israel
The northern kingdom of Israel fell to the Neo-Assyrian Empire. This event signaled a period of instability and foreshadowed future crises for the remaining southern kingdom of Judah.
701 BC
Assyrian Siege of Jerusalem
King Sennacherib of Assyria besieged Jerusalem. Although the city was not captured, the surrounding areas were devastated, and Judah was forced to pay heavy tribute.
605 BC
First Deportation to Babylon
Under King Jehoiakim, the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar II began deporting skilled individuals and some nobility from Judah to Babylon, including the prophet Daniel.
597 BC
Second Deportation to Babylon
Following a rebellion, Nebuchadnezzar II deported King Jehoiachin and a significant portion of Jerusalem's population and leadership to Babylon, including the prophet Ezekiel.
587-586 BC
Fall of Jerusalem and Temple Destruction
Nebuchadnezzar's forces destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple, exiling the remaining population. This marked the end of the southern kingdom of Judah as an independent entity.
Early 6th century BC— this verse
Drought and Famine in Judah
Jeremiah prophesied during a severe drought and famine that gripped Judah, causing widespread suffering. This verse vividly depicts the desperation as even the nobles' servants fail to find water in cisterns.
This passage describes King Ahab and his servant searching desperately for water for their livestock during a severe drought, mirroring the urgency and widespread impact of the scarcity depicted in Jeremiah.
Amos 4:8Amos speaks of people wandering from city to city, seeking water and finding none, showing that this desperate search and disappointment was a recurring theme in Israel's history when facing God's judgment.
Lamentations 1:1-2The imagery of Jerusalem in mourning, languishing, and crying out to God in despair directly echoes the deep grief and helplessness described in Jeremiah 14, highlighting the devastating consequences of their sin.
Psalm 107:33-35This psalm describes God turning rivers into a desert and water springs into a thirsty ground, then providing water in the wilderness when people are suffering, presenting a parallel to the reversal of blessing when judgment falls.
barnesJeremiah 14:3: "And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads."
Little ones - mean ones, the common people. The word is unique to Jeremiah Jer 48:4. The pits - i. e., tanks for holding water. Covered their heads - The sign of grief.
clarkeJeremiah 14:3: "And their nobles have sent their little ones to the waters: they came to the pits, and found no water; they returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded, and covered their heads."
Their nobles have sent their little ones - So general was this calamity, that the servants no longer attended to their lords, but every one was interested alone for himself; and the nobles of the land were obliged to employ their own children to scour the land, to see if any wate…
The verse highlights a profound reversal: the "nobles," those in positions of authority and privilege, are reduced to sending their "inferiors" (the common people or servants, referred to here with a unique term for "little ones") to find water, demonstrating the devastating reach of the drought beyond the poor. This desperate search, ending in empty vessels and covered heads, underscores that even the most ordinary means of survival have failed, signifying a crisis so deep it strips away rank and status.
Judah is in deep mourning because of a devastating drought, a visible sign of God's displeasure. Even the highest officials are desperate, sending their servants to search for water in reservoirs and cisterns, only to return with empty vessels, bringing shame and despair. This dire situation shows the people's utter lack of resources and their growing desperation as their basic needs go unmet.
Judah is in deep mourning because of a devastating drought, a visible sign of God's displeasure. Even the highest officials are desperate, sending their servants to search for water in reservoirs and cisterns, only to return with empty vessels, bringing shame and despair. This dire situation shows the people's utter lack of resources and their growing desperation as their basic needs go unmet.
"Her nobles send their servants for water; they come to the cisterns; they find no water; they return with their vessels empty; they are ashamed and confounded and cover their heads. Because of the ground tha…" — The verse highlights a profound reversal: the "nobles," those in positions of authority and privilege, are reduced to sending their "inferiors" (the common people or servants, referred to here with a…
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Last reviewed October 2026
