Verse Lens · Context pointer
Jeremiah 14:18 Explained in Context
Use this verse as a doorway into the larger passage—not as an isolated saying.
Verse 18. 18If 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.
King James Version — public domain in the United States · Bible text and permissions
Role in This Section
The prophetic or communal lament states or reports “If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter…” at Jeremiah 14:18 as a specific part of “Endless Tears and Covenant Appeal Close the Drought Prayer.”
Read It With
- Jeremiah 14:17–22
Read Jeremiah 14:18 with 14:17–22. By itself, “If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter…” can be detached from the speaker, addressee, date, imperial horizon, poetic movement, or outcome that gives it force. The complete unit establishes: The daughter people's wound, failed prophet and priest, shattered expectations, confession, and appeal to the rain-giving God form a communal lament.
Why It Needs Context
Keep the line with Jeremiah 14:17–22. The prophetic or communal lament states or reports “If I go forth into the field, then behold the slain with the sword! and if I enter…” at Jeremiah 14:18 as a specific part of “Endless Tears and Covenant Appeal Close the Drought Prayer.” The literary form and this limit govern it: Lament is not manipulation, and covenant appeal does not guarantee immediate relief or authorize withholding practical assistance.
Continue in Context
The full thought-unit study remains the final contextual authority for this Verse Lens.
Read Jeremiah 14:17–22 — Endless Tears and Covenant Appeal Close the Drought PrayerSources used for this context pointer
How certain is this explanation? strong
These are the sources used directly for this lens. Language, grammar, disagreements, and the complete source shelf remain attached to the full thought-unit research record.
Biblical text
King James (Authorized) Version — eng-kjv2006
eBible.org and CrossWire Bible Society
USFM archive eng-kjv2006_usfm.zip; source files dated 2026-08-19; downloaded 2026-08-24; archive SHA-256 aec1b3b26c622fd3d963d2bbac963016b9513246ffbfa20da00bb100372ea007; normalized corpus SHA-256 09aef51d90488aa7b9722b3fd9a93f4b25f6bf2064c5fd798fb39673c300ddf2.
Supports: Exact displayed KJV wording, verse order, paragraph metadata, supplied-word markup, and complete thought-unit coverage.
Exact location: Jeremiah 14:17–22, pinned eng-kjv2006 USFM-derived repository corpus
Open source ↗hebrew text and morphology
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible: Jeremiah
Open Scriptures
Open Scriptures, release 2.2; fixed commit
Supports: Masoretic Hebrew wording and morphology checked at the exact unit without treating morphology as a critical apparatus or interpretation.
Exact location: Open Scriptures MorphHB v2.2, commit 6a5db284c715c18b239422e57bb89684e6a19f00, wlc/Jer.xml, OSIS 14:17–22
Open the fixed Hebrew Jeremiah file ↗