The Meaning of Jeremiah 16:19 Explained

Jeremiah 16:19

KJV: O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.

YLT: O Jehovah, my strength, and my fortress, And my refuge in a day of adversity, Unto Thee nations do come from the ends of earth, And say, Only falsehood did our fathers inherit, Vanity, and none among them is profitable.

Darby: Jehovah, my strength and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of distress, unto thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and they shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited falsehood and vanity; and in these things there is no profit.

ASV: O Jehovah, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, unto thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Our fathers have inherited nought but lies, even vanity and things wherein there is no profit.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

O LORD,  my strength,  and my fortress,  and my refuge  in the day  of affliction,  the Gentiles  shall come  unto thee from the ends  of the earth,  and shall say,  Surely our fathers  have inherited  lies,  vanity,  and [things] wherein [there is] no profit. 

What does Jeremiah 16:19 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jeremiah composed a song to the Lord. He addressed Him as his "strength," his "stronghold," and his "refuge" in a time (the day) of distress (cf. Psalm 18:2). He foretold that the nations would come to the Lord from the ends of the earth, confessing the futility of their lives and the lives of their forefathers (cf. Jeremiah 4:2; Genesis 12:1-3; Psalm 2; Isaiah 2:1-3; Isaiah 42:4; Isaiah 49:6; Zechariah 8:20-23; Zechariah 14:16-17).

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 16

1  The prophet, under the types of abstaining from marriage,
8  from houses of mourning and feasting, foreshows the utter ruin of the Jews;
10  because they were worse than their fathers
14  Their return from captivity shall be stranger than their deliverance out of Egypt
16  God will doubly recompense their idolatry

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 16:19 mean?

Yahweh my strength and my fortress and My refuge in the day of affliction to You the Gentiles shall come from the ends of the earth and say surely lies have inherited our fathers Worthlessness and in unprofitable [things]
יְהוָ֞ה עֻזִּ֧י וּמָעֻזִּ֛י וּמְנוּסִ֖י בְּי֣וֹם צָרָ֑ה אֵלֶ֗יךָ גּוֹיִ֤ם יָבֹ֙אוּ֙ מֵֽאַפְסֵי־ אָ֔רֶץ וְיֹאמְר֗וּ אַךְ־ שֶׁ֙קֶר֙ נָחֲל֣וּ אֲבוֹתֵ֔ינוּ הֶ֖בֶל וְאֵֽין־ בָּ֥ם מוֹעִֽיל

יְהוָ֞ה  Yahweh 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יהוה 
Sense: the proper name of the one true God.
עֻזִּ֧י  my  strength 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עֹז  
Sense: might, strength.
וּמָעֻזִּ֛י  and  my  fortress 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: מָעֹוז 
Sense: place or means of safety, protection, refuge, stronghold.
וּמְנוּסִ֖י  and  My  refuge 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: מָנׄוס  
Sense: flight, refuge, place of escape.
בְּי֣וֹם  in  the  day 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: יׄום 
Sense: day, time, year.
צָרָ֑ה  of  affliction 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: צָרָה 
Sense: straits, distress, trouble.
אֵלֶ֗יךָ  to  You 
Parse: Preposition, second person masculine singular
Root: אֶל  
Sense: to, toward, unto (of motion).
גּוֹיִ֤ם  the  Gentiles 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: גֹּוי 
Sense: nation, people.
יָבֹ֙אוּ֙  shall  come 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: בֹּוא 
Sense: to go in, enter, come, go, come in.
מֵֽאַפְסֵי־  from  the  ends 
Parse: Preposition-m, Adverb
Root: אֶפֶס 
Sense: ceasing, end, finality.
אָ֔רֶץ  of  the  earth 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
וְיֹאמְר֗וּ  and  say 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine plural
Root: אָמַר 
Sense: to say, speak, utter.
אַךְ־  surely 
Parse: Adverb
Root: אַךְ  
Sense: indeed, surely (emphatic).
שֶׁ֙קֶר֙  lies 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֶׁקֶר  
Sense: lie, deception, disappointment, falsehood.
נָחֲל֣וּ  have  inherited 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: נָחַל  
Sense: to get as a possession, acquire, inherit, possess.
אֲבוֹתֵ֔ינוּ  our  fathers 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common plural
Root: אָב  
Sense: father of an individual.
הֶ֖בֶל  Worthlessness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: הֶבֶל  
Sense: vapour, breath.
מוֹעִֽיל  unprofitable  [things] 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Participle, masculine singular
Root: יָעַל  
Sense: (Hiphil) to gain, profit, benefit, avail.