The Meaning of Jeremiah 18:16 Explained

Jeremiah 18:16

KJV: To make their land desolate, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and wag his head.

YLT: To make their land become a desolation, A hissing age-during, Every passer by it is astonished, And bemoaneth with his head.

Darby: to make their land an astonishment, a perpetual hissing: every one that passeth by shall be astonished, and shake his head.

ASV: to make their land an astonishment, and a perpetual hissing; every one that passeth thereby shall be astonished, and shake his head.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

To make  their land  desolate,  [and] a perpetual  hissing;  every one that passeth  thereby shall be astonished,  and wag  his head. 

What does Jeremiah 18:16 Mean?

Verse Meaning

This action would result in their land becoming desolate. Onlookers and passersby would whistle to themselves in amazement over its terrible condition, and shake their heads in astonishment at what had happened to it-because of Israel"s foolishness.

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 18

1  Under the type of a potter is shown God's absolute power in disposing of nations
11  Judgments threatened to Judah for her strange revolt
18  Jeremiah prays against his conspirators

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 18:16 mean?

to make their land desolate - [and] a hissing perpetual Everyone who passes by it will be astonished and shake his head
לָשׂ֥וּם אַרְצָ֛ם לְשַׁמָּ֖ה [שרוקת] (שְׁרִיק֣וֹת‪‬) עוֹלָ֑ם כֹּ֚ל עוֹבֵ֣ר עָלֶ֔יהָ יִשֹּׁ֖ם וְיָנִ֥יד בְּרֹאשֽׁוֹ

לָשׂ֥וּם  to  make 
Parse: Preposition-l, Verb, Qal, Infinitive construct
Root: שׂוּמָה 
Sense: to put, place, set, appoint, make.
אַרְצָ֛ם  their  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
לְשַׁמָּ֖ה  desolate 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular
Root: שַׁמָּה  
Sense: waste, horror, appalment.
[שרוקת]  - 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
(שְׁרִיק֣וֹת‪‬)  [and]  a  hissing 
Parse: Noun, feminine plural construct
Root: שְׁרוּקָה 
Sense: piping, whistling, hissing.
עוֹלָ֑ם  perpetual 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: עֹולָם  
Sense: long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual, old, ancient, world.
כֹּ֚ל  Everyone 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: כֹּל  
Sense: all, the whole.
עוֹבֵ֣ר  who  passes 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: עָבַר 
Sense: to pass over or by or through, alienate, bring, carry, do away, take, take away, transgress.
עָלֶ֔יהָ  by  it 
Parse: Preposition, third person feminine singular
Root: עַל 
Sense: upon, on the ground of, according to, on account of, on behalf of, concerning, beside, in addition to, together with, beyond, above, over, by, on to, towards, to, against.
יִשֹּׁ֖ם  will  be  astonished 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: שָׁמֵם  
Sense: to be desolate, be appalled, stun, stupefy.
וְיָנִ֥יד  and  shake 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Hifil, Conjunctive imperfect, third person masculine singular
Root: נוּד  
Sense: to shake, waver, wander, move to and fro, flutter, show grief, have compassion on.
בְּרֹאשֽׁוֹ  his  head 
Parse: Preposition-b, Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: רֹאשׁ 
Sense: head, top, summit, upper part, chief, total, sum, height, front, beginning.