The Meaning of Jeremiah 4:19 Explained

Jeremiah 4:19

KJV: My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart; my heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace, because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

YLT: My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at the walls of my heart, Make a noise for me doth My heart, I am not silent, For the voice of a trumpet I have heard, O my soul -- a shout of battle!

Darby: My bowels! my bowels! I am in travail! Oh, the walls of my heart! My heart maketh a noise in me; I cannot hold my peace: for thou hearest, my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the clamour of war.

ASV: My anguish, my anguish! I am pained at my very heart; my heart is disquieted in me; I cannot hold my peace; because thou hast heard, O my soul, the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

My bowels,  my bowels!  I am pained  {08675;03176:08686} at my very  heart;  my heart  maketh a noise  in me; I cannot hold my peace,  because thou hast heard,  O my soul,  the sound  of the trumpet,  the alarm  of war. 

What does Jeremiah 4:19 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Jeremiah complained that his heart was pounding and he felt very upset because he had heard the Lord"s announcement of impending invasion and destruction.
". . . it would be hard to find a sharper description of uncontrollable inner turmoil ..." [1]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 4

1  God calls Israel by his promise
3  He exhorts Judah to repentance by fearful judgments
19  A grievous lamentation for Judah

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 4:19 mean?

My soul my soul - I am pained in very my heart makes a noise in me cannot I hold my peace because the sound of the trumpet - you have heard my soul the alarm of war
מֵעַ֣י ׀ ! מֵעַ֨י ׀ [אחולה] (אוֹחִ֜ילָה) קִיר֥וֹת לִבִּ֛י הֹֽמֶה־ לִּ֥י לֹ֣א אַחֲרִ֑ישׁ כִּ֣י ק֤וֹל שׁוֹפָר֙ [שמעתי] (שָׁמַ֣עַתְּ) נַפְשִׁ֔י תְּרוּעַ֖ת מִלְחָמָֽה

מֵעַ֣י ׀  My  soul 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: מֵעֶה  
Sense: internal organs, inward parts, bowels, intestines, belly.
! מֵעַ֨י ׀  my  soul 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct, first person common singular
Root: מֵעֶה  
Sense: internal organs, inward parts, bowels, intestines, belly.
[אחולה]  - 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Imperfect Cohortative, first person common singular
(אוֹחִ֜ילָה)  I  am  pained 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect Cohortative, first person common singular
Root: חוּל 
Sense: to twist, whirl, dance, writhe, fear, tremble, travail, be in anguish, be pained.
קִיר֥וֹת  in  very 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: קִיר  
Sense: wall, side.
לִבִּ֛י  my  heart 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: לֵב 
Sense: inner man, mind, will, heart, understanding.
הֹֽמֶה־  makes  a  noise 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine singular
Root: הָמָה  
Sense: to murmur, growl, roar, cry aloud, mourn, rage, sound, make noise, tumult, be clamorous, be disquieted, be loud, be moved, be troubled, be in an uproar.
לִּ֥י  in  me 
Parse: Preposition, first person common singular
לֹ֣א  cannot 
Parse: Adverb, Negative particle
Root: הֲלֹא 
Sense: not, no.
אַחֲרִ֑ישׁ  I  hold  my  peace 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Imperfect, first person common singular
Root: חָרַשׁ 
Sense: to cut in, plough, engrave, devise.
כִּ֣י  because 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: כִּי 
Sense: that, for, because, when, as though, as, because that, but, then, certainly, except, surely, since.
ק֤וֹל  the  sound 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: קֹול 
Sense: voice, sound, noise.
שׁוֹפָר֙  of  the  trumpet 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֹׁופָר  
Sense: horn, ram’s horn.
[שמעתי]  - 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, first person common singular
(שָׁמַ֣עַתְּ)  you  have  heard 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, second person feminine singular
Root: שָׁמַע 
Sense: to hear, listen to, obey.
נַפְשִׁ֔י  my  soul 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: נֶפֶשׁ  
Sense: soul, self, life, creature, person, appetite, mind, living being, desire, emotion, passion.
תְּרוּעַ֖ת  the  alarm 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct
Root: תְּרוּעָה  
Sense: alarm, signal, sound of tempest, shout, shout or blast of war or alarm or j oy.
מִלְחָמָֽה  of  war 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: מִלְחָמָה  
Sense: battle, war.