Jeremiah 18:14

14 Does the snow of Lebanon ever vanish from its rocky slopes? Do its cool waters from distant sources ever stop flowing?^[a]

Jeremiah 18:14 in Other Translations

14 Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon which cometh from the rock of the field? or shall the cold flowing waters that come from another place be forsaken?

14 Does the snow of Lebanon leave the crags of Sirion? Do the mountain waters run dry, the cold flowing streams?

14 Does the snow ever disappear from the mountaintops of Lebanon? Do the cold streams flowing from those distant mountains ever run dry?

14 Does snow disappear from the Lebanon peaks? Do alpine streams run dry?

14 Does the snow of Lebanon ever leave the highland crags? Or does cold water flowing from a distance ever fail?

Jeremiah 18:14 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 18:14

Will a man leave the snow of Lebanon, [which cometh] from the
rock of the field?
&c.] Lebanon was a mountain on the borders of Judea, the top of which was covered in the summertime with snow, from the whiteness of which it had its name, Lebanon; as the Alps, for the same reason, which lie between France and Italy: now, the snow being dissolved by the heat, ran in flowing streams down the rocks into the field and plain, where they might be easily come at, and drank of; and would a thirsty traveller, on a summer's day, pass by such streams as these, and not drink of them? certainly he would not leave them, but stop and drink; he must be an unwise man that should do otherwise; and yet this was what the people of the Jews did; they forsook the Lord, "the fountain of living waters"; and who, because of the plenty of good things in him, and flowing from him to them, were as streams from Lebanon; and yet they left these crystal streams for the black and muddy waters of Sihor, or idols of Egypt, ( Song of Solomon 4:15 ) ( Jeremiah 2:13 Jeremiah 2:18 ) ; or the words may be rendered, "will a man leave [what comes] from the rock of the field [for] the snow of Lebanon" ^F24? that is, will a man neglect to drink of the water that comes out of a rock in his field, pure and clear, and is near at hand, and choose to go to Mount Lebanon to drink of the snow water, which runs down the mountain, and can never be thought so clear as what comes out of the rock? surely he will not; he must act an unwise part if he does; and such a part, and worse, did the people of the Jews act, in forsaking God: [or] shall the cold flowing waters which come from another place be
forsaken?
or, "strange waters" ^F25; which come from far, from some distant rock, being conveyed in pipes, in; which they come cool, and in flowing streams, for the service of a city and its inhabitants; and who, having such a privilege, would neglect them, and drink of standing water in a pond or puddle? or, the words, as the former, may be rendered, "shall for strange frozen waters, be left flowing ones?" see Grotius.

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FOOTNOTES:

F24 (Nwnbl glv ydv rwum bwzeyh) "nunquid deserit aliquis [aquam manatem] de petra agri, [ut biblat] nivem Libani"; so some in Vatablus.
F25 (Myrz Mym) "aquae alienae", Schmidt, Montanus; "peregrinae", De Dieu.

Jeremiah 18:14 In-Context

12 But they will reply, ‘It’s no use. We will continue with our own plans; we will all follow the stubbornness of our evil hearts.’ ”

13 Therefore this is what the LORD says: “Inquire among the nations: Who has ever heard anything like this? A most horrible thing has been done by Virgin Israel.

14 Does the snow of Lebanon ever vanish from its rocky slopes? Do its cool waters from distant sources ever stop flowing?

15 Yet my people have forgotten me; they burn incense to worthless idols, which made them stumble in their ways, in the ancient paths. They made them walk in byways, on roads not built up.

16 Their land will be an object of horror and of lasting scorn; all who pass by will be appalled and will shake their heads.

Footnotes

• [a]. The meaning of the Hebrew for this sentence is uncertain.