Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it.

JEREMIAH 10:19KJV
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Jeremiah 10:19 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 10:19 mean?

Jeremiah 10:19 expresses a deep personal pain and acceptance of suffering, as the speaker laments a serious wound but acknowledges that this grief is something he must endure. The verse shows an honest cry of distress, paired with a resigned acceptance that the hardship cannot be avoided.

In this verse, the prophet Jeremiah is speaking, likely representing both his own feelings and those of the people of Judah as they face disaster and judgment. The setting is one of national crisis, with Jeremiah voicing the agony and inevitability of the suffering that has come upon them. The verse captures both the intensity of the pain and the sober realization that some burdens must simply be carried.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 10:19

  • "Woe" (הוֹי, hoy): This word is a strong cry of distress or lament, often used in the Hebrew Bible to express grief or impending doom. Here, it sets the tone of deep sorrow.
  • "Hurt" (שֶׁבֶר, shever): This word means a breaking or a severe injury, emphasizing the seriousness of the suffering being described.
  • "Bear" (נָשָׂא, nasa’): This verb means to carry or endure. Jeremiah is not just feeling pain; he recognizes that he must continue to carry this burden, highlighting a sense of responsibility or inevitability.

Why Jeremiah 10:19 matters

  • Jeremiah 10:19 helps readers see that even a prophet can express raw, honest emotion in the face of suffering, showing that faith does not mean denying pain.
  • The verse emphasizes the reality of unavoidable hardship, which is a key theme in Jeremiah’s message to a people facing judgment and exile.
  • By voicing both lament and acceptance, Jeremiah 10:19 connects personal suffering to the larger story of Judah’s national crisis, inviting readers to consider how individuals and communities respond to collective grief.

Where else these words appear

“Truly” Hebrew H389 · used in 22 verses

  • Genesis 7:23 And every living substance was destroyed which was upon the face of the ground, both man, and cattle, and the creeping things, and the fowl of the heaven; and they were destroyed from the earth: and Noah only remained alive, and they that were with him in the ark.
  • Exodus 12:15 Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread; even the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses: for whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the seventh day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel.
  • Joshua 22:19 Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the LORD, wherein the LORD'S tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us: but rebel not against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the altar of the LORD our God.

“grief” Hebrew H2483 · used in 22 verses

  • Deuteronomy 7:15 And the LORD will take away from thee all sickness, and will put none of the evil diseases of Egypt, which thou knowest, upon thee; but will lay them upon all them that hate thee.
  • 2 Kings 13:14 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.
  • Ecclesiastes 6:2 A man to whom God hath given riches, wealth, and honour, so that he wanteth nothing for his soul of all that he desireth, yet God giveth him not power to eat thereof, but a stranger eateth it: this is vanity, and it is an evil disease.

“Woe” Hebrew H188 · used in 23 verses

  • Numbers 21:29 Woe to thee, Moab! thou art undone, O people of Chemosh: he hath given his sons that escaped, and his daughters, into captivity unto Sihon king of the Amorites.
  • Isaiah 6:5 Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.
  • Jeremiah 45:3 Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the LORD hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.

“hurt” Hebrew H7667 · used in 41 verses

  • Leviticus 21:19 Or a man that is brokenfooted, or brokenhanded,
  • Isaiah 30:26 Moreover the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day that the LORD bindeth up the breach of his people, and healeth the stroke of their wound.
  • Jeremiah 30:15 Why criest thou for thine affliction? thy sorrow is incurable for the multitude of thine iniquity: because thy sins were increased, I have done these things unto thee.