Hast thou utterly rejected Judah? hath thy soul lothed Zion? why hast thou smitten us, and there is no healing for us? we looked for peace, and there is no good; and for the time of healing, and behold trouble!

JEREMIAH 14:19KJV
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Jeremiah 14:19 (KJV)

What does Jeremiah 14:19 mean?

Jeremiah 14:19 is a desperate prayer asking God if He has completely rejected Judah and Zion, expressing deep pain over God’s apparent refusal to heal or bring peace to the people. The verse voices confusion and sorrow because, despite hoping for relief, the people only find more trouble.

Jeremiah is speaking to God on behalf of the people of Judah during a time of national crisis, likely a drought or invasion. The verse captures the feeling of abandonment and bewilderment: the people expected God’s help but instead experience ongoing suffering. This is a raw, honest moment where Jeremiah questions why God’s judgment seems so final and why their hope for healing has turned into more hardship.

The Hebrew behind Jeremiah 14:19

  • "Utterly rejected" uses the word מָאַס (ma'as), which means to reject or despise. The repetition in the Hebrew emphasizes the depth of the people’s fear that God’s rejection is total and final.
  • "Lothed" comes from גָּעַל (ga'al), meaning to abhor or feel disgust. This word highlights the intensity of the people’s anxiety that God’s feelings toward Zion have turned to revulsion, not just anger.
  • "Healing" is רְפוּאָה (refu'ah), meaning cure or remedy. The use of this word shows the people are not just asking for relief from suffering but for a complete restoration, which they feel is out of reach.
  • "Trouble" is מִרְפֵּא (mirpe), which refers to terror or panic. This word underlines the reversal of expectations: instead of healing, the people find themselves in a state of fear and distress.

Why Jeremiah 14:19 matters

  • This verse clears up the misconception that biblical prayers are always confident or certain; here, Jeremiah models honest questioning and emotional struggle before God.
  • The verse emphasizes how the people’s suffering is not just physical but deeply spiritual—they feel rejected and unloved by God, which is a central pain in the passage.
  • Jeremiah 14:19 connects to the wider chapter’s theme of communal lament and repentance, showing how the people wrestle with God’s silence and judgment while still turning to Him in prayer.

Where else these words appear

“trouble” Hebrew H1205 · used in 2 verses

  • Jeremiah 8:15 We looked for peace, but no good came; and for a time of health, and behold trouble!

“lothed” Hebrew H1602 · used in 9 verses

  • Leviticus 26:11 And I will set my tabernacle among you: and my soul shall not abhor you.
  • Leviticus 26:30 And I will destroy your high places, and cut down your images, and cast your carcases upon the carcases of your idols, and my soul shall abhor you.
  • 2 Samuel 1:21 Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor fields of offerings: for there the shield of the mighty is vilely cast away, the shield of Saul, as though he had not been anointed with oil.

“healing” Hebrew H4832 · used in 15 verses

  • 2 Chronicles 21:18 And after all this the LORD smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease.
  • Proverbs 12:18 There is that speaketh like the piercings of a sword: but the tongue of the wise is health.
  • Proverbs 29:1 He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.

“looked” Hebrew H6960 · used in 45 verses

  • Genesis 1:9 And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together unto one place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so.
  • Psalms 40:1 To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
  • Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.