Jeremiah Chapter 50 verse 38 Holy Bible
A drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad over idols.
read chapter 50 in ASV
A sword is on her waters, drying them up; for it is a land of images, and their minds are fixed on false gods.
read chapter 50 in BBE
a drought is upon her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of graven images, and they are mad after frightful idols.
read chapter 50 in DARBY
A drought is upon her waters; and they shall be dried up: for it is the land of graven images, and they are mad upon their idols.
read chapter 50 in KJV
read chapter 50 in WBT
A drought is on her waters, and they shall be dried up; for it is a land of engraved images, and they are mad over idols.
read chapter 50 in WEB
A sword `is' on her waters, and they have been dried up, For it `is' a land of graven images, And in idols they do boast themselves.
read chapter 50 in YLT
Pulpit Commentary
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 38. - A drought. The Maasoretic critics, in their prosaic realism, were unable to see how a "sword" could be "upon the waters;" hence they altered khereb into khoreb. But the sword is merely a symbol of the Divine vengeance, and may be interpreted differently according to the exigencies of the context. Render, Sword upon the waters. They are mad upon their idols; rather, through Terrors they befool themselves. "Terrors" is a synonym for the gods of the heathen, which inspired a feeling of awe rather than affection, unlike Jehovah as he revealed himself through the authors of the psalms and prophecies.
Ellicott's Commentary
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(38) A drought is upon her waters.--Better, A sword. The Hebrew word for "drought" has the same consonants as that for "sword," with different vowel-points. In the original text the form of the two words must have been identical, as the vowel-points were of later introduction. The editors of the present text were probably guided by the thought that the context in this case determined the meaning of the word as meaning "drought," and not a "sword." So in Deuteronomy 28:22 the text of the Authorised version gives "sword," and the margin "drought." There is, however, a certain loss of rhetorical emphasis in the change of the word with which the three previous verses had begun. The "waters" include the canals of Babylon as well as the Euphrates.They are mad upon their idols.--The word for "idols" means literally "terrors," or "objects of terror," as in Psalm 88:16; Job 20:25, and this is the only place in which it is used of the objects of worship. In Genesis 14:5; Deuteronomy 2:10-11 it appears as the name of the Emim, probably as meaning "the terrible, or gigantic ones." Here it seems used for the colossal figures--winged bulls, human-headed lions, and the like--which were the objects of Babylonian worship. (See note on Jeremiah 49:16.) . . .