Logos Bible Study

Jeremiah 4:23–28

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4:23“I looked at the land and saw63 that it was an empty wasteland.64

I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.

4:24I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking.

All the hills were swaying back and forth!

4:25I looked and saw that there were no more people,65

and that all the birds in the sky had flown away.

4:26I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert

and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins.

The Lord had brought this all about

because of his blazing anger.66

4:27All this will happen because the Lord said,67

“The whole land will be desolate;

however, I will not completely destroy it.

4:28Because of this the land will mourn

and the sky above will grow black.68

For I have made my purpose known69

and I will not relent or turn back from carrying it out.”70

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Footnotes

  1. 63 Heb “I looked at the land and behold …” This indicates the visionary character of Jeremiah’s description of the future condition of the land of Israel.
  2. 64 Heb “formless and empty.” This is a case of hendiadys (two nouns joined by “and” both describe the same thing): one noun retains its full nominal force, the other functions as an adjective. The words תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ (tohu vavohu) allude to Gen 1:2, hyperbolically picturing a reversal of creation and return to the original precreation chaos.
  3. 65 Heb “there was no man/human being.”
  4. 66 Heb “because of the Lord, because of his blazing anger.”
  5. 67 Heb “For this is what the Lord said,”
  6. 68 The earth and the heavens are personified here and depicted in the act of mourning and wearing black clothes because of the destruction of the land of Israel.
  7. 69 Heb “has spoken and purposed.” This is an example of hendiadys where two verbs are joined by “and” but one is meant to serve as a modifier of the other.
  8. 70 Heb “will not turn back from it.”

The NET Bible First Edition, Copyright 1996-2005 by Biblical Studies Press

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void;

and to the heavens, and they had no light.

I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,

and all the hills moved to and fro.

I looked, and behold, there was no man,

and all the birds of the air had fled.

I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a desert,

and all its cities were laid in ruins

before the Lord, before his fierce anger.

For thus says the Lord, “The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end.

“For this the earth shall mourn,

and the heavens above be dark;

for I have spoken; I have purposed;

I have not relented, nor will I turn back.”

Copyright 2001 Crossway Bibles

NIVNew International Version (2011)

I looked at the earth,

and it was formless and empty;

and at the heavens,

and their light was gone.

I looked at the mountains,

and they were quaking;

all the hills were swaying.

I looked, and there were no people;

every bird in the sky had flown away.

I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert;

all its towns lay in ruins

before the Lord, before his fierce anger.

This is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be ruined,

though I will not destroy it completely.

Therefore the earth will mourn

and the heavens above grow dark,

because I have spoken and will not relent,

I have decided and will not turn back.”

Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 Biblica, Inc.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

I looked at the earth,

and it was formless and empty.

I looked to the heavens,

and their light was gone.

I looked at the mountains,

and they were quaking;

all the hills shook.

I looked, and there was no human being,

and all the birds of the sky had fled.

I looked, and the fertile field was a wilderness.

All its cities were torn down

because of the Lord

and his burning anger.

For this is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be a desolation,

but I will not finish it off.

Because of this, the earth will mourn;

the skies above will grow dark.

I have spoken; I have planned,

and I will not relent or turn back from it.”

Copyright 2017 Holman Bible Publishers

NLTNew Living Translation

I looked at the earth, and it was empty and formless.

I looked at the heavens, and there was no light.

I looked at the mountains and hills,

and they trembled and shook.

I looked, and all the people were gone.

All the birds of the sky had flown away.

I looked, and the fertile fields had become a wilderness.

The towns lay in ruins,

crushed by the Lord’s fierce anger.

This is what the Lord says:

“The whole land will be ruined,

but I will not destroy it completely.

The earth will mourn

and the heavens will be draped in black

because of my decree against my people.

I have made up my mind and will not change it.”

Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers. All rights reserved.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

I looked at the earth, and behold, it was wasteland and emptiness,

and to the heavens, and they were without their light.

I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking,

and all of the hills were jolted to and fro.

I looked and behold, there was no person,

and all of the birds of the sky had fled.

I looked and behold, the fruitful land was a desert,

and all of its cities were ruined before Yahweh,

before the face of his burning anger.

For thus says Yahweh, “All of the land will be a desolation,

yet I will not make a complete desolation.

Because of this the earth will mourn,

and the heavens above will become dark.

Because I have spoken, I have planned,

and I have not relented, and I will not turn back from it.”

Copyright 2012 Lexham Press

KJV 1900King James Version

I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void;

And the heavens, and they had no light.

I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled,

And all the hills moved lightly.

I beheld, and, lo, there was no man,

And all the birds of the heavens were fled.

I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness,

And all the cities thereof were broken down

At the presence of the Lord, and by his fierce anger.

For thus hath the Lord said,

The whole land shall be desolate;

Yet will I not make a full end.

For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black:

Because I have spoken it, I have purposed it,

And will not repent, neither will I turn back from it.

Public Domain