Jeremiah 4:7

Jeremiah 4:7 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.
• New International Version (NIV)A lion has come out of his lair; a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to lay waste your land. Your towns will lie in ruins without inhabitant.
• English Standard Version (ESV)A lion has gone up from his thicket, a destroyer of nations has set out; he has gone out from his place to make your land a waste; your cities will be ruins without inhabitant.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The lion has come up from his thicket, And the destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone forth from his place To make your land desolate. Your cities will be laid waste, Without inhabitant.

Context of Jeremiah 4:7

5Declare in Judah and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, “Blow the trumpet in the land; Cry aloud and say, ‘Assemble yourselves, and let us go Into the fortified cities.’ 6Raise a banner toward Zion [to mark the way for those seeking safety inside Jerusalem’s walls]! Seek refuge, do not stand [immobile], For I am bringing evil from the north (the army of Babylon), And great destruction. A lion has left his lair, And a destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone out from his place To desolate your land; Your cities will be in ruins Without an inhabitant. 8For this reason, put on sackcloth [for mourning], Lament (mourn with expressions of grief for the dead) and wail, For the fierce anger of the Lord Has not turned back from us.” 9“It shall come about in that day,” says the Lord, “that the heart and courage of the king will fail (be paralyzed), and also the heart of the princes; the priests will be appalled and the prophets will be astounded and horrified.”

Jeremiah 4:7 word by word

עָלָ֤ה אַרְיֵה֙ מִֽסֻּבְּכ֔וֹ וּמַשְׁחִ֣ית גּוֹיִ֔ם נָסַ֖ע יָצָ֣א מִמְּקֹמ֑וֹ לָשׂ֤וּם אַרְצֵךְ֙ לְשַׁמָּ֔ה עָרַ֥יִךְ תִּצֶּ֖ינָה מֵאֵ֥ין יוֹשֵֽׁב׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• The lionאַרְיֵה'ărîy 'aryêh · lionH738
• is come upעָלָה‛âlâh · to ascend: riseH5927
• from his thicketסְבֹךְsôbek · thicketH5441
• and the destroyerשָׁחַתshâchath · to ruinH7843
• of the Gentilesגּוֹיgôy gôy · nationH1471
• is on his wayנָסַעnâsa‛ · to set outH5265
• he is gone forthיָצָאyâtsâ' · to come out: comeH3318
• from his placeמָקוֹםmâqôm mâqôm meqômâh meqômâh · placeH4725
• to makeשׂוּםώûm ώîym · to set: makeH7760
• thy landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• desolateשַׁמָּהshammâh · horror: destroyedH8047
• thy citiesעִיר‛îyr ‛âr ‛âyar · cityH5892
• shall be laid wasteנָצָהnâtsâh · to desolateH5327
• without an inhabitantיָשַׁבyâshab · to dwellH3427

Cross-references for Jeremiah 4:7

• Jeremiah 5:6Therefore a lion from the forest will kill them, A wolf of the deserts will destroy them, A leopard is watching their cities. Everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, Because their transgressions are many, Their desertions of faith are countless.
• Jeremiah 25:38He has left His lair like the lion; For their land has become a horror Because of the fierceness of the oppressor And because of the Lord’s fierce anger.”
• Jeremiah 49:19See, one will come like a lion from the thicket of the Jordan against the enduring habitation [of Edom] and its watered pastures; for in an instant I will make him (Edom) run from his land. I will appoint over him the one whom I choose. For who is like Me, and who will summon Me [into court] and prosecute Me [for this]? Who is the [earthly] shepherd who can stand [defiantly] before Me?”
• Jeremiah 50:17Israel is a hunted and scattered flock [driven here and there as prey]; the lions have chased them away. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken (gnawed) his bones.
• 2 Kings 24:1In his days, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant for three years; then he turned and rebelled against him.
• 2 Kings 25:1Now in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came, he with all his army, against Jerusalem, and camped against it and built siege works surrounding it.
• Daniel 7:4The first (the Babylonian Empire under Nebuchadnezzar) was like a lion and had the wings of an eagle. I kept looking until its wings were plucked, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man; a human mind was given to it.
• Jeremiah 25:9behold (hear this), I will send for all the families of the north,’ says the Lord, ‘and I will send for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, My servant [to enact My plan], and I will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants and against all these surrounding nations; and I will utterly destroy them and make them a horror and a hissing [that is, an object of warning and ridicule] and an everlasting desolation.
• Jeremiah 27:8“But any nation or kingdom that will not serve this same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish,” says the Lord, “with the sword, with famine and with pestilence (virulent disease), until I have destroyed it by Nebuchadnezzar’s hand.
• Ezekiel 21:19“As for you, son of man, mark out two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come, both starting from the same land. And make a signpost; place it at the head of the way to the city.
• Ezekiel 26:7For thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I will bring upon Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots and with horsemen and a great army.
• Ezekiel 30:10‘Thus says the Lord God, “I will also make the great people of Egypt cease By the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
• Daniel 5:19and because of the greatness that He gave him, all the peoples, nations, and speakers of every language trembled and feared him. Whomever he wished he killed, and whomever he wished he kept alive; whomever he wished he promoted and whomever he wished he humbled.
• Jeremiah 2:15The young lions have roared at him, They have made their voices heard and roared loudly. And they have made his land a waste; His cities have been destroyed and are burned ruins, without inhabitant.
• Jeremiah 9:11I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, A haunt and dwelling place of jackals; And I will make the cities of Judah a desolation, without inhabitant.”
• Jeremiah 26:9Why have you prophesied in the name of the Lord saying, ‘This house will be like Shiloh [after the ark of the Lord had been taken by our enemies] and this city [Jerusalem] will be desolate, without inhabitant’?” And all the people were gathered around Jeremiah in the [outer area of the] house of the Lord.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 4:7

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 7The lion is come up - Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon. "The king (Nebuchadnezzar) is come up from his tower." - Targum. The destroyer of the Gentiles - Of the nations: of all the people who resisted his authority. He destroyed them all.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 7Rather, A “lion” … a “destroyer” of nations: a metaphor descriptive of the impending calamity. A lion is just rousing himself from his lair, but no common one. It is destroyer, not of men, but of nations. Is on his way - literally, “has broken up his encampment.” Jeremiah uses a military term strictly referring to the striking of tents in preparation for the march. Without an inhabitant - The final stage of destruction, actually reached in the utter…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 5-18Verses 5-18 The fierce conqueror of the neighbouring nations was to make Judah desolate. The prophet was afflicted to see the people lulled into security by false prophets. The approach of the enemy is described. Some attention was paid in Jerusalem to outward reformation; but it was necessary that their hearts should be washed, in the exercise of true repentance and faith, from the love and pollution of sin. When lesser calamities do not rouse sinners…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 7The approaching Babylonian army was like a fierce and ruthless lion (see Jeremiah 2:15). With strength and brutality, it would destroy everything, leaving houses empty and in ruins (Jeremiah 25:9, 38; 50:17; 2 Kings 24:1; Isaiah 1:7; 6:11; Ezekiel 26:7–10; Daniel 7:4).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 77. lion--Nebuchadnezzar and the Chaldeans (Jr 2:15; 5:6; Da 7:14). his thicket--lair; Babylon. destroyer of the Gentiles--rather, "the nations" (Jr 25:9).Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 4:7

• Condescension of God
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Lion

In the dictionaries

• Bless
• Fallow
• Pain
• Wise
• Backslide
• Desolate
• Forest
• Genesis
• Jeremiah (2)
• Thicket

Commentaries on Jeremiah 4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings