Jeremiah 4:23

Jeremiah 4:23 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
• New International Version (NIV)I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone.
• English Standard Version (ESV)I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light.
• New King James Version (NKJV)I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void; And the heavens, they had no light.

Context of Jeremiah 4:23

21How long shall I see the standard, [and] hear the sound of the trumpet? 22For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have no intelligence; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. I beheld the earth, and lo, it was waste and empty; and the heavens, and they had no light. 24I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled, and all the hills shook violently. 25I beheld, and lo, man was not, and all the fowl of the heavens were fled.

Jeremiah 4:23 word by word

רָאִ֙יתִי֙ אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ וְהִנֵּה־תֹ֖הוּ וָבֹ֑הוּ וְאֶל־הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ין אוֹרָֽם׃Read the interlinear

• earthאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• heavensשָׁמַיִםshâmayim shâmeh · heavenH8064
• lightאוֹר'ôr · lightH216

Cross-references for Jeremiah 4:23

• Jeremiah 9:10For the mountains will I take up weeping and wailing, and for the pastures of the wilderness, a lamentation; for they are burnt up, so that none passeth through them; and the voice of the cattle is not heard. Both the fowl of the heavens and the beasts are fled; they are gone.
• Genesis 1:2And the earth was waste and empty, and darkness was on the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
• Isaiah 24:19The earth is utterly broken down, the earth is completely dissolved, the earth is violently moved.
• Revelation 20:11And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled, and place was not found for them.
• Isaiah 5:30and they shall roar against them in that day like the roaring of the sea. And if one look upon the earth, behold darkness [and] distress, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.
• Isaiah 13:10For the stars of the heavens and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.
• Ezekiel 32:7And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heavens, and make the stars thereof black; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light.
• Joel 2:10The earth quaketh before them; the heavens tremble; the sun and the moon are darkened, and the stars withdraw their shining.
• Joel 3:15The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining.
• Amos 8:9And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord Jehovah, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the land in the clear day.
• Matthew 24:29But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun shall be darkened, and the moon not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken.
• Mark 13:25and the stars of heaven shall be falling down, and the powers which are in the heavens shall be shaken;
• Luke 21:25And there shall be signs in sun and moon and stars, and upon the earth distress of nations in perplexity [at] the roar of the sea and rolling waves,
• Acts 2:19And I will give wonders in the heaven above and signs on the earth below, blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:

Commentaries on Jeremiah 4:23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 23I beheld the earth, (the land), and lo it was without form and void - ובהו תהו tohu vabohu ; the very words used in Genesis to denote the formless state of the chaotic mass before God had brought it into order.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 23-26Verses 23-26 In four verses each beginning with “I beheld,” the prophet sees in vision the desolate condition of Judaea during the Babylonian captivity. Jeremiah 4:23 Without form, and void - Desolate and void (see Genesis 1:2 note). The land has returned to a state of chaos (marginal reference note). And the heavens - And upward to the heavens. The imagery is that of the last day of judgment. To Jeremiah‘s vision all was as though the day of the Lord had…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 19-31Verses 19-31 The prophet had no pleasure in delivering messages of wrath. He is shown in a vision the whole land in confusion. Compared with what it was, every thing is out of order; but the ruin of the Jewish nation would not be final. Every end of our comforts is not a full end. Though the Lord may correct his people very severely, yet he will not cast them off. Ornaments and false colouring would be of no avail. No outward privileges or profession, no…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 23-26In Jeremiah's vision, the Lord's intense anger was more important than his creative love (Jeremiah 10:10; 12:4; Isaiah 5:25; 24:19; Ezekiel 38:20; Zephaniah 1:3). He was reversing the order of creation (see Genesis 1:2–3).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2323. Graphic picture of the utter desolation about to visit Palestine. "I beheld, and lo!" four times solemnly repeated, heightens the awful effect of the scene (compare Is 24:19; 34:11). without form and void--reduced to the primeval chaos (Ge 1:2).Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 4:23

• Condescension of God
• Darkness
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• War

In the dictionaries

• Bless
• Fallow
• Pain
• Wise
• Backslide
• Form
• Genesis
• Jeremiah (2)

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