English Standard Version
Jeremiah 4:7
7A 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.
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.
- 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.
- New Living Translation (NLT)A lion stalks from its den, a destroyer of nations. It has left its lair and is headed your way. It’s going to devastate your land! Your towns will lie in ruins, with no one living in them anymore.
Context of Jeremiah 4:7
5Declare in Judah, and proclaim in Jerusalem, and say, "Blow the trumpet through the land; cry aloud and say, 'Assemble, and let us go into the fortified cities!' 6Raise a standard toward Zion, flee for safety, stay not, for I bring disaster from the north, and great destruction. 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. 8For this put on sackcloth, lament and wail, for the fierce anger of the Lord has not turned back from us." 9"In that day, declares the Lord, courage shall fail both king and officials. The priests shall be appalled and the prophets astounded."
Read all of Jeremiah 4Jeremiah 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 shall strike them down; a wolf from the desert shall devastate them. A leopard is watching their cities; everyone who goes out of them shall be torn in pieces, because their transgressions are many, their apostasies are great.
- Jeremiah 25:38Like a lion he has left his lair, for their land has become a waste because of the sword of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger."
- Jeremiah 49:19Behold, like a lion coming up from the jungle of the Jordan against a perennial pasture, I will suddenly make him run away from her. And I will appoint over her whomever I choose. For who is like me? Who will summon me? What shepherd can stand before me?
- Jeremiah 50:17"Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has 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 25:1And in the ninth year of his reign, in the tenth month, on the tenth day of the month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came with all his army against Jerusalem and laid siege to it. And they built siegeworks all around it.
- Daniel 7:4The first was like a lion and had eagles' wings. Then as I looked its wings were plucked off, and it was lifted up from the ground and made to stand on two feet like a man, and the mind of a man was given to it.
- Jeremiah 25:9behold, I will send for all the tribes of the north, declares the Lord, and for Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant, and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants, and against all these surrounding nations. I will devote them to destruction, and make them a horror, a hissing, and an everlasting desolation.
- Jeremiah 27:8"'"But if any nation or kingdom will not serve this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and put its neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, I will punish that nation with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence, declares the Lord, until I have consumed it by his hand.
- Ezekiel 21:19"As for you, son of man, mark two ways for the sword of the king of Babylon to come. Both of them shall come from the same land. And make a signpost; make it at the head of the way to a city.
- Ezekiel 26:7"For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I will bring against Tyre from the north Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses and chariots, and with horsemen and a host of many soldiers.
- Ezekiel 30:10"Thus says the Lord God: "I will put an end to the wealth of Egypt, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.
- Daniel 5:19And because of the greatness that he gave him, all peoples, nations, and languages trembled and feared before him. Whom he would, he killed, and whom he would, he kept alive; whom he would, he raised up, and whom he would, he humbled.
- Jeremiah 2:15The lions have roared against him; they have roared loudly. They have made his land a waste; his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.
- Jeremiah 9:11I will make Jerusalem a heap of ruins, a lair 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 shall be like Shiloh, and this city shall be desolate, without inhabitant'?" And all the people gathered around Jeremiah in 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
In the dictionaries
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
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