Jeremiah 4:20

Jeremiah 4:20 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.
• New International Version (NIV)Disaster follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins. In an instant my tents are destroyed, my shelter in a moment.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Crash follows hard on crash; the whole land is laid waste. Suddenly my tents are laid waste, my curtains in a moment.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Destruction upon destruction is cried, For the whole land is plundered. Suddenly my tents are plundered, And my curtains in a moment.

Context of Jeremiah 4:20

18Your ways and your deeds Have brought these things upon you. This is your evil. How bitter! How it has touched your heart!” 19My soul, my soul! I am in anguish! Oh, my heart! My heart is pounding in me; I cannot keep silent, Because, my soul, you have heard The sound of the trumpet, The alarm of war. Disaster upon disaster is proclaimed, For the whole land is devastated; Suddenly my tents are devastated, And my curtains in an instant. 21How long must I see the flag And hear the sound of the trumpet? 22“For My people are foolish, They do not know Me; They are foolish children And have no understanding. They are skillful at doing evil, But they do not know how to do good.”

Jeremiah 4:20 word by word

שֶׁ֤בֶר עַל־שֶׁ֙בֶר֙ נִקְרָ֔א כִּ֥י שֻׁדְּדָ֖ה כָּל־הָאָ֑רֶץ פִּתְאֹם֙ שֻׁדְּד֣וּ אֹהָלַ֔י רֶ֖גַע יְרִיעֹתָֽי׃Read the interlinear

• Disasterשֶׁ֫בֶרsheber shêber · breakingH7667
• is proclaimedקָרָאqârâ' · to call: call outH7121
• wholeכֹּלkôl kôl · allH3605
• landאֶ֫רֶץ'erets · land: country/planetH776
• is devastatedשָׁדַדshâdad · to ruinH7703
• Suddenlyפִּתְאֹםpith'ôm pith'ôm · suddenlyH6597
• tentsאֹ֫הֶל'ôhel · tentH168
• my curtainsיְרִיעָהyerîy‛âh · curtainH3407
• in an instantרֶ֫גַעrega‛ · momentH7281

Cross-references for Jeremiah 4:20

• Jeremiah 4:6Raise a flag toward Zion! Take refuge, do not stand still, For I am bringing evil from the north, And great destruction.
• Jeremiah 17:18Let those who persecute me be put to shame, but as for me, let me not be put to shame; Let them be dismayed, but let me not be dismayed. Bring on them a day of disaster, And crush them with double destruction!
• Leviticus 26:18If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins.
• Psalms 42:7Deep calls to deep at the sound of Your waterfalls; All Your breakers and Your waves have passed over me.
• Isaiah 13:6Wail, for the day of the Lord is near! It will come as destruction from the Almighty.
• Lamentations 3:47Panic and pitfall have come upon us, Devastation and destruction;
• Ezekiel 7:25When anguish comes, they will seek peace, but there will be none.
• Ezekiel 14:21For this is what the Lord God says: “How much more when I send My four severe judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine, vicious animals, and plague to eliminate human and animal life from it!
• Joel 1:15Woe for the day! For the day of the Lord is near, And it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
• Matthew 10:28And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
• 2 Thessalonians 1:9These people will pay the penalty of eternal destruction, away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,
• Jeremiah 10:19Woe to me, because of my injury! My wound is incurable. But I said, “This certainly is a sickness, And I must endure it.”
• Isaiah 33:20Look at Zion, the city of our appointed feasts; Your eyes will see Jerusalem, an undisturbed settlement, A tent which will not be folded; Its stakes will never be pulled up, Nor any of its ropes be torn apart.
• Isaiah 54:2“Enlarge the place of your tent; Stretch out the curtains of your dwellings, do not spare them; Lengthen your ropes And strengthen your pegs.
• Lamentations 2:6And He has treated His tabernacle violently, like a despised garden; He has destroyed His appointed meeting place. The Lord has caused The appointed feast and Sabbath in Zion to be forgotten, And He has despised king and priest In the indignation of His anger.
• Habakkuk 3:7I saw the tents of Cushan under distress, The tent curtains of the land of Midian were trembling.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 4:20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 20Destruction upon destruction - Cities burnt, and their inhabitants destroyed. My tents spoiled - Even the solitary dwellings in the fields and open country do not escape.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20Destruction … - Or, breaking upon breaking Jeremiah 4:6. The news of one breaking, one violent calamity, follows close upon another. My curtains - The curtains of the tent, put here for the tents themselves. tents were the ordinary habitations of the Israelites.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. 19-21When Jeremiah heard trumpets and the battle cries of the invaders who brought destruction, he realized that his family and others he knew were being killed or left homeless. Jeremiah could not escape the effects of God's judgment, even though he was faithfully serving the Lord (Jeremiah 9:1, 19; 10:19–20; 20:9; 2 Kings 25:11; 2 Chronicles 36:20; Psalm 42:7; Isaiah 15:5; 16:11; 21:3; 22:4; Ezekiel 7:26).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2020. Destruction ... cried--Breach upon breach is announced (Psa 42:7; Eze 7:26). The war "trumpet" ... the battle shout ... the "destructions" ... the havoc throughout "the whole land" ... the spoiling of the shepherds' "tents" (Jr 10:20; or, "tents" means cities, which should be overthrown as easily as tents [Calvin]), form a gradation.Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 4:20

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

In the dictionaries

• Bless
• Fallow
• Pain
• Tent
• Wise
• Backslide
• Curtain
• Genesis
• Jeremiah (2)
• alarm, alarmed

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