New King James Version
Jeremiah 4:23
23I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void; And the heavens, they had no light.
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 Living Translation (NLT)I looked at the earth, and it was empty and formless. I looked at the heavens, and there was no light.
Context of Jeremiah 4:23
21How long will I see the standard, And hear the sound of the trumpet? 22“For My people are foolish, They have not known Me. They are silly children, And they have no understanding. They are wise to do evil, But to do good they have no knowledge.” I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void; And the heavens, they had no light. 24I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, And all the hills moved back and forth. 25I beheld, and indeed there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled.
Read all of Jeremiah 4Jeremiah 4:23 word by word
רָאִ֙יתִי֙ אֶת־הָאָ֔רֶץ וְהִנֵּה־תֹ֖הוּ וָבֹ֑הוּ וְאֶל־הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם וְאֵ֥ין אוֹרָֽם׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Jeremiah 4:23
- Jeremiah 9:10I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, And for the dwelling places of the wilderness a lamentation, Because they are burned up, So that no one can pass through; Nor can men hear the voice of the cattle. Both the birds of the heavens and the beasts have fled; They are gone.
- Genesis 1:2The earth was without form, and void; 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 violently broken, The earth is split open, The earth is shaken exceedingly.
- Revelation 20:11Then I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them.
- Isaiah 5:30In that day they will roar against them Like the roaring of the sea. And if one looks to the land, Behold, darkness and sorrow; And the light is darkened by the clouds.
- Isaiah 13:10For the stars of heaven and their constellations Will not give their light; The sun will be darkened in its going forth, And the moon will not cause its light to shine.
- Ezekiel 32:7When I put out your light, I will cover the heavens, and make its stars dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, And the moon shall not give her light.
- Joel 2:10The earth quakes before them, The heavens tremble; The sun and moon grow dark, And the stars diminish their brightness.
- Joel 3:15The sun and moon will grow dark, And the stars will diminish their brightness.
- Amos 8:9“And it shall come to pass in that day,” says the Lord God, “That I will make the sun go down at noon, And I will darken the earth in broad daylight;
- Matthew 24:29“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.
- Mark 13:25the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken.
- Luke 21:25“And there will be signs in the sun, in the moon, and in the stars; and on the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring;
- Acts 2:19I will show wonders in heaven above And signs in the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor 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
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
New King James Version — © 1982 Thomas Nelson, Inc
Commentaries