Tree of Life Version
Jeremiah 4:7
7A lion has come up from his thicket— a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to make your land a wasteland. Your cities will lie in 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.
- 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, saying: “Blow the shofar in the land!” Cry aloud and say, “Assemble yourselves! Let us go into the fortified cities.” 6“Raise a banner toward Zion! Take refuge! Do not delay! For I bring calamity from the north, even terrible destruction. A lion has come up from his thicket— a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to make your land a wasteland. Your cities will lie in ruins, without inhabitant. 8Therefore, put on sackcloth— lament and wail! For the fierce anger of Adonai has not turned away from us.” 9“It will happen in that day” —it is a declaration of Adonai— “that the king’s heart will fail, as will the heart of the princes. The kohanim will be appalled, and the prophets will be stunned.”
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 will kill them. A desert wolf will ravage them. A leopard watches over their cities. Everyone who ventures out will be torn to pieces, For their rebellion is great, their backslidings frequent.
- Jeremiah 25:38He has left His lair, like a lion. For their land has become a waste, because of the fury of the oppressor and because of His fierce anger.
- Jeremiah 49:19Look, it is like a lion coming up from the thickets of the Jordan to a secure pasture—for abruptly I will make him run away from it. I appoint over it whomever I choose. For who is like Me? Who will summon me to court? What shepherd stands up to Me?”
- Jeremiah 50:17Israel is a scattered flock— lions have driven them away. First, Assyria’s king devoured him. This last one who broke his bones was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
- 2 Kings 24:1In his days, King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon invaded, so Jehoiakim became his vassal for three years. But he turned and rebelled against him.
- 2 Kings 25:1Now it came to pass in the ninth year of Zedekiah’s reign, on the tenth day of the tenth month, that King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and his entire army advanced against Jerusalem, set up camp by it, and built a siege wall all around it.
- Daniel 7:4“The first was like a lion with eagle’s wings. As I watched, its wings were pulled off and it was lifted off the ground. It was made to stand upon two feet like a man, and the heart of a human was given to it.
- Jeremiah 25:9I will soon send for and bring all the families of the north”—it is a declaration of Adonai—“and I will send for King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, My servant, and will bring them against this land, and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations round about, and I will utterly destroy them, and make them a horror, and a hissing, an enduring desolation.
- Jeremiah 27:8“Now it will be, that the nation or the kingdom which will not serve the same King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon, and will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation I will punish with the sword, with famine, and with pestilence,” declares Adonai, “until I have destroyed it by his hand.
- Ezekiel 21:19You, son of man, prophesy. Strike your hands together. The sword will strike twice, even three times, a sword for the slain, a sword for a great slaughter—it surrounds them!
- Ezekiel 26:7For thus says Adonai Elohim: “Behold, from the north I will bring against Tyre Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon, king of kings, with horses, with chariots, with horsemen and a vast army of troops.
- Ezekiel 30:10Thus says Adonai Elohim: “I will put away the pomp of Egypt by the hand of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.
- Daniel 5:19Because of the grandeur that He bestowed on him, all the peoples, nations and languages dreaded and feared him. He killed whomever he wanted and spared anyone he wanted; he raised up whomever he wished and humbled anyone he wished.
- Jeremiah 2:15Young lions have roared at him they have roared loudly. They made his land a waste— his cities are in ruins and uninhabited.
- Jeremiah 9:11Who is the one wise enough to understand this? To whom has the mouth of Adonai spoken that he may explain it? Why is the land ruined, laid waste like a wilderness, so that no one passes through?”
- Jeremiah 26:9Why have you prophesied in the Name of Adonai, saying, ‘This House will be like Shiloh, and this city will be an uninhabited ruin?’” Then all the people gathered against Jeremiah in the House of Adonai.
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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