Jeremiah 4:20 - Forerunner Commentary

Jeremiah 4:20

18 “Your^a ways and your doings
Have procured these things for you.
This is your wickedness,
Because it is bitter,
Because it reaches to your heart.”

Sorrow for the Doomed Nation

19 O my ^asoul, my soul!
I am pained in my very heart!
My heart makes a noise in me;
I cannot hold my peace,
Because you have heard, O my soul,
The sound of the trumpet,
The alarm of war.

20 ^aDestruction upon destruction is cried,
For the whole land is plundered.
Suddenly ^bmy tents are plundered,
And my curtains in a moment.

21 How long will I see the¹ standard,
And hear the sound of the trumpet?

22 “For My people are foolish,
They have not known Me.
They are¹ silly children,
And they have no understanding.
^aThey are wise to do evil,
But to do good they have no knowledge.”

23 ^aI beheld the earth, and indeed it was ^bwithout form, and void;
And the heavens, they had no light.

24 ^aI beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled,
And all the hills moved back and forth.

25 I beheld, and indeed there was no man,
And ^aall the birds of the heavens had fled.

26 I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a ^awilderness,
And all its cities were broken down
At the presence of the Lord,
By His fierce anger.

27 For thus says the Lord:
“The whole land shall be desolate;
^aYet I will not make a full end.

28 For this ^ashall the earth mourn,
And ^bthe heavens above be black,
Because I have spoken.
I have ^cpurposed and ^dwill not relent,
Nor will I turn back from it.

Verse Comparison: Jeremiah 4:20

<< Jeremiah 4:19

Jeremiah 4:21 >>

American Standard Version
Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is laid waste: suddenly are my tents destroyed, `and' my curtains in a moment.

Amplified® Bible
News of one violent disaster {and} calamity comes close after another, for the whole land is laid waste; suddenly are my tents spoiled {and} destroyed, and my [tent] curtains ruined in a moment.

Contemporary English Version
I see the enemy defeating us time after time, leaving everything in ruins. Even my own home is destroyed in a moment.

Darby English Version
Destruction upon destruction is proclaimed; for the whole land is wasted: suddenly are my tents laid waste, my curtains, in a moment.

Good News Bible
One disaster follows another; the whole country is left in ruins. Suddenly our tents are destroyed; their curtains are torn to pieces.

King James Version
Destruction upon destruction is cried; for the whole land is spoiled: suddenly are my tents spoiled, and my curtains in a moment.

New American Standard Bible
Disaster on disaster is proclaimed, For the whole land is devastated; Suddenly my tents are devastated, My curtains in an instant.

New International Version
Disaster follows disaster;
the whole land lies in ruins.
In an instant my tents are destroyed,
my shelter in a moment.

New King James Version
Destruction upon destruction is cried,
For the whole land is plundered.
Suddenly my tents are plundered,
And my curtains in a moment.

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
Disaster on disaster has become proclaimed, For the whole land has become devastated; Suddenly my tents have become devastated, My curtains in an instant.

Revised Standard Version
Disaster follows hard on disaster, the whole land is laid waste. Suddenly my tents are destroyed, my curtains in a moment.

Young's Literal Translation
Destruction on destruction is proclaimed, For spoiled hath been all the land, Suddenly spoiled have been my tents, In a moment -- my curtains.

New English Translation
I see¹ one destruction after another taking place, so that the whole land lies in ruins. I see our² tents suddenly destroyed, their³ curtains torn down in a mere instant.⁴

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Jeremiah 4:21 >>