Jeremiah 4:23-26
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 come, and earth returned to the state in which it was before the first creative word (see II Peter 3:10).
Jeremiah 4:24
Moved lightly - " Reeled to and fro," from the violence of the earthquake.
Jeremiah 4:26
The fruitful place - The Carmel Jeremiah 2:7, where the population had been most dense, and the labors of the farmer most richly rewarded, has become the wilderness.
At the presence - i. e., because of, at the command of Yahweh, and because of His anger.
