Jeremiah 4:23 - Forerunner Commentary

Jeremiah 4:23

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.

29 The whole city shall flee from the noise of the horsemen and bowmen.
They shall go into thickets and climb up on the rocks.
Every city shall be forsaken,
And not a man shall dwell in it.

30 “And when you are plundered,
What will you do?
Though you clothe yourself with crimson,
Though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold,
^aThough you enlarge your eyes with paint,
In vain you will make yourself fair;
^bYour lovers will despise you;
They will seek your life.

31 “For I have heard a voice as of a woman in¹ labor,
The anguish as of her who brings forth her first child,
The voice of the daughter of Zion bewailing herself;
She ^aspreads her hands, saying,
‘Woe is me now, for my soul is¹ weary
Because of murderers!’

Verse Comparison: Jeremiah 4:23

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Jeremiah 4:24 >>

American Standard Version
I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was waste and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

Amplified® Bible
[In a vision Jeremiah sees Judah laid waste by conquest and captivity.] I looked at the land, and behold, it was [as at the time of creation] waste and vacant (void); and at the heavens, and they had no light.

Contemporary English Version
After this, I looked around. The earth was barren, with no form of life. The sun, moon, and stars had disappeared.

Darby English Version
I beheld the earth, and lo, it was waste and empty; and the heavens, and they had no light.

Good News Bible
I looked at the earth---it was a barren waste; at the sky---there was no light.

King James Version
I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

New American Standard Bible
I looked on the earth, and behold, {it was} formless and void; And to the heavens, and they had no light.

New International Version
I looked at the earth,
and it was formless and empty;
and at the heavens,
and their light was gone.

New King James Version
I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void;
And the heavens, they had no light.

N.A.S.B. in E-Prime
I looked on the earth, and behold, it looked formless and void; And to the heavens, and they had no light.

Revised Standard Version
I looked on the earth, and lo, it was waste and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light.

Young's Literal Translation
I looked `to' the land, and lo, waste and void, And unto the heavens, and their light is not.

New English Translation
“I looked at the land and saw¹ that it was an empty wasteland.² I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.

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Jeremiah 4:24 >>