Jeremiah 4 · Verse 23

Jeremiah 4:23

I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
Jeremiah 4:23, King James Version

Jeremiah 4:23 in other translations

BSBI looked at the earth, and it was formless and void; I looked to the heavens, and they had no light.
WEBI saw the earth and, behold, it was waste and void, and the heavens, and they had no light.
ASVI beheld the earth, and, lo, it was waste and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
YLTI looked to the land, and lo, waste and void, And unto the heavens, and their light is not.
DARBYI beheld the earth, and lo, it was waste and empty; and the heavens, and they had no light.
BBELooking at the earth, I saw that it was waste and without form; and to the heavens, that they had no light.
WebsterI beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.

What does Jeremiah 4:23 mean?

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown
23. 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).

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown, 1871 · public domain

Adam Clarke's Commentary
Verse 23 I beheld the earth, (the land), and lo it was without form and void - תהו ובהו tohu vabohu; the very words used in Genesis to denote the formless state of the chaotic mass before God had brought it into order.

Adam Clarke, 1831 · public domain

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on Jeremiah 4:19-31

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…

Read the full comment on Jeremiah 4:19-31 →

Jeremiah 4:23 in the original Hebrew

Word-by-word with transliteration, English gloss and Strong's number. Tap a number for the full definition and every place the word is used.

רָאִ֙יתִי֙ra.'I.tiI looked atH7200
אֶת\־'et-<obj.>H853
הָאָ֔רֶץha.'A.retzthe earthH776
וְהִנֵּה\־ve.hi.neh-and there!H2009
תֹ֖הוּTo.hu[it was] formlessnessH8414
וָבֹ֑הוּva.Vo.huand emptinessH922
וְאֶל\־ve.'el-and toH413
הַשָּׁמַ֖יִםha.sha.Ma.yimthe heavensH8064
וְאֵ֥יןve.'Einand there notH369
אוֹרָֽם\׃'o.Ram[was] light theirH216

Source: STEPBible TAHOT/TAGNT (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0).

Cross references for Jeremiah 4:23

  • Matthew 24:29

    Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken:

  • Mark 13:24-25

    But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, And the stars of heaven shall fall, and the powers that are in heaven shall be shaken.

  • Joel 3:15-16

    The sun and the moon shall be darkened, and the stars shall withdraw their shining. The Lord also shall roar out of Zion, and utter his voice from Jerusalem; and the heavens and the earth shall shake: but the Lord will be the hope of his people, and the strength of the children of Israel.

  • Isaiah 13:10

    For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light: the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine.

  • Genesis 1:2

    And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.

  • Luke 21:25-26

    And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity; the sea and the waves roaring; Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.

  • Ezekiel 32:7-8

    And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and set darkness upon thy land, saith the Lord God.

  • Amos 8:9

    And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day:

  • Joel 2:10

    The earth shall quake before them; the heavens shall tremble: the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining:

  • Joel 2:30-31

    And I will shew wonders in the heavens and in the earth, blood, and fire, and pillars of smoke. The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come.

  • Acts 2:19-20

    And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:

  • Isaiah 5:30

    And in that day they shall roar against them like the roaring of the sea: and if one look unto the land, behold darkness and sorrow, and the light is darkened in the heavens thereof.

Ranked by reader votes · OpenBible.info cross references (CC BY).

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
the earth.
9:10; Ge 1:2; Isa 24:19-23; Re 20:11
the heavens.
Isa 5:30; 13:10; Eze 32:7,8; Joe 2:10,30,31; 3:15,16; Am 8:9
Mt 24:29,35; Mr 13:24,25; Lu 21:25,26; Ac 2:19,20

Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (Samuel Bagster, c. 1836) · public domain

Context

  • Jeremiah 4:22

    For my people is foolish, they have not known me; they are sottish children, and they have none understanding: they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge.

  • Jeremiah 4:23

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

  • Jeremiah 4:24

    I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly.

Read all of Jeremiah 4

Jeremiah 4:23 in other languages

Spanish
Reina-Valera 1909
Miré la tierra, y he aquí que estaba asolada y vacía; y los cielos, y no había en ellos luz.
French
Bible J.N. Darby 1885
J’ai regardé la terre, et voici, elle était désolation et vide, et vers les cieux, et leur lumière n’était pas.
German
Elberfelder 1871
Ich schaue die Erde an und siehe, sie ist wüst und leer und gen Himmel, und sein Licht ist nicht da.
Latin
Clementine Vulgate
Aspexi terram, et ecce vacua erat et nihili; et cælos, et non erat lux in eis.