Jeremiah 4:23
21 How long must I see the signal flag and hear the sound of the horn?
22 “For My people are fools; they have not known Me. They are foolish children, without understanding. They are skilled in doing evil, but they know not how to do good.”
I looked at the earth, and it was formless and void; I looked to the heavens, and they had no light.
24 I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were quaking; all the hills were swaying.
25 I looked, and no man was left; all the birds of the air had fled.
This was said to Israel at a particular time, so it is wise to read it together with the surrounding text. Do read the surrounding verses too, because the context often says more than a single verse.
Compare
- BSB
- I looked at the earth, and it was formless and void; I looked to the heavens, and they had no light.
- KJV
- I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
- WEB
- I saw the earth and, behold, it was waste and void, and the heavens, and they had no light.
- ASV
- I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was waste and void; and the heavens, and they had no light.
- DARBY
- I beheld the earth, and lo, it was waste and empty; and the heavens, and they had no light.
- BLB
- I looked [upon] the earth, and behold—[it was] formless and void; and to the heavens, and there was no light [in] them.
- ÅB
- Jeg så jorden, og se, den var øde og tom; jeg så til himmelen, og dens lys var borte.
- OTB
- Jeg så på jorden, og den var formløs og tom; og på himmelen, og deres lys var borte.
- B1930
- Jeg så jorden, og se, den var øde og tom; jeg så til himmelen, og dens lys var borte.
Study notes (Tyndale)
Original text and word study
Cross references
Matthew 24:29
Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken.’
Read in contextMark 13:24–25
But in those days, after that tribulation: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light;
Read in contextJoel 3:15–16
The sun and moon will grow dark, and the stars will no longer shine.
Read in contextIsaiah 13:10
For the stars of heaven and their constellations will not give their light. The rising sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light.
Read in contextGenesis 1:2
Now the earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters.
Read in contextLuke 21:25–26
There will be signs in the sun and moon and stars, and on the earth dismay among the nations, bewildered by the roaring of the sea and the surging of the waves.
Read in contextEzekiel 32:7–8
When I extinguish you, I will cover the heavens and darken their stars. I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon will not give its light.
Read in contextAmos 8:9
And in that day, declares the Lord GOD, I will make the sun go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the daytime.
Read in context