Jeremiah 4:7,23-29 - Compare All Versions

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A lion has come out of his lair; a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his place to lay waste your land. Your towns will lie in ruins without inhabitant.

I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty; and at the heavens, and their light was gone. I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking; all the hills were swaying. I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away. I looked, and the fruitful land was a desert; all its towns lay in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger. This is what the LORD says: “The whole land will be ruined, though I will not destroy it completely. Therefore the earth will mourn and the heavens above grow dark, because I have spoken and will not relent, I have decided and will not turn back.” At the sound of horsemen and archers every town takes to flight. Some go into the thickets; some climb up among the rocks. All the towns are deserted; no one lives in them.

A lion has gone up from his thicket, a destroyer of nations has set out; he has gone out from his place to make your land a waste; your cities will be ruins without inhabitant.

I looked on the earth, and behold, it was without form and void; and to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, and all the hills moved to and fro. I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled. I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a desert, and all its cities were laid in ruins before the LORD, before his fierce anger. For thus says the LORD, “The whole land shall be a desolation; yet I will not make a full end. “For this the earth shall mourn, and the heavens above be dark; for I have spoken; I have purposed; I have not relented, nor will I turn back.” At the noise of horseman and archer every city takes to flight; they enter thickets; they climb among rocks; all the cities are forsaken, and no man dwells in them.

A lion stalks from its den, a destroyer of nations. It has left its lair and is headed your way. It’s going to devastate your land! Your towns will lie in ruins, with no one living in them anymore.

I looked at the earth, and it was empty and formless. I looked at the heavens, and there was no light. I looked at the mountains and hills, and they trembled and shook. I looked, and all the people were gone. All the birds of the sky had flown away. I looked, and the fertile fields had become a wilderness. The towns lay in ruins, crushed by the LORD’s fierce anger. This is what the LORD says: “The whole land will be ruined, but I will not destroy it completely. The earth will mourn and the heavens will be draped in black because of my decree against my people. I have made up my mind and will not change it.” At the noise of charioteers and archers, the people flee in terror. They hide in the bushes and run for the mountains. All the towns have been abandoned— not a person remains!

A lion has gone up from his thicket;  a destroyer of nations has set out. He has left his lair to make your land a waste. Your cities will be reduced to uninhabited ruins.

I looked at the earth, and it was formless and empty.  I looked to the heavens, and their light was gone.  I looked at the mountains, and they were quaking;  all the hills shook. I looked, and there was no human being,  and all the birds of the sky had fled.  I looked, and the fertile field  was a wilderness.  All its cities were torn down because of the  LORD and his burning anger.  For this is what the LORD says: “The whole land will be a desolation,  but I will not finish it off.  Because of this, the earth will mourn;  the skies above will grow dark.  I have spoken; I have planned, and I will not relent or turn back from it.”  Every city flees  at the sound of the horseman and the archer. They enter the thickets and climb among the rocks.  Every city is abandoned; no inhabitant is left.

The lion is come up from his thicket, and the destroyer of the Gentiles is on his way; he is gone forth from his place to make thy land desolate; and thy cities shall be laid waste, without an inhabitant.

I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was without form, and void; and the heavens, and they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and, lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly. I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled. I beheld, and, lo, the fruitful place was a wilderness, and all the cities thereof were broken down at the presence of the LORD, and by his fierce anger. For thus hath the LORD said, The whole land shall be desolate; yet will I not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, and the heavens above be black: because I have spoken it, I have purposed it, and will not repent, neither will I turn back from it. The whole city shall flee for the noise of the horsemen and bowmen; they shall go into thickets, and climb up upon the rocks: every city shall be forsaken, and not a man dwell therein.

The lion has come up from his thicket, And the destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone forth from his place To make your land desolate. Your cities will be laid waste, Without inhabitant.

I beheld the earth, and indeed it was without form, and void; And the heavens, they had no light. I beheld the mountains, and indeed they trembled, And all the hills moved back and forth. I beheld, and indeed there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled. I beheld, and indeed the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were broken down At the presence of the LORD, By His fierce anger. For thus says the LORD: “The whole land shall be desolate; Yet I will not make a full end. For this shall the earth mourn, And the heavens above be black, Because I have spoken. I have purposed and will not relent, Nor will I turn back from it. 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.

“Sound the alarm in Judah, broadcast the news in Jerusalem. Say, ‘Blow the ram’s horn trumpet through the land!’ Shout out—a bullhorn bellow!— ‘Close ranks! Run for your lives to the shelters!’ Send up a flare warning Zion: ‘Not a minute to lose! Don’t sit on your hands!’ Disaster’s descending from the north. I set it off! When it lands, it will shake the foundations. Invaders have pounced like a lion from its cover, ready to rip nations to shreds, Leaving your land in wrack and ruin, your cities in rubble, abandoned. Dress in funereal black. Weep and wail, For GOD’s sledgehammer anger has slammed into us head-on.

I looked at the earth— it was back to pre-Genesis chaos and emptiness. I looked at the skies, and not a star to be seen. I looked at the mountains— they were trembling like aspen leaves, And all the hills rocking back and forth in the wind. I looked—what’s this! Not a man or woman in sight, and not a bird to be seen in the skies. I looked—this can’t be! Every garden and orchard shriveled up. All the towns were ghost towns. And all this because of GOD, because of the blazing anger of GOD. Yes, this is GOD’s Word on the matter: “The whole country will be laid waste— still it won’t be the end of the world. The earth will mourn and the skies lament Because I’ve given my word and won’t take it back. I’ve decided and won’t change my mind.” Someone shouts, “Horsemen and archers!” and everybody runs for cover. They hide in ditches, they climb into caves. The cities are emptied, not a person left anywhere.

“A lion has gone up from his thicket, And a destroyer of nations has set out; He has gone out from his place To make your land a waste. Your cities will be ruins, Without an inhabitant.

¶I looked at the earth, and behold, it was a formless and desolate emptiness; And to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked on the mountains, and behold, they were quaking, And all the hills jolted back and forth. I looked, and behold, there was no human, And all the birds of the sky had fled. I looked, and behold, the fruitful land was a wilderness, And all its cities were pulled down Before the LORD, before His fierce anger. ¶For this is what the LORD says: “The whole land shall be a desolation, Yet I will not execute a complete destruction. “For this the earth will mourn, And the heavens above will become dark, Because I have spoken, I have purposed, And I have not changed My mind, nor will I turn from it.” At the sound of the horseman and archer every city flees; They go into the thickets and climb among the rocks; Every city is abandoned, And no one lives in them.

“A lion has left his lair, And a destroyer of nations is on his way. He has gone out from his place To desolate your land; Your cities will be in ruins Without an inhabitant.

¶I looked at the earth [in my vision], and behold, it was [as at the time of creation] formless and void; And to the heavens, and they had no light. I looked at the mountains, and behold, they were trembling, And all the hills moved back and forth. I looked, and behold, there was no man, And all the birds of the air had fled. I looked, and behold, the fertile land was a wilderness, And all its cities were pulled down Before the [presence of the] LORD, before His fierce anger. ¶Therefore says the LORD, “The whole land shall be a desolation, Yet I will not cause total destruction. [Jer 5:10, 18; 30:11; 46:28] “For this reason the earth shall mourn And the heavens above shall become dark, Because I have spoken, I have decided, And I will not change my mind (relent), nor will I turn back from it.” Every city runs away at the sound of the horsemen and archers. They go into the thickets and climb among the rocks; Every city is deserted, And no man lives in them.

Like a lion that has come up from its lair the one who destroys nations has set out from his home base. He is coming out to lay your land waste. Your cities will become ruins and lie uninhabited.

“I looked at the land and saw that it was an empty wasteland. I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished. I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking. All the hills were swaying back and forth! I looked and saw that there were no more people, and that all the birds in the sky had flown away. I looked and saw that the fruitful land had become a desert and that all of the cities had been laid in ruins. The LORD had brought this all about because of his blazing anger. All this will happen because the LORD said, “The whole land will be desolate; however, I will not completely destroy it. Because of this the land will mourn and the sky above will grow black. For I have made my purpose known and I will not relent or turn back from carrying it out.” At the sound of the approaching horsemen and archers the people of every town will flee. Some of them will hide in the thickets. Others will climb up among the rocks. All the cities will be deserted. No one will remain in them.