Jeremiah 4:25

THE MESSAGE

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
I looked, and there was no human being,and all the birds of the sky had fled.

Hebrew Names Version
I saw, and, behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the sky were fled.

King James Version
I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.

English Standard Version
I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled.

New American Standard Bible
I looked, and behold, there was no human, And all the birds of the sky had fled.

New Century Version
I looked, and there were no people. Every bird in the sky had flown away.

Amplified Bible
I looked, and behold, there was no man, And all the birds of the air had fled.

World English Bible
I saw, and, behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the sky were fled.

Geneva Bible (1587)
I behelde, and loe, there was no man, and all the birdes of the heauen were departed.

Legacy Standard Bible
I saw, and behold, there was no man,And all the birds of the sky had fled.

Berean Standard Bible
I looked, and no man was left; all the birds of the air had fled.

Contemporary English Version
no people could be seen, and all the birds had flown away.

Complete Jewish Bible
I looked, and there was no human being; all the birds in the air had fled.

Darby Translation
I beheld, and lo, man was not, and all the fowl of the heavens were fled.

Easy-to-Read Version
I looked, but there were no people. All the birds of the sky had flown away.

George Lamsa Translation
I looked, and, behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled.

Good News Translation
I saw that there were no people; even the birds had flown away.

Lexham English Bible
I looked and behold, there was no person, and all of the birds of the sky had fled.

Literal Translation
I looked, and, behold! There was no man, and all the birds of the skies had fled.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
I loked aboute me, and there was no body, and all the byrdes of the ayre were awaye.

American Standard Version
I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.

Bible in Basic English
Looking, I saw that there was no man, and all the birds of heaven had gone in flight.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.

King James Version (1611)
I behelde, and loe, there was no man, and all the birdes of the heauens were fled.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
I loked about me, and there was no body: and all the birdes of the ayre were away.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
I looked, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the sky were scared.

English Revised Version
I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Y lokide, and no man was, and ech brid of heuene was gon a wey.

Update Bible Version
I looked and saw that man wasn't there, and all the birds of the heavens had fled.

Webster's Bible Translation
I beheld, and lo, [there was] no man, and all the fowls of the heavens had fled.

New English Translation
I looked and saw that there were no more people, and that all the birds in the sky had flown away.

New King James Version
I beheld, and indeed there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled.

New Living Translation
I looked, and all the people were gone. All the birds of the sky had flown away.

New Life Bible
I looked and saw that there were no people. And all the birds of the heavens had left.

New Revised Standard
I looked, and lo, there was no one at all, and all the birds of the air had fled.

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
I beheld, And lo! there was no human being, - Yea, all the birds of the heavens! had fled:

Douay-Rheims Bible
I beheld, and lo there was no man: and all the birds of the air were gone.

Revised Standard Version
I looked, and lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the air had fled.

Young's Literal Translation
I have looked, and lo, man is not, And all fowls of the heavens have fled.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
I looked, and behold, there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled.

Contextual Overview

¹⁹I'm doubled up with cramps in my belly— a poker burns in my gut. My insides are tearing me up, never a moment's peace. The ram's horn trumpet blast rings in my ears, the signal for all-out war. Disaster hard on the heels of disaster, the whole country in ruins! In one stroke my home is destroyed, the walls flattened in the blink of an eye. How long do I have to look at the warning flares, listen to the siren of danger? ²² "What fools my people are! They have no idea who I am. A company of half-wits, dopes and donkeys all! Experts at evil but klutzes at good." ²³I 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 . ²⁷Yes, 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." ²⁹ 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. ³⁰And you, what do you think you're up to? Dressing up in party clothes, Decking yourselves out in jewelry, putting on lipstick and rouge and mascara! Your primping goes for nothing. You're not going to seduce anyone. They're out to kill you! And what's that I hear? The cry of a woman in labor, the screams of a mother giving birth to her firstborn. It's the cry of Daughter Zion, gasping for breath, reaching out for help: "Help, oh help me! I'm dying! The killers are on me!"

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

there was no man: Hosea 4:3, Zephaniah 1:2, Zephaniah 1:3

Reciprocal: Jeremiah 9:10 - both Jeremiah 12:4 - the beasts

Cross-References

Genesis 4:1
Adam slept with Eve his wife. She conceived and had Cain. She said, "I've gotten a man, with God 's help!"

Genesis 4:3
Time passed. Cain brought an offering to God from the produce of his farm. Abel also brought an offering, but from the firstborn animals of his herd, choice cuts of meat. God liked Abel and his offering, but Cain and his offering didn't get his approval. Cain lost his temper and went into a sulk.

Genesis 4:8
Cain had words with his brother. They were out in the field; Cain came at Abel his brother and killed him.

Genesis 4:10
God said, "What have you done! The voice of your brother's blood is calling to me from the ground. From now on you'll get nothing but curses from this ground; you'll be driven from this ground that has opened its arms to receive the blood of your murdered brother. You'll farm this ground, but it will no longer give you its best. You'll be a homeless wanderer on Earth."

1 Chronicles 1:1
Adam Seth Enosh Kenan Mahalalel Jared Enoch Methuselah Lamech Noah Shem, Ham, and Japheth.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

And I beheld, and, lo, there was no man,.... No people dwelling in it, as the Targum; the land was without inhabitants, they were either killed with the sword, or taken and carried captive into Babylon, or fled into Egypt and other countries:

and all the birds of the heavens were fled; at the sound of the trumpet, the alarm of war; at the blackness of the heavens, filled with smoke; at the barrenness of the earth, there being no seed sown; and the earth, as at the first creation, having no herb, nor trees bearing fruit, and so no food for birds; and therefore they went elsewhere, both wild and tame.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

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 2 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.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 4:25. The birds of the heavens were fled. — The land was so desolated that even the fowls of heaven could not find meat, and therefore fled away to another region. How powerfully energetic is this description! See Zephaniah 1:3.