Jeremiah 25:33 kjv
And the slain of the LORD shall be at that day from one end of the earth even unto the other end of the earth: they shall not be lamented, neither gathered, nor buried; they shall be dung upon the ground.
Jeremiah 25:33 nkjv
And at that day the slain of the LORD shall be from one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall become refuse on the ground.
Jeremiah 25:33 niv
At that time those slain by the LORD will be everywhere?from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned or gathered up or buried, but will be like dung lying on the ground.
Jeremiah 25:33 esv
"And those pierced by the LORD on that day shall extend from one end of the earth to the other. They shall not be lamented, or gathered, or buried; they shall be dung on the surface of the ground.
Jeremiah 25:33 nlt
In that day those the LORD has slaughtered will fill the earth from one end to the other. No one will mourn for them or gather up their bodies to bury them. They will be scattered on the ground like manure.
Jeremiah 25 33 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jeremiah 7:14 | "...I will do to this house, upon which my name is called, in which you trust, and to the place that I gave to you and to your fathers, as I did to Shiloh." | Parallel judgment of a place |
| Jeremiah 8:1-2 | "At that time, declares the Lord, they shall cast the bones of the kings of Judah, the bones of its princes, the bones of the priests, the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves." | Unburied dead mentioned |
| Jeremiah 25:9 | "And I will call my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and I will bring them against this land and against its inhabitants, and against all these nations roundabout..." | Instrument of judgment |
| Jeremiah 25:31 | "A clamor has come to the end of the earth, for the Lord has an indictment against the nations. He is entering into judgment with all flesh, and the wicked he will put to the sword, declares the Lord." | Lord’s judgment on all nations |
| Jeremiah 51:62 | "Then you shall say, 'O Lord, you have spoken concerning this place, to cut it off, so that none shall dwell in it, from man to beast, and that it shall be a desolation forever.'" | Desolation of the land |
| Ezekiel 5:12 | "A third part of you shall die by pestilence and be consumed by famine, and a third part shall fall by the sword among the surrounding nations, and a third part I will scatter to every wind..." | Divided judgment, sword, famine |
| Ezekiel 6:7 | "So shall my slain fall among them, and they shall know that I am the Lord." | The slain are a sign of God’s action |
| Hosea 13:8 | "I will meet them like a bear robbed of her cubs, and I will tear open the fortress of their heart. I will devour them there like a lion; the wild beasts shall tear them apart." | Devouring judgment imagery |
| Amos 5:3 | "For thus says the Lord God: The city that lists a thousand shall have a hundred remaining, and that which lists a hundred shall have ten remaining." | Depopulation through judgment |
| Revelation 6:8 | "And I looked, and behold a pale horse! And its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed him. And they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth." | Sword, famine, pestilence, beasts |
| Deuteronomy 28:26 | "Your dead bodies shall be food for all birds of the air and for the wild beasts of the earth, and there shall be no one to frighten them away." | Dead as food for birds and beasts |
| 2 Samuel 21:10 | "And Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock from the beginning of harvest until rain fell from the heavens on the bodies. And she did not let the birds of the air come upon them by day, nor the wild beasts of the field by night." | Need for covering the dead to prevent defilement by scavengers |
| Psalm 91:3 | "He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence." | Pestilence as a tool of God |
| Isaiah 1:3 | "The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master's crib, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand." | Israel’s lack of understanding |
| John 14:6 | "Jesus said to him, 'I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.'" | True life through Christ, contrast with death |
| Revelation 18:7 | "To the degree that she glorified herself and indulged in insolence, give her a like measure of torment and mourning, because she sits in splendor." | Judgment fitting to sin |
| Matthew 24:28 | "Wherever the corpse is, there the vultures will gather." | Carcasses attracting scavengers |
| Romans 1:29-31 | "...full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless." | Listing of sins leading to judgment |
| Genesis 3:19 | "By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; you are dust, and to dust you shall return." | Return to dust as the consequence of sin |
| Romans 11:22 | "Note then the kindness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God’s kindness to you, provided you continue in his kindness. Otherwise you too will be cut off." | Severity and kindness of God |
Jeremiah 25 verses
Jeremiah 25 33 Meaning
The Lord proclaims a coming devastation upon the slain, left unlamented and ungathered. The deceased will be like dung on the earth, a stark depiction of complete destruction and absence of honor. This judgment signifies God’s unmitigated wrath.
Jeremiah 25 33 Context
Jeremiah 25:15-38 describes God’s judgment upon the nations for their sins, culminating in a message for Judah about their own impending destruction and scattering due to their unfaithfulness. This particular verse, Jeremiah 25:33, vividly paints the picture of the utter ruin that will befall those who are killed during the impending Babylonian invasion and siege. It serves as a grim but necessary pronouncement of the consequences of prolonged disobedience and rejection of God's warnings. The surrounding verses detail the scope of this judgment, indicating that the slain will not be few and will be left unburied and unmourned, a fate considered a profound disgrace in ancient Near Eastern cultures. The entire chapter is a prelude to the Babylonian exile and emphasizes that God’s justice will be executed upon all the earth, beginning with Judah.
Jeremiah 25 33 Word Analysis
- And: Connects this verse to the preceding statement of widespread death.
- lo: (Hebrew: לוּ - lu) Expresses a wish or hypothetical, translated as "Behold," "Look," or "Surely." Here, it acts as an exclamation drawing attention to a significant and grim future event.
- slain: (Hebrew: חֲלָלִים - chalalim) Plural form of chalal. From the root chalal meaning to pierce, to wound, to profane, to desecrate. It refers to those who have been killed, specifically in battle or by violent means, suggesting a violent end. This word can also carry connotations of being pierced or wounded.
- shall be: Future tense.
- as: Indicates comparison.
- dung: (Hebrew: דֶּמֶן - demen) Means dung, manure, refuse. It signifies something utterly worthless, discarded, and loathsome. This metaphor emphasizes the utter desecration and indignity of the dead.
- upon: Preposition indicating location.
- the face: (Hebrew: פְּנֵי - penei) The surface, front part. "Upon the face of the earth" emphasizes that the extent of the carnage will cover the land's surface.
- of the earth: (Hebrew: הָאֲדָמָה - ha'adamah) The ground, the soil, the earth.
Words-group analysis:
- "lo, the slain shall be": A powerful call to attention concerning the fate of those killed. The exclamation marks the gravity of the coming destruction.
- "as dung upon the face of the earth": This is a visceral and brutal metaphor. In ancient societies, unburied dead were not only a sign of God's disfavor but also an insult to human dignity and societal order. Dung is something trodden underfoot, utterly without value. To equate the slain with dung underscores their utter destitution and the completeness of their annihilation, left for animals and natural decay without proper burial rites or remembrance. This was the ultimate disgrace, a sign of complete rejection by God and man.
Jeremiah 25 33 Bonus Section
The practice of proper burial was highly valued in the ancient Near East as it was believed to ensure peace for the deceased in the afterlife and maintain the honor of the living family. Being left unburied, and especially being left like refuse, was a profound curse and a marker of being utterly forsaken. This verse reflects the seriousness with which God viewed apostasy and the ultimate consequences for those who turned away from Him. The prophet's message underscores that God's justice is thorough and that the judgments described were not metaphorical but literal and devastating consequences for sin.
Jeremiah 25 33 Commentary
Jeremiah 25:33 is a chilling pronouncement of judgment, detailing the fate of those killed by the sword. The comparison to "dung upon the face of the earth" is not merely descriptive but deeply symbolic. It highlights the complete reversal of honor and the utter worthlessness in which God would regard His enemies, and even His disobedient people. This level of desecration signifies that the slain would be so numerous and their situation so dire that they would not even be given the basic respect of burial. They would be left to the elements and the creatures that consume carrion, serving as a visible, putrid testament to God's wrath. This imagery aligns with other biblical passages describing divine judgment, emphasizing finality and utter destruction, stripping away all pretense of life and dignity. It's a severe warning of what happens when a nation rejects its covenant God.