Jeremiah 4 25

Jeremiah 4:25 kjv

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

Jeremiah 4:25 nkjv

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

Jeremiah 4:25 niv

I looked, and there were no people; every bird in the sky had flown away.

Jeremiah 4:25 esv

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

Jeremiah 4:25 nlt

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

Jeremiah 4 verses

Jeremiah 4 25 Meaning

Jeremiah 4:25 presents a stark and terrifying vision, a prophet's eyewitness account of an utterly desolate land. The verse describes a scene where Jeremiah "looked, and there was no man," signifying the complete eradication of humanity from the land. This is immediately followed by "And all the birds of the heavens had fled," indicating that even animal life, specifically those inhabiting the air, had completely vanished or departed, leaving an uninhabited, life-void landscape. It depicts a state of complete emptiness and lifelessness, a profound reversal of God's original creation.

Jeremiah 4 25 Context

Jeremiah 4:25 is part of a prophetic passage (Jeremiah 4:5-31) describing the imminent and devastating judgment upon Judah. Following God's initial plea for repentance (vv. 1-4), Jeremiah delivers vivid pronouncements of an invading army from the north—likely referring to the Babylonians. The prophet paints a grim picture of destruction that will overwhelm the land. The immediate context of verses 23-26 is Jeremiah's deeply distressing vision of the earth reverting to a state of primal chaos, known as tohu vavohu, reminiscent of Genesis 1:2. This particular verse, Jeremiah 4:25, is one of several observations made by the prophet within this "de-creation" vision.

Historically, Judah in Jeremiah’s time was in a state of spiritual decline, riddled with idolatry, injustice, and false prophecy, despite various reform efforts. Jeremiah's prophecies served as a warning against relying on geopolitical alliances or the mere presence of the temple for protection. The judgment described here is a direct consequence of their covenant unfaithfulness. Culturally, the idea of a land being without man or beasts, particularly birds, was an ultimate symbol of utter devastation, reversing the blessing of fruitfulness and abundance, and signifying divine wrath so severe that life itself recoils and vanishes. This also served as a polemic against surrounding pagan beliefs, such as the Canaanite fertility god Baal, who was thought to bring life and abundance; here, Yahweh, the God of Israel, demonstrates His supreme power by undoing all life when provoked by sin.

Jeremiah 4 25 Word analysis

• I looked (Hebrew: רָאִיתִי - ra'iti):
  • This is the first-person singular form of the verb "to see" or "to look."
  • It indicates Jeremiah’s personal, immediate experience of a divinely granted vision or revelation. This is not mere speculation but a profound spiritual observation of future events, seen as though happening in the present.
  • It conveys the intensity of the prophetic experience and establishes Jeremiah as an eyewitness to the unfolding horror.
• and there was no man (Hebrew: וְהִנֵּה אָדָם אָיִן - vəhinneh ’adam ’ayin):
  • וְהִנֵּה (vəhinneh): "And behold!" An exclamation drawing immediate attention to a shocking or significant observation.
  • אָדָם (’adam): "Man, humankind, humanity." This term is general and comprehensive, referring to all human beings, male and female.
  • אָיִן (’ayin): "Nothing, not, naught, non-existent, nowhere." This strong negative term emphasizes absolute absence and void.
  • Significance: The phrase declares the complete eradication or absence of human life. It signifies a desolation so absolute that humanity, God's crowning creation, has vanished from the land, reversing the command to "be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth" (Gen 1:28).
• And all the birds of the heavens (Hebrew: וְכָל־עוֹף הַשָּׁמַיִם - vəḵol-‘oph haššamayim):
  • וְכָל־ (vəḵol-): "And all, and every." Highlights the totality and comprehensive nature of this disappearance, not just a few but all birds.
  • עוֹף (‘oph): "Flying creatures, fowl, birds." Represents the animal kingdom, specifically those that inhabit the air. In Genesis, birds were created to "fly above the earth across the expanse of the heavens" (Gen 1:20-21).
  • הַשָּׁמַיִם (haššamayim): "The heavens, the sky." Refers to the domain of the birds, emphasizing the vastness of the area from which they have fled.
  • Significance: The disappearance of even common birds is a powerful symbol of desolation. Birds are usually abundant and often associated with life, movement, and the natural cycle. Their complete absence signifies that the devastation is so profound that even resilient natural life cannot endure, reflecting an environmental collapse beyond typical disaster.
• had fled (Hebrew: נָדָדוּ - nadadū):
  • From the root נָדַד (nadad): "To flee, to wander, to depart, to be removed, to vanish." This verb suggests an active, deliberate departure due to unbearable circumstances, rather than simply being dead or gone.
  • Significance: The active fleeing implies that the conditions are so terrifying or unbearable that the natural inhabitants of the air consciously abandon the land. It is a world recoiling from divine judgment, leaving a sterile, silent void.

• Words-group Analysis:
  • "I looked... and there was no man...": This establishes the deeply personal, eyewitness nature of the vision, immediately plunging the prophet into the absolute absence of humanity, highlighting a profound societal and existential void.
  • "And all the birds of the heavens had fled": This phrase extends the desolation from humanity to the natural world. The use of "all" (כָל) emphasizes comprehensiveness, indicating that no life form, not even the typically ubiquitous birds, can remain. This reversal of creation signifies that life itself is abandoning the cursed land, reinforcing the severity of the impending judgment. The imagery directly counters the divine blessing of populating creation.

Jeremiah 4 25 Bonus section

• The sequence of "de-creation" in Jeremiah 4:23-26 remarkably parallels the creation narrative in Genesis 1. Jeremiah "looks" and sees a world returning to formless and void (v. 23), then darkness where light was (v. 23), then no humans (v. 25, countering the creation of man on day 6), and no birds (v. 25, countering creation of birds on day 5), then no fruitful ground (v. 26), and no cities (v. 26, where civilization would thrive). This deliberate parallelism underscores the total undoing of God's blessings.
• The active flight of the birds (נָדָדוּ - nadadū) implies that the judgment is not passive death, but a terrifying reality from which even resilient creatures choose to escape. This intensifies the horror of the desolation, making it an uninhabitable place by choice, not just by force.
• While the language is cosmic and absolute, it functions as hyperbole to express the unfathomable depth of the destruction coming upon Judah. It magnifies the suffering and loss, not necessarily predicting a literal worldwide eradication, but emphasizing the felt experience of utter emptiness in the devastated land.
• Jeremiah's deep emotional response in Jer 4:19-22 precedes and sets the stage for this terrifying vision, indicating the personal anguish the prophet experienced as he foresaw this level of national calamity.

Jeremiah 4 25 Commentary

Jeremiah 4:25 encapsulates a vision of ultimate desolation, where the world is stripped bare of its inhabitants, both human and animal. This scene, observed by the prophet, represents an extreme form of God's judgment upon Judah's persistent sin. It is more than just destruction; it is a profound act of "de-creation," undoing the divine order and abundance established in Genesis. The absence of "man" points to a complete depopulation, signifying that Judah would not only be defeated and exiled, but the land itself would become uninhabitable. The flight of "all the birds of the heavens" further intensifies this picture of abandonment, showing that even wild creatures recoil from the profound cursedness of the land, leaving it utterly silent and sterile. This shocking imagery serves as a dire warning: continued disobedience would lead to a reversion to tohu vavohu, where creation's purpose is annulled by God's righteous wrath.