Jeremiah 7:33 kjv
And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.
Jeremiah 7:33 nkjv
The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth. And no one will frighten them away.
Jeremiah 7:33 niv
Then the carcasses of this people will become food for the birds and the wild animals, and there will be no one to frighten them away.
Jeremiah 7:33 esv
And the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the air, and for the beasts of the earth, and none will frighten them away.
Jeremiah 7:33 nlt
The bodies of my people will be food for the vultures and wild animals, and no one will be left to scare them away.
Jeremiah 7 33 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Jer 7:33 | "and the dead bodies of this people shall be food for the fowls of the heaven and for the beasts of the earth" | Deut 28:26 (Similar curse for disobedience) |
| Isa 18:6 | "They shall be left together to the mountain birds of prey and to the wild beasts of the earth" | Eze 39:4, 17 (Prophecy of unburied dead as food for birds) |
| Psa 79:2 | "They have given the dead bodies of your servants as food to the birds of the heavens, the flesh of your saints to the beasts of the ground." | Rev 11:7-10 (Beast consuming dead bodies) |
| Eze 32:4 | "and I will cast you on the ground; on the open field I will fling you and cause all the birds of the heavens to settle on you, and I will satisfy the beasts of the whole earth with you." | Lev 26:22 (Beasts will increase and devour them) |
| Jer 19:7 | "and I will dash them against each other, even the fathers and the sons, says the Lord. I will not pity or spare or have mercy, that I should not destroy them." | Jer 22:30 (Jeconiah childless curse, scattering) |
| Jer 25:33 | "And those the Lord slays on that day shall be at one end of the earth to the other. They shall not be lamented, gathered, or buried; they shall be dung on the surface of the ground." | Jer 7:32 (Idol worship leading to destruction) |
| Jer 14:16 | "and the people to whom they prophesy shall be cast out in the streets of Jerusalem because of the famine and the sword; they have none to bury them..." | Jer 20:4-6 (Jeremiah’s suffering, foreshadowing punishment) |
| Deut 32:24 | "With extreme hunger they shall be wasted, and devoured by pestilence and bitter destruction; I will send the teeth of beasts against them, with the venom of crawling things that slither in the dust." | Psa 91:13 (Treading on lions and cobras) |
| Hosea 13:8 | "I will meet them like a bear robbed of her cubs; I will tear open the cavity of their heart. I will devour them there like a lion; the wild beast shall rip them apart." | Hosea 13:14 (Death for the ungodly) |
| Nahum 3:10 | "yet she was carried away, she went into captivity; her little ones were dashed in pieces at the head of every street..." | Jer 50:16 (Assyria's judgment) |
| Luke 13:28-29 | "There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And there will be people from east and west, and from north and south, eating and reclining at table in the kingdom of God." | Matt 8:11-12 (Gentiles from everywhere in God's kingdom) |
| Acts 7:42-43 | "But God turned and gave them up to serve the host of heaven..." | Deut 4:19 (Worship of sun, moon, stars) |
| Rev 19:17-18 | "Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and he cried out with a loud voice to all the birds that fly below the heavens, 'Come, gather for the great supper of God, so that you may eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of commanders, the flesh of mighty men, the flesh of horses and of their riders, and the flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.'" | Eze 39:17-20 (Feast for birds after Gog's defeat) |
| Jer 7:21-23 | "But this is what the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, says: Add your burnt offerings to your sacrifices, and eat the flesh. For when I brought your fathers out of the land of Egypt, I did not speak to them or command them concerning burnt offerings and sacrifices." | Isa 1:11-13 (God weary of offerings) |
| Jer 7:29-30 | "Cut off your hair and cast it away; and raise a lamentation on the bare heights, for the Lord has rejected and forsaken the generation of his wrath." | Jer 3:6-8 (Israel's harlotry) |
| Deut 28:64 | "The Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other..." | Jer 7:15 (Rejection of Jerusalem) |
| Lev 17:10-11 | "But no one among you shall eat any blood, whether it be from a fowl or from a beast, in whatever place you live." | Acts 15:29 (Apostles decree regarding blood) |
| Eze 43:9 | "Now then, let them put away from me their prostitutions and the corpses of their kings, and I will dwell among them forever." | Jer 10:8 (Idolatry's corruption) |
| Jer 32:29 | "The Chaldeans who fight against this city shall come and set fire to this city and burn it, with the houses on whose roofs they have offered incense to Baal and on which they have poured out drink offerings to other gods, to provoke me to anger." | Jer 32:35 (God not commanding abominations) |
| Zech 1:5-6 | "Your fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live forever? Yet my words and my statutes, which I commanded my servants the prophets, did they not overtake your fathers?" | Zech 7:11-12 (Rejection of God's words) |
| Jer 12:4 | "How long will the land mourn and the green fields be withered? For the wickedness of those who dwell in it, the beasts have been consumed and driven away." | Jer 12:1-3 (Jeremiah's complaint about wickedness) |
Jeremiah 7 verses
Jeremiah 7 33 Meaning
This verse describes the grim consequence of continued disobedience: their dead bodies will be food for the birds and wild animals, and no one will disturb them. This signifies utter desolation and abandonment by God, leaving them vulnerable to scavengers without anyone to care for them or drive them away.
Jeremiah 7 33 Context
This verse is part of Jeremiah's "Temple Sermon" (Jeremiah 7:1-15). Jeremiah is sent by God to prophesy against the people who are coming to worship at the Temple, believing their ritualistic worship would protect them from destruction, despite their ongoing sins of idolatry, injustice, and immorality. He condemns their false security, warning them that their physical location in Jerusalem and their religious practices are not shields from God's judgment. The Temple itself, a symbol of God's presence, will be defiled and destroyed because of their wickedness. This verse vividly illustrates the consequence of God's abandonment and the ultimate desecration of their dead, showing the totality of the coming devastation.
Jeremiah 7 33 Word Analysis
- וְהָי֤וּ (wə·hō·wê): And they shall be. The conjunctive "waw" (וְ) indicates sequence or consequence, following the preceding declarations of judgment. "Hāyā" (הָיָה) means "to be," signifying a future state or outcome.
- פִּגְרֵ֣י (pə·ḡə·rê): the corpses/bodies. This plural form of "pāger" (פֶּגֶר) specifically denotes a dead body, often one that is unburied or left as carrion. It emphasizes the degradation and lack of proper burial rites.
- הָעָם־ (hā·ʿām-): of the people. The definite article "ha" (הָ) denotes specificity, referring to "this people" mentioned earlier in the chapter. "ʿām" (עָם) means people or nation.
- לְמַאֲכַ֣ל (lə·ma·’ă·ḵāl): for food. The preposition "lĕ" (לְ) indicates purpose or destination. "Ma'akal" (מַאֲכָל) refers to food or something to be eaten.
- לְע֣וֹף (lə·‘ō·wep̄): for the fowl. "ʿōp̄" (עוֹפֶה) refers to birds, especially flying creatures.
- הַשָּׁמַיִם֙ (haš·šā·ma·yim): of the heavens. The plural form of "shamayim" (שָׁמַיִם) for heavens or sky.
- וּלְבֶהֱמַ֣ת (wə·lə·ḇeh·hĕ·maṯ): and for the beasts. The conjunction "waw" (וְ) connects this to the previous. "Behemāh" (בְּהֵמָה) can mean beast, cattle, or domestic animal, but here likely refers to wild beasts or livestock that might scavenge.
- הָ֔אֶרֶץ (hā·’ɛ·rɛṣ): of the earth. "Eretz" (אֶרֶץ) means land or earth.
- וְאֵין֙ (wə·’ên): and there is no. This "waw" introduces a negation. "Ein" (אֵין) signifies absence or lack.
- מְֿגֹרֵ֔שׁ (mə·ḡō·rêš): one to scare them away. The participle of "garash" (גָּרַשׁ) means to drive away, expel, or chase off. It implies no one will be present to deter the scavengers.
Group Analysis:
- "corpses of this people" (פִּגְרֵי הָעָם): This phrase starkly contrasts the reverence expected for God's people with the ignominy of being left as carrion.
- "food for the fowl of the heavens and for the beasts of the earth": This imagery, common in prophetic literature, emphasizes utter ruin and desolation. It signifies a complete loss of dignity and a perversion of the natural order, where humans, made in God's image, become mere sustenance for animals.
- "and there is no one to scare them away": This underscores the profound abandonment. Not only will the people die in great numbers, but their final state will be one of absolute dereliction, with no mourners, no burial, and no protectors against the scavengers.
Jeremiah 7 33 Bonus Section
The practice of leaving the dead unburied and exposed to animals was a sign of extreme dishonor and a cursed fate in the ancient Near East. In contrast, proper burial was seen as crucial for the continuation of lineage and a testament to community and divine blessing. The prophets used this grim imagery to communicate the severe nature of God's judgment, suggesting a state worse than mere death – it was a complete undoing and defilement of the human person and societal order. This prophetic language is echoed in the New Testament, particularly in the Book of Revelation, which depicts final judgment in similar terms, showing the enduring symbolic weight of such pronouncements across biblical history.
Jeremiah 7 33 Commentary
Jeremiah 7:33 pronounces a harsh judgment upon the unfaithful people of Judah. Despite their presence at the Temple, their hearts were far from God, filled with idolatry and injustice. This verse predicts that their corpses will not receive the customary burial rites, nor will anyone mourn them or drive away the scavenging birds and beasts. This fate is a direct consequence of their rejection of God's covenant and commands. It signifies complete social and spiritual collapse. The imagery is designed to shock the audience into realizing the devastating extent of God's coming wrath. The lack of anyone to deter the scavengers highlights a total absence of protection, human care, and divine favor, leaving the dead to the indignity of becoming food for animals. This serves as a potent warning against misplaced trust in rituals over genuine obedience and righteousness.