23
I looked atרָאִיתִיthe earth,אֶת הָאָרֶץand look,וְהִנֵּהit was formlessתֹהוּand void;וָבֹהוּand to the heavens,וְאֶל הַשָּׁמַיִםand their lightאוֹרָםwas not there.וְאֵין
Jeremiah 4:23
Study it in the app“I looked at the earth, and look, it was formless and void; and to the heavens, and their light was not there.”
With the Hebrew beneath
Jeremiah 4:23, word by word
- I looked atרָאִיתִיraiti
see
To see with one's eyes.
Where else “raiti” appears- the earthאָרֶץarets
earth
The whole world, everything under the sky.
Where else “arets” appears- it was formlessתֹהוּtohu
formlessness
Without form or order, like the earth at first, or a desolate place.
Where else “tohu” appears- and voidבֹהוּvohu
void
Empty, void, with nothing and no one. It appears with the previous word ("formless and void") to describe the earth before God set it in order and filled it with life.
Where else “vohu” appears- and to the heavensשָּׁמַיִםshamayim
sky
The high space seen above the earth, where the birds, clouds, sun and stars are.
Where else “shamayim” appears- and their lightאוֹרָora
light
The brightness that comes from the sun, the day or a lamp and lets one see.
Where else “ora” appears
Translation note
“Formless and void” are the words of Genesis 1:2: the earth is left again as it was before creation.
The context
22“For my people is foolish; me they do not know. They are senseless children, and they are not discerning. They are wise to do evil, but to do good they do not know.”
23 · This verse (above)
24I looked at the mountains, and look, they were quaking, and all the hills were swaying.