Be astonished, O heavens, at this, And be horribly afraid; Be very desolate,” says the Lord.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Be astonished, you heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid. Be very desolate,” says Yahweh.
- KJV Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.
- BSB Be stunned by this, O heavens; be shocked and utterly appalled,” declares the LORD.
- ESV Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD,
- NASB “Be appalled at this, you heavens, And shudder, be very desolate,” declares the Lord.
- NLT The heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay,” says the Lord.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God calls the heavens to be appalled at Israel's apostasy. The offense is cosmic in scale.
Overview
Yahweh summons the heavens to be astonished, horrified, and desolate at His people's betrayal. The personified heavens act as witnesses in the covenant lawsuit, as in Moses' song. That creation itself should shudder underscores how monstrous it is to forsake the Creator.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Isa 1:2Hear, heavens, and listen, earth; for Yahweh has spoken: “I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me.
- Jer 22:29O earth, earth, earth, hear Yahweh’s word!
- Mic 6:2Hear, you mountains, Yahweh’s controversy, and you enduring foundations of the earth; for Yahweh has a controversy with his people, and he will contend with Israel.
- Jer 6:19Hear, earth! Behold, I will bring evil on this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not listened to my words; and as for my law, they have rejected it.
- Deut 32:1Give ear, you heavens, and I will speak. Let the earth hear the words of my mouth.
- Matt 27:45Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.
- Matt 27:50–53Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit.
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Commentaries & study tools
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Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 2:12 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.