I looked, and no man was left; all the birds of the air had fled.
Parallel translations
- WEB I saw, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the sky had fled.
- KJV I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
- NKJV I beheld, and indeed there was no man, And all the birds of the heavens had fled.
- NASB I looked, and behold, there was no human, And all the birds of the sky had fled.
- NLT I looked, and all the people were gone. All the birds of the sky had flown away.
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
In the vision there is no human being and even the birds have fled. It matters because it shows judgment emptying the land of all life.
Overview
Jeremiah beholds a world without people and without birds, a desolation total and lifeless. The vibrant creation God filled is stripped bare under judgment. Such emptiness magnifies the horror of sin's outcome and heightens longing for the restored, life-filled creation God promises (Zephaniah 1:3).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Zeph 1:2–3“I will completely sweep away everything from the face of the earth,” declares the LORD.
- Jer 12:4How long will the land mourn and the grass of every field be withered? Because of the evil of its residents, the animals and birds have been swept away, for the people have said, “He cannot see what our end will be.”
- Hos 4:3Therefore the land mourns, and all who dwell in it will waste away with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air; even the fish of the sea disappear.
- Jer 9:10I will take up a weeping and wailing for the mountains, a dirge over the wilderness pasture, for they have been scorched so no one passes through, and the lowing of cattle is not heard. Both the birds of the air and the beasts have fled; they have gone away.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 4:25 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.