I beheld, and, lo, there was no man, and all the birds of the heavens were fled.
Parallel translations
- WEB I saw, and behold, there was no man, and all the birds of the sky had fled.
- BSB I looked, and no man was left; all the birds of the air had 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 1:2–3I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD.
- Jer 12:4How long shall the land mourn, and the herbs of every field wither, for the wickedness of them that dwell therein? the beasts are consumed, and the birds; because they said, He shall not see our last end.
- Hos 4:3Therefore shall the land mourn, and every one that dwelleth therein shall languish, with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven; yea, the fishes of the sea also shall be taken away.
- Jer 9:10For the mountains will I take up a weeping and wailing, and for the habitations of the wilderness a lamentation, because they are burned up, so that none can pass through them; neither can men hear the voice of the cattle; both the fowl of the heavens and the beast are fled; they are gone.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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.