Text -- Jeremiah 4:23 (NET)

4:23 “I looked at the land and saw that it was an empty wasteland. I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.

Commentary -- Verse Notes / Footnotes

NET Notes: Jer 4:23

¹ tn Heb “I looked at the land and behold...” This indicates the visionary character of Jeremiah’s description of the future condition of the land of Israel.

² tn Heb “formless and empty.” This is a case of hendiadys (two nouns joined by “and” both describe the same thing): one noun retains its full nominal force, the other functions as an adjective. The words תֹהוּ וָבֹהוּ (tohu vavohu) allude to Gen 1:2, hyperbolically picturing a reversal of creation and return to the original precreation chaos.