4:23 “I looked at the land and saw 1 that it was an empty wasteland. 2
I looked up at the sky, and its light had vanished.
4:24 I looked at the mountains and saw that they were shaking.
All the hills were swaying back and forth!
20:11 Then 9 I saw a large 10 white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven 11 fled 12 from his presence, and no place was found for them.
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.
3 sn The words that Jesus predicts here will never pass away. They are more stable and lasting than creation itself. For this kind of image, see Isa 40:8; 55:10-11.
4 tn Grk “answering, he said to them.” The participle ἀποκριθείς (ajpokriqei") is redundant in English and has not been translated.
5 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
6 sn With the statement not one stone will be left on another Jesus predicted the total destruction of the temple, something that did occur in
7 tn Grk “not one stone will be left here on another which will not be thrown down.”
8 sn Laid at the root. That is, placed and aimed, ready to begin cutting.
9 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence within the narrative.
10 tn Traditionally, “great,” but μέγας (megas) here refers to size rather than importance.
11 tn Or “and the sky.” The same Greek word means both “heaven” and “sky,” and context usually determines which is meant. In this apocalyptic scene, however, it is difficult to be sure what referent to assign the term.
12 tn Or “vanished.”