Yeremia 4:25

4:25 I looked and saw that there were no more people, ¹ 

and that all the birds in the sky had flown away.

Yeremia 12:4

12:4 How long must the land be parched ² 

and the grass in every field be withered?

How long ³  must the animals and the birds die

because of the wickedness of the people who live in this land? ⁴ 

For these people boast,

“God ⁵  will not see what happens to us.” ⁶ 

Hosea 4:3

4:3 Therefore the land will mourn,

and all its inhabitants will perish. ⁷ 

The wild animals, ⁸  the birds of the sky,

and even the fish in the sea will perish.

Yoel 1:18

1:18 Listen to the cattle groan! ⁹ 

The herds of livestock wander around in confusion ¹⁰ 

because they have no pasture.

Even the flocks of sheep are suffering.

[4:25]  ¹ tn Heb “there was no man/human being.”

[12:4]  ² tn The verb here is often translated “mourn.” However, this verb is from a homonymic root meaning “to be dry” (cf. HALOT 7 s.v. II אָבַל and compare Hos 4:3 for usage).

[12:4]  ³ tn The words “How long” are not in the text. They are carried over from the first line.

[12:4]  ⁴ tn Heb “because of the wickedness of those who live in it.”

[12:4]  ⁵ tn Heb “he.” The referent is usually identified as God and is supplied here for clarity. Some identify the referent with Jeremiah. If that is the case, then he returns to his complaint about the conspirators. It is more likely, however, that it refers to God and Jeremiah’s complaint that the people live their lives apart from concern about God.

[12:4]  ⁶ tc Or reading with the Greek version, “God does not see what we are doing.” In place of “what will happen to us (אַחֲרִיתֵנוּ, ’akharitenu, “our end”) the Greek version understands a Hebrew text which reads “our ways” (אָרְחוֹתֵנו, ’orkhotenu), which is graphically very close to the MT. The Masoretic is supported by the Latin and is retained here on the basis of external evidence. Either text makes good sense in the context. Some identify the “he” with Jeremiah and understand the text to be saying that the conspirators are certain that they will succeed and he will not live to see his prophecies fulfilled.

[12:4]  sn The words here may be an outright rejection of the Lord’s words in Deut 32:20, which is part of a song that was to be taught to Israel in the light of their predicted rejection of the Lord.

[4:3]  ⁷ tn Or “languish” (so KJV, NRSV); NIV “waste away.”

[4:3]  ⁸ tn Heb “the beasts of the field” (so NAB, NIV).

[1:18]  ⁹ tn Heb “how the cattle groan!”

[1:18]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “the herds of cattle are confused.” The verb בּוּךְ (bukh, “be confused”) sometimes refers to wandering aimlessly in confusion (cf. Exod 14:3).