Bible Strands
Jeremiah 4:13
Behold, he advances like the clouds, his chariots like the whirlwind. His horses are swifter than eagles. Woe to us, for we are ruined!
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Jeremiah pronounces this oracle against Judah immediately after warning that an unstoppable wind of judgment is coming from God. The prophet addresses the nation at the precise moment of impending military collapse and national ruin.
The words — The Hebrew יַעֲלֶה (ya.'a.Leh) means "he is going up," directly modifying the simile כַּ/עֲנָנִ֣ים (ka./'a.na.Nim) for "like clouds." The verb קַלּ֥וּ (ka.Lu) literally states "they are swift" when describing the enemy's horses.
The thread — This motif of divine judgment advancing on clouds and chariots appears in Isaiah 19:1 and Isaiah 66:15, where God Himself rides the storm to execute anger against nations.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment of an unavoidable invading force as the direct mechanism of coming judgment. It forces the reader to sit with the reality of total ruin before the immediate command to repent in the next verse.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Behold, he shall come up as clouds, and his chariots shall be as a whirlwind: his horses are swifter than eagles. Woe unto us! for we are spoiled.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 19:1 This is the burden against Egypt: Behold, the LORD rides on a swift cloud; He is coming to Egypt. The idols of Egypt will tremble before Him, and the hearts of the Egyptians will melt within them.
- Isaiah 66:15 For behold, the LORD will come with fire—His chariots are like a whirlwind—to execute His anger with fury and His rebuke with flames of fire.
- Isaiah 5:28 Their arrows are sharpened, and all their bows are strung. The hooves of their horses are like flint; their chariot wheels are like a whirlwind.
- Lamentations 4:19 Those who chased us were swifter than the eagles in the sky; they pursued us over the mountains and ambushed us in the wilderness.
- Habakkuk 1:8 Their horses are swifter than leopards, fiercer than wolves of the night. Their horsemen charge ahead, and their cavalry comes from afar. They fly like a vulture, swooping down to devour.
- Deuteronomy 28:49 The LORD will bring a nation from afar, from the ends of the earth, to swoop down upon you like an eagle—a nation whose language you will not understand,
- Isaiah 13:5 They are coming from faraway lands, from the ends of the heavens—the LORD and the weapons of His wrath—to destroy the whole country.
- Nahum 1:3 The LORD is slow to anger and great in power; the LORD will by no means leave the guilty unpunished. His path is in the whirlwind and storm, and clouds are the dust beneath His feet.
- Jeremiah 4:31 For I hear a cry like a woman in labor, a cry of anguish like one bearing her first child—the cry of the Daughter of Zion gasping for breath, stretching out her hands to say, “Woe is me, for my soul faints before the murderers!”
- Revelation 1:7 Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him—even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen.