Jeremiah 7:33
in Jeremiah 7The corpses of this people will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth, and there will be no one to scare them away.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the dead bodies of this people shall be food for the birds of the heavens, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall frighten them away.
KJV
And the carcases of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth; and none shall fray them away.
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This verse in Jeremiah 7
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd the carcasses of this people shall be meat for the fowls of the heaven, and for the beasts of the earth,.... That is, those which remain unburied, for which there will be found no place to bury them in; all places, particularly Tophet, being so full of dead bodies; not to have a burial, which is here threatened, was accounted a great judgment: and none shall fray them away; or frighten them away; that is, drive away the fowls and the beasts from the carcasses.
This site's exposition
but the Valley of Slaughter
on Jeremiah 7:32-34
The valley is renamed “the Valley of Slaughter”. The sounds of joy and gladness and the voices of bride and bridegroom fall silent, echoed over Babylon in Revelation 18:23. The sermon that opened at the temple gate closes with the land “a wasteland”.
This site's exposition
there will be no one to scare them away
Gill notes that to lie unburied was counted a great judgment in Israel. The verse leaves the dead with no one even to drive the birds and beasts away from them. Topheth has run out of room.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 32, 33.) Therefore, behold the days are coming, says the Lord, and it shall no longer be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth until there is no more room. The corpses of this people will be food for the birds of the air and the animals of the earth, and there will be no one to frighten them away.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Nay, it is a piece of divinity, in expectation of what the dead body shall be at the resurrection. The want of it has sometimes been an instance of the rage of men against God's witnesses, Rev. xi. Here it is threatened as an instance of the wrath of God against his enemies, and is an intimation that evil pursues sinners even after death.
5 For if ye throughly amend your ways and your doings; if ye throughly execute judgment between a man and his neighbour; 6 If ye oppress not the stranger, the fatherless, and the widow, and shed not innocent blood in this place, neither walk after other gods to your hurt: 7 Then will I cause you to dwell in this place, in the land that I gave to your fathers, for ever and ever.
quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture
The words behind it
11 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְֽהָ֨יְתָ֜ה | vehayetah | and it will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| נִבְלַ֨ת | nivlat | [the] corpse[s] of | H5038 → | 48 times |
| הָעָ֤ם | haam | the people | H5971 → | 1873 times |
| הַזֶּה֙ | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| לְמַֽאֲכָ֔ל | lemaakhal | <into> food | H3978 → | 30 times |
| לְע֥וֹף | leof | for [the] bird[s] of | H5775 → | 71 times |
| הַשָּׁמַ֖יִם | hashamayim | the heavens | H8064 → | 421 times |
| וּלְבֶהֱמַ֣ת | ulevehemat | and for [the] animal[s] of | H929 → | 190 times |
| הָאָ֑רֶץ | haaretz | the earth | H776 → | 2504 times |
| וְאֵ֖ין | veein | and there not | H369 → | 789 times |
| מַחֲרִֽיד׃ | macharid | [will be one who] terrifies | H2729 → | 39 times |
וְֽהָ֨יְתָ֜הand it will become
vehayetahH1961 →3559 times
נִבְלַ֨ת[the] corpse[s] of
nivlatH5038 →48 times
הָעָ֤םthe people
haamH5971 →1873 times
הַזֶּה֙<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
לְמַֽאֲכָ֔ל<into> food
lemaakhalH3978 →30 times
לְע֥וֹףfor [the] bird[s] of
leofH5775 →71 times
הַשָּׁמַ֖יִםthe heavens
hashamayimH8064 →421 times
וּלְבֶהֱמַ֣תand for [the] animal[s] of
ulevehematH929 →190 times
הָאָ֑רֶץthe earth
haaretzH776 →2504 times
וְאֵ֖יןand there not
veeinH369 →789 times
מַחֲרִֽיד׃[will be one who] terrifies
macharidH2729 →39 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Deuteronomy 28:26Your corpses will be food for all the birds of the air and beasts of the earth, with no one to scare them away.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 34:20
I will deliver into the hands of their enemies who seek their lives. Their corpses will become food for the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Jeremiah 16:4
“They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will…
- Jeremiah 19:7
And in this place I will ruin the plans of Judah and Jerusalem. I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies, by the hands of those who seek their lives, and…
- Jeremiah 34:20
Through
Jeremiah 16:4“They will die from deadly diseases. They will not be mourned or buried, but will lie like dung on the ground. They will be finished off by sword and famine, and their corpses will…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 25:33
Those slain by the LORD on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like dung lying…
- Psalms 83:10
who perished at Endor and became like dung on the ground.
- Jeremiah 9:22
Declare that this is what the LORD says: “The corpses of men will fall like dung upon the open field, like newly cut grain behind the reaper, with no one to gather it.”
- Zephaniah 1:17
I will bring such distress on mankind that they will walk like the blind, because they have sinned against the LORD. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their flesh like dung.
- Jeremiah 25:33
Through
Jeremiah 12:9Is not My inheritance to Me like a speckled bird of prey with other birds of prey circling against her? Go, gather all the beasts of the field; bring them to devour her.
it leads to
- Isaiah 56:9
Come, all you beasts of the field; eat greedily, all you beasts of the forest.
- Isaiah 56:9
Where this verse is studied
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.