The Meaning of Jeremiah 25:38 Explained

Jeremiah 25:38

KJV: He hath forsaken his covert, as the lion: for their land is desolate because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.

YLT: He hath forsaken, as a young lion, His covert, Surely their land hath become a desolation, Because of the oppressing fierceness, And because of the fierceness of His anger!

Darby: He hath forsaken his covert as a young lion; for their land is a desolation because of the fierceness of the oppressor, and because of his fierce anger.

ASV: He hath left his covert, as the lion; for their land is become an astonishment because of the fierceness of the oppressing'sword , and because of his fierce anger.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He hath forsaken  his covert,  as the lion:  for their land  is desolate  because  of the fierceness  of the oppressor,  and because  of his fierce  anger. 

What does Jeremiah 25:38 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord would leave His place of obscurity and attack His enemies like a lion (cf. Jeremiah 25:30; Revelation 19:11-21). The earth would become a devastation because the Divine Warrior would vent His fury.
This is the end of the collection of prophecies that presented warnings of judgment on Judah and Jerusalem (chs2-25).

Context Summary

Jeremiah 25:1-38 - Shepherds That Mislead God's Flock
It is God's purpose to care for His people through shepherds (pastors) who are responsible to Him. Jesus our Lord is the Branch into which we may be grafted. He is our King who saves us and clothes us with His own spotless righteousness. God finds us in Him, Philippians 3:9. Because He reigns, we are saved and dwell in safety. When we are brought into contact with false shepherds, whether the failure be in doctrine or example, let us ask for the broken heart of Jeremiah 23:9.
God is everywhere present; as the latter paragraph indicates, He is near at hand to overhear the blasphemy of those who deride religion, and to be a very present help in time of trouble. If He fills heaven and earth, can He not fill thy heart? If His Word is like fire, let it cleanse thee! If it is as a hammer, let it pulverize thy pride! Let those of us who essay to teach and preach, not steal our words from our neighbors, or utter our own, but receive them from the source of all truth. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 25

1  Jeremiah, reproving the Jews' disobedience to the prophets,
8  foretells the seventy years' captivity;
12  and after that, the destruction of Babylon
15  Under the type of a cup of wine he foreshows the destruction of all nations
34  The howling of the shepherds

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 25:38 mean?

He has left like the lion His lair for is their land desolate because of the fierceness of the Oppressor and because of fierce His anger -
עָזַ֥ב כַּכְּפִ֖יר סֻכּ֑וֹ כִּֽי־ הָיְתָ֤ה אַרְצָם֙ לְשַׁמָּ֔ה מִפְּנֵי֙ חֲר֣וֹן הַיּוֹנָ֔ה וּמִפְּנֵ֖י חֲר֥וֹן אַפּֽוֹ פ

עָזַ֥ב  He  has  left 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: עָזַב 
Sense: to leave, loose, forsake.
כַּכְּפִ֖יר  like  the  lion 
Parse: Preposition-k, Article, Noun, masculine singular
Root: כְּפִיר 
Sense: young lion.
סֻכּ֑וֹ  His  lair 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: סׄךְ  
Sense: thicket, lair, covert, booth.
אַרְצָם֙  their  land 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: אֶרֶץ  
Sense: land, earth.
לְשַׁמָּ֔ה  desolate 
Parse: Preposition-l, Noun, feminine singular
Root: שַׁמָּה  
Sense: waste, horror, appalment.
מִפְּנֵי֙  because 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
חֲר֣וֹן  of  the  fierceness 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: חָרֹון  
Sense: anger, heat, burning (of anger).
הַיּוֹנָ֔ה  of  the  Oppressor 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine singular
Root: יׄונָה 
Sense: to oppress, suppress, treat violently, maltreat, vex, do wrong.
וּמִפְּנֵ֖י  and  because 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Preposition-m, Noun, common plural construct
Root: לִפְנֵי 
Sense: face.
חֲר֥וֹן  of  fierce 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: חָרֹון  
Sense: anger, heat, burning (of anger).
אַפּֽוֹ  His  anger 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine singular
Root: אַף 
Sense: nostril, nose, face.
פ  - 
Parse: Punctuation