Jeremiah 7:33

33 ¹And the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the air, and for the beasts of the earth, ²and none will frighten them away.

Jeremiah 7:33 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 7:33

And 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. The sense is, either that there should be such a vast consumption of men, that there would be none left to do this, and so the fowls and beasts might prey upon the carcasses without any disturbance; or else that those that were left would be so devoid of humanity, as not to do this office for the dead.

Jeremiah 7:33 In-Context

31 And they have built the high places of Topheth, which is in the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, which I did not command, nor did it come into my mind.

32 Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when it will no more be called Topheth, or the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, but the Valley of Slaughter; for they will bury in Topheth, because there is no room elsewhere.

33 And the dead bodies of this people will be food for the birds of the air, and for the beasts of the earth, and none will frighten them away.

34 And I will silence in the cities of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom and the voice of the bride, for the land shall become a waste.

Cross References

• 1. Jeremiah 12:9; Jeremiah 16:4; Jeremiah 19:7; Jeremiah 34:20; Deuteronomy 28:26; Psalms 79:2
• 2. [Isaiah 17:2]