Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 4:23

"I beheld the earth, and, lo, it was waste and void; and the heavens, and they had no light." — Jeremiah 4:23 (ASV)

I beheld the earth. —In words of terrible grandeur the prophet speaks, as if he had already seen the consummated destruction; and repeating the words “I beheld,” as if he had passed through four distinct visions, describes its completeness.

Without form, and void. —An obvious quotation from the tohu va-bohu of Genesis 1:2. The goodly land of Israel was thrown back, as it were, into a formless chaos, before the words Let there be light had brought it into order.