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2 Chronicles 18:16

in 2 Chronicles 18

So Micaiah declared: “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These people have no master; let each one return home in peace.’”

BSB

The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾

ASV

And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and Jehovah said, These have no master; let them return every man to his house in peace.

KJV

Then he said, I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the Lord said, These have no master; let them return therefore every man to his house in peace.

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This verse in 2 Chronicles 18

Commentary

2 notes on this verse

This site's exposition

Go up and triumph

on 2 Chronicles 18:14-17

The true vision follows: “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd”. Moses used the same image at Numbers 27:17, asking God for a successor, and Jesus sees the crowds this way at Matthew 9:36. Chronicles keeps the oracle unchanged from 1 Kings 22:15-17.

This site's exposition

like sheep without a shepherd

Micaiah sees Israel scattered like sheep without a shepherd, while the LORD sends each man home in peace. Clarke describes the fulfilment at verse 34, where the Israelites found their king slain at evening and left the field to their foes. The flock lost its shepherd at sunset.

How the passage was read

What the Jewish commentators add

scattered over the mountains For when they flee from battle, they flee on the mountains to a refuge, like (Gen.:10): “and those who remained fled to the mountains.” In addition, the battle was on the heights of Gilead, a mountainous and hilly terrain.
Rashi: France, 1040–1105 · Rashi on II Chronicles 18:16:1, via Sefaria, The Judaica Press complete Tanach with Rashi, translated by A. J. Rosenberg

This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.

Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 4 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.

The words behind it

22 Hebrew words

Every 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.

  • וַיֹּ֗אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • רָאִ֤יתִיI saw

    raitiH7200 →1300 times

  • אֶת־<obj.>

    ʾet-H853 →10935 times

  • כָּל־all

    kol-H3605 →5413 times

  • יִשְׂרָאֵל֙Israel

    yisraelH3478 →2507 times

  • נְפוֹצִ֣יםscattered

    nefotzimH6327 →

  • עַל־on

    ʾal-H5921 →5755 times

  • הֶֽהָרִ֔יםthe mountains

    heharimH2022 →546 times

  • כַּצֹּ֕אןlike <the> flock

    katzonH6629 →274 times

  • אֲשֶׁ֥רwhich

    ʾasherH834 →5497 times

  • אֵין־not

    ʾein-H369 →789 times

  • לָהֶ֖ן[belongs] to them

    lahen

  • רֹעֶ֑הa shepherd

    roehH7462 →

  • וַיֹּ֤אמֶרand he said

    vaiyomerH559 →5305 times

  • יְהוָה֙Yahweh

    yahwehH3068 →6520 times

  • לֹֽא־not

    lo'-H3808 →5168 times

  • אֲדֹנִ֣יםmasters

    ʾadonimH113 →333 times

  • לָאֵ֔לֶּה[belong] to these

    laelehH428 →746 times

  • יָשׁ֥וּבוּlet them return

    yashuvuH7725 →1056 times

  • אִישׁ־each

    ʾish-H376 →1663 times

  • לְבֵית֖וֹto own house his

    leveitoH1004 →2046 times

  • בְּשָׁלֽוֹם׃in peace

    beshalomH7965 →236 times

A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.

Related verses

16 in all, six open

The number beside each verse is how many compiled reference works tie it to this one. The strongest six stand open.

Matthew 9:36When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.9 worksMark 6:34When Jesus stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.6 worksEzekiel 34:5They were scattered for lack of a shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild beasts.5 worksEzekiel 34:8‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because My flock lacks a shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because My shepherds did not search for My flock but fed themselves instead,3 works1 Kings 22:17So Micaiah declared: “I saw all Israel scattered on the hills like sheep without a shepherd. And the LORD said, ‘These people have no master; let each one return home in peace.’”3 worksNumbers 27:17who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the LORD will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”3 works
The other 10 cross-references, with their words ▾
2 Kings 10:3select the best and most worthy son of your master, set him on his father’s throne, and fight for your master’s house.”2 worksMatthew 26:64“You have said it yourself,” Jesus answered. “But I say to all of you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”2 works2 Samuel 2:7Now then, be strong and courageous, for though Saul your lord is dead, the house of Judah has anointed me as their king.”2 worksZechariah 10:2For idols speak deceit and diviners see illusions; they tell false dreams and offer empty comfort. Therefore the people wander like sheep, oppressed for lack of a shepherd.2 works1 Kings 22:34–36However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”2 worksZechariah 13:7Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the man who is My Companion, declares the LORD of Hosts. Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn My hand against the little ones.2 works2 Chronicles 18:33–34However, a certain man drew his bow without taking special aim, and he struck the king of Israel between the joints of his armor. So the king said to his charioteer, “Turn around and take me out of the battle, for I am badly wounded!”2 worksJeremiah 23:1–2“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.2 works2 Samuel 5:2Even in times past, while Saul was king over us, you were the one who led Israel out and brought them back. And to you the LORD said, ‘You will shepherd My people Israel, and you will be ruler over them.’”2 works2 Chronicles 18:34The battle raged throughout that day, and the king of Israel propped himself up in his chariot facing the Arameans until evening. And at sunset he died.2 works

The walk

8 stops

Each 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

    Matthew 9:36

    When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

    it leads to

    • Numbers 27:17

      who will go out and come in before them, and who will lead them out and bring them in, so that the congregation of the LORD will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”

      Reached by 3 separate paths from here.

    • Mark 6:34

      When Jesus stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.

    • Jeremiah 50:6

      My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, causing them to roam the mountains. They have wandered from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place.

    • Ezekiel 34:3–6

      You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.

    • Matthew 14:14

      When He stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick.

  • Through

    Mark 6:34

    When Jesus stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And He began to teach them many things.

    it leads to

    • Matthew 9:36

      When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

      Reached by 2 separate paths from here.

    • Luke 9:11

      But the crowds found out and followed Him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and He healed those who needed healing.

    • Isaiah 61:1–3

      The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty…

About 2 Chronicles

Saphan Reading the Book of the Law to Josiah, Philip Galle, engraving after Maarten van Heemskerck, 1569, Royal Library of Belgium. Public domain.
Saphan Reading the Book of the Law to Josiah, Philip Galle, engraving after Maarten van Heemskerck, 1569, Royal Library of Belgium. Public domain.
2 Chronicles: the study guide →Read 2 Chronicles 18 →

This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Keil, The Books of the Chronicles and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.

Read on in 2 Chronicles 18 →