Jeremiah 12:10
in Jeremiah 12Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard; they have trampled My plot of ground. They have turned My pleasant field into a desolate wasteland.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
KJV
Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
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This verse in Jeremiah 12
Commentary
5 notes on this verse(Verse 10) Many shepherds have destroyed (or disrupted) my vineyard, they have trampled (or polluted) my portion: they have given my desirable portion into a desert wasteland (or uninhabited). They have made (or it has been made) it into a desolation. Let those who want to be leaders of the people hear this, because they will have to give an account not only for themselves, but also for the flocks entrusted to them, on the day of judgment.
This site's exposition
Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard
on Jeremiah 12:10-13
Many pastors continues the shepherd charge from 10:21, foreign kings and their armies named as the very shepherds who have trodden the pleasant portion into a desolate wilderness, the vineyard image widening the tent and flock pictures already used for the same ruin. Verse 13 states the futility bluntly, they have sown wheat, but shall reap thorns, labor spent for nothing because of the fierce anger of the Lord, and no man layeth it to heart in verse 11 names the desolation's deepest cause as much as its outcome, a land ruined with no one left who feels it.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard,.... This is a metaphor which is often used of the people of Israel and Judah; see Psa 80:8, the pastors that destroyed them are not their own governors, civil or religious, but Heathen princes, Nebuchadnezzar and his generals.
on Jeremiah 12:7-13
An intimation of mercy to God's people, in a denunciation of wrath against their neighbours that helped forward their affliction, that they should be plucked out; but with a promise that if they would at last join themselves with the people of God they should come in sharers with them in their privileges,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard - My people have had many kinds of enemies which have fed upon their richest pastures; the Philistines, the Moabites, Ammonites, Assyrians, Egyptians. and now the Chaldeans.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
Many shepherds The commanders of the troops of Nebuchadnezzar’s army, as it is stated above (6:3): “Shepherds and their flocks shall come to her.”
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
13 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| רֹעִ֤ים | roim | shepherds | H7462 → | 177 times |
| רַבִּים֙ | rabim | many | H7227 → | 454 times |
| שִֽׁחֲת֣וּ | shichatu | they have ruined | H7843 → | 146 times |
| כַרְמִ֔י | kharmi | vineyard my | H3754 → | 92 times |
| בֹּסְס֖וּ | bosesu | they have trodden down | H947 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֶלְקָתִ֑י | chelkati | portion my | H2513 → | |
| נָֽתְנ֛וּ | natenu | they have made | H5414 → | 2011 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| חֶלְקַ֥ת | chelkat | [the] portion of | H2513 → | |
| חֶמְדָּתִ֖י | chemdati | desire my | H2532 → | 21 times |
| לְמִדְבַּ֥ר | lemidbar | into a wilderness of | H4057 → | 270 times |
| שְׁמָמָֽה׃ | shemamah | desolation | H8077 → | 57 times |
רֹעִ֤יםshepherds
roimH7462 →177 times
רַבִּים֙many
rabimH7227 →454 times
שִֽׁחֲת֣וּthey have ruined
shichatuH7843 →146 times
כַרְמִ֔יvineyard my
kharmiH3754 →92 times
בֹּסְס֖וּthey have trodden down
bosesuH947 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חֶלְקָתִ֑יportion my
chelkatiH2513 →
נָֽתְנ֛וּthey have made
natenuH5414 →2011 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
חֶלְקַ֥ת[the] portion of
chelkatH2513 →
חֶמְדָּתִ֖יdesire my
chemdatiH2532 →21 times
לְמִדְבַּ֥רinto a wilderness of
lemidbarH4057 →270 times
שְׁמָמָֽה׃desolation
shemamahH8077 →57 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
Jeremiah 23:1“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 10:21
For the shepherds have become senseless; they do not seek the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.
- Zechariah 11:15–17
And the LORD said to me: “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
- Ezekiel 34:2–10
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the…
- Ezekiel 13:3
This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, yet have seen nothing.
- 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.
- Jeremiah 10:21
Through
Jeremiah 6:3Shepherds and their flocks will come against her; they will pitch their tents all around her, each tending his own portion:
it leads to
- Luke 19:43
For the days will come upon you when your enemies will barricade you and surround you and hem you in on every side.
- Jeremiah 39:1–3
In the ninth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, in the tenth month, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched against Jerusalem with his entire army and laid siege to the city.
- Luke 19:43
Through
Isaiah 63:18For a short while Your people possessed Your holy place, but our enemies have trampled Your sanctuary.
it leads to
- Psalms 74:3–7
Turn Your steps to the everlasting ruins, to everything in the sanctuary the enemy has destroyed.
- Psalms 74:3–7
Where this verse is studied
1 study on this verse
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Carl Friedrich Keil, The Prophecies of Jeremiah; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.