Jeremiah 23:1
in Jeremiah 23“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Woe unto the shepherds that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith Jehovah.
KJV
Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.
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This verse in Jeremiah 23
Commentary
5 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
The pastors - shepherds, i. e., civil rulers Jer 2:8. The sheep of My pasture - literally, of My pasturing, the sheep of whom I am shepherd. The people do not belong to the rulers but to God.
This site's exposition
Woe to the shepherds who destroy
on Jeremiah 23:1-4
The oracle turns from named kings to the office itself: “Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” Their fault is neglect as much as cruelty: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them.” The LORD will “gather the remnant of My flock” Himself and “raise up shepherds over them who will tend them,” a thread that runs on into chapter 24 and Ezekiel 34.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Chapter 23, Verse 1 and following) Woe to the shepherds who scatter and tear apart the flock of my pasture, says the Lord. Therefore, thus says the Lord God of Israel to the shepherds who feed my people: You have scattered my flock, driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to the evil of your doings, says the Lord.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
Woe be unto the pastors,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Wo be unto the pastors - There shall a curse fall on the kings, princes, priests, and prophets; who, by their vicious conduct and example, have brought desolation upon the people.
The words behind it
9 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ה֣וֹי | ho | woe to! | H1945 → | 51 times |
| רֹעִ֗ים | roim | [the] shepherds | H7462 → | 177 times |
| מְאַבְּדִ֧ים | meabedim | [who] are causing to stray | H6 → | 184 times |
| וּמְפִצִ֛ים | umefitzim | and [who are] scattering | H6327 → | 67 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| צֹ֥אן | tzon | [the] flock of | H6629 → | 274 times |
| מַרְעִיתִ֖י | mariti | pasture my | H4830 → | 10 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
ה֣וֹיwoe to!
hoH1945 →51 times
רֹעִ֗ים[the] shepherds
roimH7462 →177 times
מְאַבְּדִ֧ים[who] are causing to stray
meabedimH6 →184 times
וּמְפִצִ֛יםand [who are] scattering
umefitzimH6327 →67 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
צֹ֥אן[the] flock of
tzonH6629 →274 times
מַרְעִיתִ֖יpasture my
maritiH4830 →10 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָֽה׃Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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
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.
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.”
- 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.
- Numbers 27:17
Through
Ezekiel 13:3This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, yet have seen nothing.
it leads to
- Lamentations 2:14
The visions of your prophets were empty and deceptive; they did not expose your guilt to ward off your captivity. The burdens they envisioned for you were empty and misleading.
- Lamentations 2:14
Through
Jeremiah 10:21For the shepherds have become senseless; they do not seek the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.
it leads to
- 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…
- Jeremiah 12:10
Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard; they have trampled My plot of ground. They have turned My pleasant field into a desolate wasteland.
- Ezekiel 34:2–10
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); 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.