Jeremiah 23:4
in Jeremiah 23I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any go missing, declares the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will set up shepherds over them, who shall feed them; and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be lacking, saith Jehovah.
KJV
And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the Lord.
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This verse in Jeremiah 23
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd I will set shepherds over them, which shall feed them,.... Good shepherds, rulers and governors, that shall rule them with wholesome laws, and protect and defend them; such as Zerubbabel, Nehemiah, and others, after the captivity: or Christian kings and princes, when the Gospel came to be published and established in many kingdoms and provinces, and the sheep of Christ were gathered out of them.
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.
This site's exposition
I will raise up shepherds over them
The new shepherds will tend the flock so well that none goes missing. Barnes names leaders such as Ezra and Nehemiah after the exile, and Gill adds Zerubbabel. Verse 5 then names the King above them all.
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 Awakening2 voices
It was the justice of God, for the sin of their shepherds, that dispersed them; but the mercy of God shall gather in the sheep, when the shepherds that betrayed them are cut off.
Among the wicked prophets and priests, whose bad character is here given at large in divers instances, especially their imposing upon the people with their pretended inspirations, at which the prophet is astonished, and for which they must expect to be punished,
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
Shepherds - Men like Ezra, Nehemiah, and the Maccabees, raised up especially by God. It is a revocation of the promise made to David 2Sa 7:12-16 so far as the earthly throne was concerned. They shall fear no more ... - The effect of good government will be general security. Neither shall they be lacking - Not one sheep shall be missing or lost.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַהֲקִמֹתִ֧י | vahakimoti | and I will raise up | H6965 → | 628 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֛ם | ʾaleihem | over them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רֹעִ֖ים | roim | shepherds | H7462 → | 177 times |
| וְרָע֑וּם | veraum | and they will shepherd them | H7462 → | 177 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִֽירְא֨וּ | yireu | they will be afraid | H3372 → | 315 times |
| ע֧וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יֵחַ֛תּוּ | yechatu | they will be terrified | H2865 → | 52 times |
| וְלֹ֥א | velo' | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִפָּקֵ֖דוּ | yipakedu | they will be missing | H6485 → | 303 times |
| נְאֻם־ | neum- | [the] utterance of | H5002 → | 376 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ ס | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וַהֲקִמֹתִ֧יand I will raise up
vahakimotiH6965 →628 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֛םover them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
רֹעִ֖יםshepherds
roimH7462 →177 times
וְרָע֑וּםand they will shepherd them
veraumH7462 →177 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִֽירְא֨וּthey will be afraid
yireuH3372 →315 times
ע֧וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יֵחַ֛תּוּthey will be terrified
yechatuH2865 →52 times
וְלֹ֥אand not
velo'H3808 →5168 times
יִפָּקֵ֖דוּthey will be missing
yipakeduH6485 →303 times
נְאֻם־[the] utterance of
neum-H5002 →376 times
יְהוָֽה׃ סYahweh
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
1 Peter 1:5who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
it leads to
- Philippians 1:6
being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
- Ephesians 2:8
For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God,
- 2 Thessalonians 2:13–14
But we should always thank God for you, brothers who are loved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning to be saved by the sanctification of the Spirit and by…
- Romans 8:31–39
What then shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
- Job 19:25
But I know that my Redeemer lives, and in the end He will stand upon the earth.
- Philippians 1:6
Through
John 18:9This was to fulfill the word He had spoken: “I have not lost one of those You have given Me.”
it leads to
- John 17:12
While I was with them, I protected and preserved them by Your name, the name You gave Me. Not one of them has been lost, except the son of destruction, so that the Scripture…
- John 17:12
Through
Jeremiah 33:26then I would also reject the descendants of Jacob and of My servant David, so as not to take from his descendants rulers over the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. For I will…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 31:37
This is what the LORD says: “Only if the heavens above could be measured and the foundations of the earth below searched out would I reject all of Israel’s descendants because of all they…
- Isaiah 14:1
For the LORD will have compassion on Jacob; once again He will choose Israel and settle them in their own land. The foreigner will join them and unite with the house of Jacob.
- Jeremiah 31:37
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies4
On this verse
About Jeremiah
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Old Testament; 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); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.