Jeremiah 25:34
in Jeremiah 25Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For the days of your slaughter have come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Wail, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow in ashes, ye principal of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are fully come, and ye shall fall like a goodly vessel.
KJV
Howl, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock: for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are accomplished; and ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel.
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This verse in Jeremiah 25
Commentary
9 notes on this verseHowl, ye shepherds, and cry,.... The Targum is, "howl, ye kings, and cry;'' and the rulers and governors of the nations before threatened with destruction are meant; who are here called upon to lamentation and mourning for the ruin and loss of their kingdoms; though Calvin thinks that this is an apostrophe to the Jewish nation, and the rulers of it.
This site's exposition
Howl, ye shepherds, and cry
on Jeremiah 25:34-36
The address turns to the kings and princes under the shepherd figure already used in chapter 23, howl, ye shepherds, and cry, and wallow yourselves in the ashes, ye principal of the flock, rulers who fed themselves now facing the slaughter they permitted. Ye shall fall like a pleasant vessel pictures the leadership class as fine pottery about to be dropped, valuable and about to be worthless. Verse 35's flight with no way to escape and verse 36's cry heard because the Lord hath spoiled their pasture state that the shepherds' own provision, the throne and the land, is the thing being taken from under them.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 34, 35.) Howl (or rejoice) you shepherds, and shout, and sprinkle yourselves with ashes, you noble flock (or lament, you rams of the sheep); for your days are fulfilled that you may be slain, and your dispersions, and you shall fall like precious vessels (or like chosen rams). And flight shall perish from the shepherds, and salvation from the noble ones (or rams) of the flock.
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
); so that we have here judgment beginning at the house of God, but not ending there. God's Remonstrances with the People. 1 The word that came to Jeremiah concerning all the people of Judah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that was the first year of Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
This is one of the direful effects of war, that even those who were most harmless and inoffensive suffer hard things. Blessed be God, there is a peaceable habitation above for all the sons of peace, which is out of the reach of fire and sword.
Multitudes shall fall by the sword of the merciless Chaldeans, so that the slain of the Lord shall be every where found: they are slain by commission from him, and are sacrificed to his justice. The slain for sin are the slain of the Lord.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Howl, ye shepherds - Ye kings and chiefs of the people. Ye shall fall like a pleasant tresses - As a fall will break and utterly ruin a precious vessel of crystal, agate, etc., so your overthrow will be to you irreparable ruin.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
Zec 10:3). days of your slaughter . . . of . . . dispersions--rather, "your days for slaughter (that is, the time of your being slain), and your dispersions (not 'of your dispersions'), are accomplished (are come)." pleasant vessel--Ye were once a precious vessel, but ye shall fall, and so be a broken vessel (see on Jer 22:28).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Principal of the flock - i. e., noble ones. Wallow yourselves in the ashes - Rather, roll yourselves on the ground. For ... - Read; “for your days for being slaughtered are accomplished, and I will scatter you” (or, (dash you in pieces). Fall like a pleasant vessel - The comparison suggests the idea of change from a thing of value into worthless fragments. Jer 25:36 Hath spoiled - Or, spoileth.
The words behind it
14 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הֵילִ֨ילוּ | heililu | wail | H3213 → | 30 times |
| הָרֹעִ֜ים | haroim | O shepherds | H7462 → | 177 times |
| וְזַעֲק֗וּ | vezaaku | and cry out | H2199 → | 73 times |
| וְהִֽתְפַּלְּשׁוּ֙ | vehitpaleshu | and roll in ashes | H6428 → | |
| אַדִּירֵ֣י | ʾadirei | O noble [ones] of | H117 → | 27 times |
| הַצֹּ֔אן | hatzon | the flock | H6629 → | 274 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| מָלְא֥וּ | malu | they have been completed | H4390 → | 249 times |
| יְמֵיכֶ֖ם | yemeikhem | days your | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| לִטְב֑וֹחַ | litvoach | to slaughter | H2873 → | 11 times |
| וּתְפוֹצ֣וֹתִיכֶ֔ם | utefotzotikhem | and dispersions your | H8600 → | |
| וּנְפַלְתֶּ֖ם | unefaltem | and you will fall | H5307 → | 435 times |
| כִּכְלִ֥י | kikhli | like a vessel of | H3627 → | 325 times |
| חֶמְדָּֽה׃ | chemdah | desire | H2532 → | 21 times |
הֵילִ֨ילוּwail
heililuH3213 →30 times
הָרֹעִ֜יםO shepherds
haroimH7462 →177 times
וְזַעֲק֗וּand cry out
vezaakuH2199 →73 times
וְהִֽתְפַּלְּשׁוּ֙and roll in ashes
vehitpaleshuH6428 →
אַדִּירֵ֣יO noble [ones] of
ʾadireiH117 →27 times
הַצֹּ֔אןthe flock
hatzonH6629 →274 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
מָלְא֥וּthey have been completed
maluH4390 →249 times
יְמֵיכֶ֖םdays your
yemeikhemH3117 →2304 times
לִטְב֑וֹחַto slaughter
litvoachH2873 →11 times
וּתְפוֹצ֣וֹתִיכֶ֔םand dispersions your
utefotzotikhemH8600 →
וּנְפַלְתֶּ֖םand you will fall
unefaltemH5307 →435 times
כִּכְלִ֥יlike a vessel of
kikhliH3627 →325 times
חֶמְדָּֽה׃desire
chemdahH2532 →21 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
Isaiah 33:1Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed, O traitor never betrayed! When you have finished destroying, you will be destroyed. When you have finished betraying, you will be betrayed.
it leads to
- Matthew 7:2
For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
- Isaiah 24:16
From the ends of the earth we hear singing: “Glory to the Righteous One.” But I said, “I am wasting away! I am wasting away! Woe is me.” The treacherous betray; the treacherous deal…
- Matthew 7:2
Through
Jeremiah 6:26O daughter of my people, dress yourselves in sackcloth and roll in ashes. Mourn with bitter wailing, as you would for an only son, for suddenly the destroyer will come upon us.
it leads to
- Zechariah 12:10
Then I will pour out on the house of David and on the people of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and prayer, and they will look on Me, the One they have pierced. They…
- Jeremiah 4:8
So put on sackcloth, mourn and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.”
- Zechariah 12:10
Through
Jeremiah 27:7All nations will serve him and his son and grandson, until the time of his own land comes; then many nations and great kings will enslave him.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 52:31
On the twenty-fifth day of the twelfth month of the thirty-seventh year of the exile of Jehoiachin king of Judah, in the first year of the reign of Evil-merodach king of Babylon, he pardoned…
- Zechariah 2:8–9
For this is what the LORD of Hosts says: “After His Glory has sent Me against the nations that have plundered you—for whoever touches you touches the apple of His eye—
- Jeremiah 52:31
Through
Jeremiah 50:27Kill all her young bulls; let them go down to the slaughter. Woe to them, for their day has come—the time of their punishment.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 46:21
Even the mercenaries among her are like fattened calves. They too will turn back; together they will flee, they will not stand their ground, for the day of calamity is coming upon them—the time…
- Isaiah 34:7
And the wild oxen will fall with them, the young bulls with the strong ones. Their land will be drenched with blood, and their soil will be soaked with fat.
- Jeremiah 46:21
Where this verse is studied
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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); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Jeremiah; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
