Jeremiah 33:12
in Jeremiah 33This is what the LORD of Hosts says: In this desolate place, without man or beast, and in all its cities, there will once more be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus saith Jehovah of hosts: Yet again shall there be in this place, which is waste, without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, a habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.
KJV
Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Again in this place, which is desolate without man and without beast, and in all the cities thereof, shall be an habitation of shepherds causing their flocks to lie down.
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This verse in Jeremiah 33
Commentary
7 notes on this verseA commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
An habitation - “A shepherd’s encampment.” The words, “causing their flocks to lie down,” mean gathering them into the fold at night.
This site's exposition
This is what the LORD says
on Jeremiah 33:10-13
The deserted streets are answered with “the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of the bride and bridegroom,” the sign the exile has ended. The voices “of those bringing thank offerings into the house of the LORD” tie that joy to restored worship.
This site's exposition
pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks
Barnes reads the scene as a shepherd's camp, with the flocks gathered into the fold at night. The land called empty of man and beast in verse 10 gets both back. Quiet pasture is a picture of peace.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
The industry of the country, and their return to their original plainness and simplicity, from which, in the corrupt ages, they had sadly degenerated.
Is desolate - That is, a great part of which is, and the other part shall soon be desolate.
Thus saith the Lord of hosts,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A habitation of shepherds - See on Jer 31:12 (note).
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
flocks shall again pass, etc. Israel will come and go under the hands of a king who walks at their head.
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. 7 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
19 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּֽה־ | koh- | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַר֮ | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָ֣ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| צְבָאוֹת֒ | tzevaot | of hosts | H6635 → | 485 times |
| ע֞וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| יִֽהְיֶ֣ה׀ | yihyeh | it will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בַּמָּק֣וֹם | bamakom | in the place | H4725 → | 401 times |
| הַזֶּ֗ה | hazeh | <the> this | H2088 → | 1180 times |
| הֶחָרֵ֛ב | hecharev | <the> desolate | H2720 → | |
| מֵֽאֵין־ | meein- | from not | H369 → | 789 times |
| אָדָ֥ם | ʾadam | human being | H120 → | 551 times |
| וְעַד־ | vead- | and unto | H5704 → | 1261 times |
| בְּהֵמָ֖ה | behemah | an animal | H929 → | 190 times |
| וּבְכָל־ | uvekhol- | and in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| עָרָ֑יו | ʾarav | cities its | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| נְוֵ֣ה | neveh | pasture of | H5116 → | 35 times |
| רֹעִ֔ים | roim | shepherds | H7462 → | 177 times |
| מַרְבִּצִ֖ים | marbitzim | [who] make to lie down | H7257 → | |
| צֹֽאן׃ | tzon | flock[s] | H6629 → | 274 times |
כֹּֽה־thus
koh-H3541 →577 times
אָמַר֮he says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָ֣הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
צְבָאוֹת֒of hosts
tzevaotH6635 →485 times
ע֞וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
יִֽהְיֶ֣ה׀it will be
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
בַּמָּק֣וֹםin the place
bamakomH4725 →401 times
הַזֶּ֗ה<the> this
hazehH2088 →1180 times
הֶחָרֵ֛ב<the> desolate
hecharevH2720 →
מֵֽאֵין־from not
meein-H369 →789 times
אָדָ֥םhuman being
ʾadamH120 →551 times
וְעַד־and unto
vead-H5704 →1261 times
בְּהֵמָ֖הan animal
behemahH929 →190 times
וּבְכָל־and in all
uvekhol-H3605 →5413 times
עָרָ֑יוcities its
ʾaravH5892 →1090 times
נְוֵ֣הpasture of
nevehH5116 →35 times
רֹעִ֔יםshepherds
roimH7462 →177 times
מַרְבִּצִ֖ים[who] make to lie down
marbitzimH7257 →
צֹֽאן׃flock[s]
tzonH6629 →274 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 65:10Sharon will become a pasture for flocks, and the Valley of Achor a resting place for herds, for My people who seek Me.
it leads to
- Isaiah 35:2
It will bloom profusely and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon. They will see the glory of the LORD, the…
- Isaiah 33:9
The land mourns and languishes; Lebanon is ashamed and decayed. Sharon is like a desert; Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.
- Hosea 2:15
There I will give back her vineyards and make the Valley of Achor into a gateway of hope. There she will respond as she did in the days of her youth, as in the…
- Isaiah 51:1
“Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness, you who seek the LORD: Look to the rock from which you were cut, and to the quarry from which you were hewn.
- Isaiah 35:2
Through
Jeremiah 31:24And Judah and all its cities will dwell together in the land, the farmers and those who move with the flocks,
it leads to
- Zechariah 8:4–8
This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Old men and old women will again sit along the streets of Jerusalem, each with a staff in hand because of great age.
- Zechariah 8:4–8
Through
Jeremiah 36:29You are to proclaim concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah that this is what the LORD says: You have burned the scroll and said, ‘Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 26:9
How dare you prophesy in the name of the LORD that this house will become like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted!” And all the people assembled against Jeremiah in the…
- Isaiah 30:10
They say to the seers, “Stop seeing visions!” and to the prophets, “Do not prophesy to us the truth! Speak to us pleasant words; prophesy illusions.
- Isaiah 29:21
those who indict a man with a word, who ensnare the mediator at the gate, and who with false charges deprive the innocent of justice.
- Jeremiah 26:9
Where this verse is studied
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); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.
