Jeremiah 25:35
in Jeremiah 25Flight will evade the shepherds, and escape will elude the leaders of the flock.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.
KJV
And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.
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This verse in Jeremiah 25
Commentary
6 notes on this verseAnd the shepherds shall have no way to flee,.... Or, "and flight shall perish from the shepherds" (u); though they may attempt it, they shall not be able to accomplish it; neither the dignity of their persons, the greatness of their power, or the abundance of their riches, would make a way for them; their enemies being so numerous, powerful, and watchful: nor the principal of the flock to escape; this was particularly verified in Zedekiah and his princes, Jer 39:
This site's exposition
Wail, you shepherds, and cry out
on Jeremiah 25:34-36
The address turns to the rulers under the shepherd figure: “Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock.” They “will fall and be shattered like fine pottery,” a costly thing made worthless. Verse 36 gives the reason, “the LORD is destroying their pasture.”
This site's exposition
Flight will evade the shepherds
The shepherds are the kings and leaders of the flock. Gill reads the verse as flight perishing from the shepherds, so that no rank, power or riches would give them a way to escape. He sees it fulfilled in Zedekiah and his princes in chapter 39.
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 Awakening2 voices
Note, As we cannot out-face, so we cannot out-run, the judgments of God. This is that for which the shepherds howl and cry. The progress of this war is here described (
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
); 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
The words behind it
7 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וְאָבַ֥ד | veavad | and it will be lost | H6 → | 184 times |
| מָנ֖וֹס | manos | a place of escape | H4498 → | 8 times |
| מִן־ | min- | from | H4480 → | 1188 times |
| הָֽרֹעִ֑ים | haroim | the shepherds | H7462 → | 177 times |
| וּפְלֵיטָ֖ה | ufeleitah | and escape | H6413 → | |
| מֵאַדִּירֵ֥י | meadirei | from [the] noble [ones] of | H117 → | 27 times |
| הַצֹּֽאן׃ | hatzon | the flock | H6629 → | 274 times |
וְאָבַ֥דand it will be lost
veavadH6 →184 times
מָנ֖וֹסa place of escape
manosH4498 →8 times
מִן־from
min-H4480 →1188 times
הָֽרֹעִ֑יםthe shepherds
haroimH7462 →177 times
וּפְלֵיטָ֖הand escape
ufeleitahH6413 →
מֵאַדִּירֵ֥יfrom [the] noble [ones] of
meadireiH117 →27 times
הַצֹּֽאן׃the flock
hatzonH6629 →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
Job 11:20But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; they will hope for their last breath.”
it leads to
- Deuteronomy 28:65
Among those nations you will find no repose, not even a resting place for the sole of your foot. There the LORD will give you a trembling heart, failing eyes, and a despairing soul.
- Deuteronomy 28:65
Through
Amos 2:14Escape will fail the swift, the strong will not prevail by his strength, and the mighty will not save his life.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 9:23
This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches.
- Jeremiah 9:23
Through
Daniel 5:30That very night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans was slain,
it leads to
- Jeremiah 51:31
One courier races to meet another, and messenger follows messenger, to announce to the king of Babylon that his city has been captured from end to end.
- Jeremiah 51:57
I will make her princes and wise men drunk, along with her governors, officials, and warriors. Then they will fall asleep forever and not wake up,” declares the King, whose name is the LORD…
- Jeremiah 51:39
While they are flushed with heat, I will serve them a feast, and I will make them drunk so that they may revel; then they will fall asleep forever and never wake up, declares…
- Jeremiah 51:31
Through
Jeremiah 32:4Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the hands of the Chaldeans, but he will surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 38:18
But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself…
- 2 Kings 25:4–7
Then the city was breached; and though the Chaldeans had surrounded the city, all the men of war fled by night by way of the gate between the two walls near the king’s garden.…
- Jeremiah 37:17
Later, King Zedekiah sent for Jeremiah and received him in his palace, where he asked him privately, “Is there a word from the LORD?” “There is,” Jeremiah replied. “You will be delivered into the…
- Jeremiah 38:18
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Jeremiah
This page draws on 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); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.