Jeremiah 25:36
in Jeremiah 25Hear the cry of the shepherds, the wailing of the leaders of the flock, for the LORD is destroying their pasture.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and the wailing of the principal of the flock! for Jehovah layeth waste their pasture.
KJV
A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard: for the Lord hath spoiled their pasture.
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This verse in Jeremiah 25
Commentary
6 notes on this verse(Verse 36.) The voice of the shepherds crying out, and the howling of the leaders of the flock (or the jubilation of the rams): because the Lord has laid waste to their pastures. And the fields of peace (or the beautiful ones) have fallen silent before the face of the wrathful fury of the Lord. And here it should be noted that in the Septuagint, jubilation is used instead of howling.
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
Hear the cry of the shepherds
The pasture is the land the shepherds ruled. Jerome notes that the Greek Bible has the rams shouting for joy where the Hebrew has the leaders wailing. With their pasture destroyed, the shepherds lose their living and their rule together.
The record, by era
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
And a voice of the cry of the shepherds,.... Or of the kings, as the Targum: and an howling of the principal of the flock, shall be heard; of the mighty of the people, as the same; what is before called for is here represented as in fact, because of the certainty of it: for the Lord hath spoiled their pastures: their kingdoms, provinces, cities, and towns; or their people, as the Targum, among whom they lived, and by whom they were supported; still keeping up the metaphor of the shepherd and flock.
Those are great calamities indeed that strike such a terror upon the great men, and put them into this consternation. The Lord hath spoiled their pasture, in which they fed their flock, and out of which they fed themselves; the spoiling of that makes them cry-out thus.
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ק֚וֹל | kol | [the] sound of | H6963 → | 506 times |
| צַעֲקַ֣ת | tzaakat | [the] cry of distress of | H6818 → | 21 times |
| הָֽרֹעִ֔ים | haroim | the shepherds | H7462 → | 177 times |
| וִֽילְלַ֖ת | vilat | and [the] wailing of | H3215 → | |
| אַדִּירֵ֣י | ʾadirei | [the] noble [ones] of | H117 → | 27 times |
| הַצֹּ֑אן | hatzon | the flock | H6629 → | 274 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| שֹׁדֵ֥ד | shoded | [is] destroying | H7703 → | 57 times |
| יְהוָ֖ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מַרְעִיתָֽם׃ | maritam | pasture their | H4830 → | 10 times |
ק֚וֹל[the] sound of
kolH6963 →506 times
צַעֲקַ֣ת[the] cry of distress of
tzaakatH6818 →21 times
הָֽרֹעִ֔יםthe shepherds
haroimH7462 →177 times
וִֽילְלַ֖תand [the] wailing of
vilatH3215 →
אַדִּירֵ֣י[the] noble [ones] of
ʾadireiH117 →27 times
הַצֹּ֑אןthe flock
hatzonH6629 →274 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
שֹׁדֵ֥ד[is] destroying
shodedH7703 →57 times
יְהוָ֖הYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
מַרְעִיתָֽם׃pasture their
maritamH4830 →10 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
Jeremiah 4:8So put on sackcloth, mourn and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.”
it leads to
- Jeremiah 6:26
O 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.
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Isaiah 22:12
On that day the Lord GOD of Hosts called for weeping and wailing, for shaven heads and the wearing of sackcloth.
- Isaiah 5:25
Therefore the anger of the LORD burns against His people; His hand is raised against them to strike them down. The mountains quake, and the corpses lay like refuse in the streets. Despite all…
- Isaiah 10:4
Nothing will remain but to crouch among the captives or fall among the slain. Despite all this, His anger is not turned away; His hand is still upraised.
- Isaiah 32:11
Shudder, you ladies of leisure; tremble, you daughters of complacency. Strip yourselves bare and put sackcloth around your waists.
- Jeremiah 6:26
Through
Jeremiah 25:34Wail, 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.
it leads to
- Jeremiah 4:8–9
So put on sackcloth, mourn and wail, for the fierce anger of the LORD has not turned away from us.”
- Ezekiel 34:20
Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says to them: ‘Behold, I Myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep.
- Jeremiah 25:23
Dedan, Tema, Buz, and all who cut the corners of their hair;
- Jeremiah 4:8–9
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) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.