Jeremiah 10:21

Jeremiah 10:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)For the pastors are become brutish, and have not sought the Lord: therefore they shall not prosper, and all their flocks shall be scattered.
• New International Version (NIV)The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Lord; so they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered.
• English Standard Version (ESV)For the shepherds are stupid and do not inquire of the Lord; therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.
• New King James Version (NKJV)For the shepherds have become dull-hearted, And have not sought the Lord; Therefore they shall not prosper, And all their flocks shall be scattered.

Context of Jeremiah 10:21

19Woe to me because of my brokenness — I am severely wounded! I exclaimed, “This is my intense suffering, but I must bear it.” 20My tent is destroyed; all my tent cords are snapped. My sons have departed from me and are no more. I have no one to pitch my tent again or to hang up my curtains. For the shepherds are stupid: They don’t seek the Lord. Therefore they have not prospered, and their whole flock is scattered. 22Listen! A noise — it is coming — a great commotion from the land to the north. The cities of Judah will be made desolate, a jackals’ den. 23I know, Lord, that a person’s way of life is not his own; no one who walks determines his own steps.

Jeremiah 10:21 word by word

כִּ֤י נִבְעֲרוּ֙ הָֽרֹעִ֔ים וְאֶת־יְהוָ֖ה לֹ֣א דָרָ֑שׁוּ עַל־כֵּן֙ לֹ֣א הִשְׂכִּ֔ילוּ וְכָל־מַרְעִיתָ֖ם נָפֽוֹצָה׃ סRead the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• For the pastorsרָעָהrâ‛âh · to pastureH7462
• are become brutishבָּעַרbâ‛ar · be brutishH1197
• and have not soughtדָּרַשׁdârash · to seekH1875
• the Lordיְהֹוָהyehôvâh · LORDH3068
• therefore they shall not prosperשָׂכַלώâkal · be prudentH7919
• and all their flocksמַרְעִיתmir‛îyth · pasturingH4830
• shall be scatteredפּוּץpûts · to scatterH6327

Cross-references for Jeremiah 10:21

• Jeremiah 10:8They are both stupid and foolish, instructed by worthless idols made of wood!
• Jeremiah 2:8The priests quit asking, “Where is the Lord?” The experts in the law no longer knew me, and the rulers rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols.
• Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests rule by their own authority. My people love it like this. But what will you do at the end of it?
• Jeremiah 8:9The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and snared. They have rejected the word of the Lord, so what wisdom do they really have?
• Jeremiah 12:10Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard; they have trampled my plot of land. They have turned my desirable plot into a desolate wasteland.
• Jeremiah 23:9Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me, and all my bones tremble. I have become like a drunkard, like a man overcome by wine, because of the Lord, because of his holy words.
• Isaiah 56:10Israel’s watchmen are blind, all of them, they know nothing; all of them are mute dogs, they cannot bark; they dream, lie down, and love to sleep.
• Ezekiel 22:25The conspiracy of her prophets within her is like a roaring lion tearing its prey: they devour people, seize wealth and valuables, and multiply the widows within her.
• Ezekiel 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy, and say to them, ‘This is what the Lord God says to the shepherds: Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who have been feeding themselves! Shouldn’t the shepherds feed their flock?
• John 10:12The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them.
• Zechariah 10:3My anger burns against the shepherds, so I will punish the leaders. For the Lord of Armies has tended his flock, the house of Judah; he will make them like his majestic steed in battle.
• Jeremiah 23:1“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” This is the Lord’s declaration.
• Jeremiah 49:32Their camels will become plunder, and their massive herds of cattle will become spoil. I will scatter them to the wind in every direction, those who clip the hair on their temples; I will bring calamity on them across all their borders. This is the Lord’s declaration.
• Jeremiah 50:17Israel is a stray lamb, chased by lions. The first who devoured him was the king of Assyria; the last who crushed his bones was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
• Ezekiel 34:5They were scattered for lack of a shepherd; they became food for all the wild animals when they were scattered.
• Zechariah 13:7Sword, awake against my shepherd, against the man who is my associate — this is the declaration of the Lord of Armies. Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; I will turn my hand against the little ones.

Commentaries on Jeremiah 10:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21The pastors are become brutish - The king and his counselors, who, by refusing to pay the promised tribute to Nebuchadnezzar, had kindled a new war.Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 19-25Verses 19-25 The lamentation of the daughter of Zion, the Jewish Church, at the devastation of the land, and her humble prayer to God for mercy. Jeremiah 10:19 Grievous - Rather, “mortal,” i. e., fatal, incurable. A grief - Or, “my grief.” Jeremiah 10:20 tabernacle - i. e., “tent.” Jerusalem laments that her tent is plundered and her children carried into exile, and so “are not,” are dead Matthew 2:18, either absolutely, or dead to her in the remote land…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 17-25Verses 17-25 The Jews who continued in their own land, felt secure. But, sooner or later, sinners will find all things as the word of God has declared, and that its threatenings are not empty terrors. Submission will support the believer under every grief allotted to him; but what can render the load of Divine vengeance easy to be borne by those who fall under it in sullen despair? Those cannot expect to prosper, who do not, by faith and prayer, take God…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 21The shepherds, meaning the priests and prophets (see Jeremiah 5:29–31), ignored the wisdom from the Lord. This wisdom was kept in priestly memory and prophetic messages, both spoken and written. The divine decree foretold these leaders' complete failure and the scattering of the people as a result.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 2121. pastors--the rulers, civil and religious. This verse gives the cause of the impending calamity.Read the comment

Topics related to Jeremiah 10:21

• Backsliders
• Church
• Israel, Prophecies Concerning
• Jeremiah
• Minister, Christian
• Prayerlessness

In the dictionaries

• Cord
• Custom
• Shepherd
• Brute; Brutish
• Cattle
• Covenant, the New
• Exodus, the Book of
• Jeremiah (2)
• Pastor
• Zedekiah (2)

Commentaries on Jeremiah 10

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings