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

19Oh, I’m wounded! My wound is serious. Then I thought that this is my punishment, and I will bear it. 20My tent is destroyed, and all my ropes are broken. My children have left me and have disappeared. There’s no one to set up my tent again or put up my tent curtains. The shepherds are foolish. They don’t look to the Lord for help. That is why they won’t succeed, and all their flocks will be scattered. 22The report has arrived. A tremendous uproar is coming from the land of the north. Its army will destroy Judah’s cities and make them homes for jackals. 23O Lord, I know that the way humans act is not under their control. Humans do not direct their steps as they walk.

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 complete idiots. They learn nonsense from wooden idols.
• Jeremiah 2:8The priests didn’t ask, “Where is the Lord?” Those who deal with my teachings didn’t know me. The rulers rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied in the name of Baal and followed statues that couldn’t help them.
• Jeremiah 5:31Prophets prophesy lies. Priests rule under the prophets’ directions, and my people love this. But what will you do in the end?”
• Jeremiah 8:9Wise people are put to shame, confused, and trapped. They have rejected the Lord’s word. They don’t really have any wisdom.
• Jeremiah 12:10Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard. They’ve trampled my property. They’ve turned my pleasant property into a wasteland.
• Jeremiah 23:9“⌞Say this⌟ about the prophets: I am deeply disturbed. All my bones tremble. I am like a drunk, like a person who has had too much wine, because of the Lord and his holy words.
• Isaiah 56:10⌞Israel’s⌟ watchmen are blind. None of them know anything. All of them are like dogs that are unable to bark. They lie around dreaming; they love to sleep.
• Ezekiel 22:25Your princes are like roaring lions who tear their prey into pieces. They eat people and take their treasures and precious belongings. They turn many women into widows.
• Ezekiel 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy to these shepherds. Tell them, ‘This is what the Almighty Lord says: How horrible it will be for the shepherds of Israel who have been taking care of only themselves. Shouldn’t shepherds take care of the sheep?
• John 10:12A hired hand isn’t a shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep. When he sees a wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and quickly runs away. So the wolf drags the sheep away and scatters the flock.
• Zechariah 10:3“My burning anger is directed against the shepherds. I will punish the male goats. The Lord of Armies takes care of his flock, the people of Judah. He makes them like his splendid war horse.”
• Jeremiah 23:1“How horrible it will be for the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep in my care,” declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 49:32Their camels will be taken as prizes. Their large herds will be taken as loot. I will scatter to the winds those who shave the hair on their foreheads. I will bring disaster on them from every side, declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 50:17“The people of Israel are like scattered sheep that lions have chased. The first to devour them was the king of Assyria. The last to gnaw at their bones was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
• Ezekiel 34:5So they were scattered because there was no shepherd. When they were scattered, they became food for every wild animal.
• Zechariah 13:7“Arise, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my friend,” declares the Lord of Armies. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. Then 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