New English Translation
Jeremiah 50:17
17“The people of Israel are like scattered sheep which lions have chased away. First the king of Assyria devoured them. Now last of all King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has gnawed their bones.
Jeremiah 50:17 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.
- New International Version (NIV)“Israel is a scattered flock that lions have chased away. The first to devour them was the king of Assyria; the last to crush their bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”
- English Standard Version (ESV)"Israel is a hunted sheep driven away by lions. First the king of Assyria devoured him, and now at last Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has gnawed his bones.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“Israel is like scattered sheep; The lions have driven him away. First the king of Assyria devoured him; Now at last this Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon has broken his bones.”
Context of Jeremiah 50:17
15Shout the battle cry from all around the city. She will throw up her hands in surrender. Her towers will fall. Her walls will be torn down. Because I, the Lord, am wreaking revenge, take out your vengeance on her! Do to her as she has done! 16Kill all the farmers who sow the seed in the land of Babylon. Kill all those who wield the sickle at harvest time. Let all the foreigners return to their own people. Let them hurry back to their own lands to escape destruction by that enemy army. “The people of Israel are like scattered sheep which lions have chased away. First the king of Assyria devoured them. Now last of all King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon has gnawed their bones. 18So I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, say: ‘I will punish the king of Babylon and his land just as I punished the king of Assyria. 19But I will restore the flock of Israel to their own pasture. They will graze on Mount Carmel and the land of Bashan. They will eat until they are full on the hills of Ephraim and the land of Gilead.
Read all of Jeremiah 50Jeremiah 50:17 word by word
שֶׂ֧ה פְזוּרָ֛ה יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֲרָי֣וֹת הִדִּ֑יחוּ הָרִאשׁ֤וֹן אֲכָלוֹ֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ אַשּׁ֔וּר וְזֶ֤ה הָאַחֲרוֹן֙ עִצְּמ֔וֹ נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּ֖ר מֶ֥לֶךְ בָּבֶֽל׃ סRead the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- Israelיִשְׂרָאֵלyiώrâ'êl · IsraelH3478
- a scatteredפָּזַרpâzar · to scatterH6340
- sheepשֶׂהώeh ώêy · sheepH7716
- the lionsאֲרִי'ărîy 'aryêh · lionH738
- awayנָדַחnâdach · to banishH5080
- firstרִאשׁוֹןri'shôn ri'shôn · firstH7223
- the kingמֶ֫לֶךְmelek · kingH4428
- of Assyriaאַשּׁוּר'ashshûr 'ashshûr · AssyriaH804
- hath devouredאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
- him; and lastאַחֲרוֹן'achăryôn 'achărôn · lastH314
- this Nebuchadrezzarנְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּר, נְבוּכַדְנֶצַּרנבוּכדרא צּור נבוּכדראצּר · NebuchadnezzarH5019
- of Babylonבָּבֶ֫ל, בָּבֶלbâbel · BabylonH894
- hath broken his bonesעָצֹם‛âtsam · be vastH6105
Cross-references for Jeremiah 50:17
- Jeremiah 50:6“My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have allow them to go astray. They have wandered around in the mountains. They have roamed from one mountain and hill to another. They have forgotten their resting place.
- Jeremiah 23:1The Lord says, “The leaders of my people are sure to be judged. They were supposed to watch over my people like shepherds watch over their sheep. But they are causing my people to be destroyed and scattered.
- Ezekiel 34:5They were scattered because they had no shepherd, and they became food for every wild beast.
- Joel 3:2Then I will gather all the nations, and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. I will enter into judgment against them there concerning my people Israel who are my inheritance, whom they scattered among the nations. They partitioned my land,
- Matthew 9:36When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were bewildered and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
- Luke 15:4“Which one of you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, would not leave the ninety-nine in the open pasture and go look for the one that is lost until he finds it?
- John 10:10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come so that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
- 1 Peter 2:25For you were going astray like sheep but now you have turned back to the shepherd and guardian of your souls.
- Jeremiah 2:15Like lions his enemies roar victoriously over him; they raise their voices in triumph. They have laid his land waste; his cities have been burned down and deserted.
- Jeremiah 5:6So like a lion from the thicket their enemies will kill them. Like a wolf from the desert they will destroy them. Like a leopard they will lie in wait outside their cities and totally destroy anyone who ventures out. For they have rebelled so much and done so many unfaithful things.
- Jeremiah 49:19“A lion coming up from the thick undergrowth along the Jordan scatters the sheep in the pastureland around it. So too I will chase the Edomites off their land. Then I will appoint over it whomever I choose. For there is no one like me, and there is no one who can call me to account. There is no ruler who can stand up against me.
- Jeremiah 51:38The Babylonians are all like lions roaring for prey. They are like lion cubs growling for something to eat.
- 2 Kings 15:29During Pekah’s reign over Israel, King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came and captured Ijon, Abel Beth Maacah, Janoah, Kedesh, Hazor, Gilead, and Galilee, including all the territory of Naphtali. He deported the people to Assyria.
- 2 Kings 17:6In the ninth year of Hoshea’s reign, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and deported the people of Israel to Assyria. He settled them in Halah, along the Habor (the river of Gozan), and in the cities of the Medes.
- 2 Kings 18:9In the fourth year of King Hezekiah’s reign (it was the seventh year of the reign of Israel’s King Hoshea, son of Elah), King Shalmaneser of Assyria marched up against Samaria and besieged it.
- 2 Chronicles 28:20King Tiglath-pileser of Assyria came, but he gave him more trouble than support.
Commentaries on Jeremiah 50:17
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 17Israel - All the descendants of Jacob have been harassed and spoiled, first by the Assyrians, and afterwards by the Chaldeans. They acted towards them as a lion to a sheep which he has caught; first he devours all the flesh, next he breaks all the bones to extract the marrow.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 17Israel is a scattered sheep - i. e., is like a flock which has been scared and driven in all directions, for lions have chased him. First the king - Rather, the first lion “ate him, even the king of Assyria; and this one, the last, heath picked his bones, even Nebuchadrezzar etc.” The constant wasting of the land by the Assyrians had so lessened the number of Israel, that Nebuchadnezzar had but the bones to pick.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 8-20Verses 8-20 The desolation that shall be brought upon Babylon is set forth in a variety of expressions. The cause of this destruction is the wrath of the Lord. Babylon shall be wholly desolated; for she hath sinned against the Lord. Sin makes men a mark for the arrows of God's judgments. The mercy promised to the Israel of God, shall not only accompany, but arise from the destruction of Babylon. These sheep shall be gathered from the deserts, and put…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 17Assyria took over the northern kingdom of Israel between 734 and 722 BC. Nebuchadnezzar took over the southern kingdom of Judah between 605 and 586 BC.Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1717. lions--hostile kings (Jr 4:7; 49:19). Assyria--(2Ki 17:6, Shalmaneser; Ezr 4:2, Esar-haddon). Nebuchadnezzar--(2Ki 24:10, 14).Read the comment
Topics related to Jeremiah 50:17
In the dictionaries
Commentaries on Jeremiah 50
- 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
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