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.
• 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.
• New Living Translation (NLT)The shepherds of my people have lost their senses. They no longer seek wisdom from the Lord. Therefore, they fail completely, and their flocks are scattered.

Context of Jeremiah 10:21

19Woe to me because of my injury! My wound is incurable! Yet I said to myself, “This is my sickness, and I must endure it.” 20My tent is destroyed; all its ropes are snapped. My children are gone from me and are no more; no one is left now to pitch my tent or to set up my shelter. The shepherds are senseless and do not inquire of the Lord; so they do not prosper and all their flock is scattered. 22Listen! The report is coming— a great commotion from the land of the north! It will make the towns of Judah desolate, a haunt of jackals. 23Lord, I know that people’s lives are not their own; it is not for them to direct their 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 all senseless and foolish; they are taught by worthless wooden idols.
• Jeremiah 2:8The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols.
• Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy lies, the priests rule by their own authority, and my people love it this way. But what will you do in the end?
• Jeremiah 8:9The wise will be put to shame; they will be dismayed and trapped. Since they have rejected the word of the Lord, what kind of wisdom do they have?
• Jeremiah 12:10Many shepherds will ruin my vineyard and trample down my field; they will turn my pleasant field into a desolate wasteland.
• Jeremiah 23:9Concerning the prophets: My heart is broken within me; all my bones tremble. I am like a drunken man, like a strong man overcome by wine, because of the Lord and his holy words.
• Isaiah 56:10Israel’s watchmen are blind, they all lack knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they cannot bark; they lie around and dream, they love to sleep.
• Ezekiel 22:25There is a conspiracy of her princes within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her.
• Ezekiel 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock?
• John 10:12The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.
• Zechariah 10:3“My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders; for the Lord Almighty will care for his flock, the people of Judah, and make them like a proud horse in battle.
• Jeremiah 23:1“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 49:32Their camels will become plunder, and their large herds will be spoils of war. I will scatter to the winds those who are in distant places and will bring disaster on them from every side,” declares the Lord.
• Jeremiah 50:17“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.”
• Ezekiel 34:5So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.
• Zechariah 13:7“Awake, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is close to me!” declares the Lord Almighty. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and 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