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

19My wound is severe, and my grief is great. My sickness is incurable, but I must bear it. 20My home is gone, and no one is left to help me rebuild it. My children have been taken away, and I will never see them again. 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. 22Listen! Hear the terrifying roar of great armies as they roll down from the north. The towns of Judah will be destroyed and become a haunt for jackals. 23I know, Lord, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course.

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 10:8People who worship idols are stupid and foolish. The things they worship are made of wood!
• Jeremiah 2:8The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who taught my word ignored me, the rulers turned against me, and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal, wasting their time on worthless idols.
• Jeremiah 5:31the prophets give false prophecies, and the priests rule with an iron hand. Worse yet, my people like it that way! But what will you do when the end comes?
• Jeremiah 8:9These wise teachers will fall into the trap of their own foolishness, for they have rejected the word of the Lord. Are they so wise after all?
• Jeremiah 12:10“Many rulers have ravaged my vineyard, trampling down the vines and turning all its beauty into a barren wilderness.
• Jeremiah 23:9My heart is broken because of the false prophets, and my bones tremble. I stagger like a drunkard, like someone overcome by wine, because of the holy words the Lord has spoken against them.
• Isaiah 56:10For the leaders of my people— the Lord’s watchmen, his shepherds— are blind and ignorant. They are like silent watchdogs that give no warning when danger comes. They love to lie around, sleeping and dreaming.
• Ezekiel 22:25Your princes plot conspiracies just as lions stalk their prey. They devour innocent people, seizing treasures and extorting wealth. They make many widows in the land.
• Ezekiel 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Shouldn’t shepherds feed their sheep?
• John 10:12A hired hand will run when he sees a wolf coming. He will abandon the sheep because they don’t belong to him and he isn’t their shepherd. And so the wolf attacks them and scatters the flock.
• Zechariah 10:3“My anger burns against your shepherds, and I will punish these leaders. For the Lord of Heaven’s Armies has arrived to look after Judah, his flock. He will make them strong and glorious, like a proud warhorse in battle.
• Jeremiah 23:1“What sorrow awaits the leaders of my people—the shepherds of my sheep—for they have destroyed and scattered the very ones they were expected to care for,” says the Lord.
• Jeremiah 49:32Their camels and other livestock will all be yours. I will scatter to the winds these people who live in remote places. I will bring calamity upon them from every direction,” says the Lord.
• Jeremiah 50:17“The Israelites are like sheep that have been scattered by lions. First the king of Assyria ate them up. Then King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon cracked their bones.”
• Ezekiel 34:5So my sheep have been scattered without a shepherd, and they are easy prey for any wild animal.
• Zechariah 13:7“Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, the man who is my partner,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. “Strike down the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered, and I will turn against the lambs.

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