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

19Oy to me because of my brokenness! My wound is incurable. Yet I said, “This is simply a sickness and I must bear it.” 20“My tent is destroyed and all my ropes are snapped. My children are gone from me and are no more. No one is left to stretch out my tent or set up my tent curtains. For the shepherds are stupid! They have not sought Adonai. Therefore they have not acted wisely and all their flocks are scattered.” 22Listen! The sound of a report is coming— a great commotion out of the land of the north— to make the cities of Judah desolate, a haunt of jackals. 23I know, Adonai, that a man’s way is not his own, nor does man, as he walks, direct his 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 totally stupid and foolish. Discipline is useless—it’s wood!
• Jeremiah 2:8The kohanim did not ask, ‘Where is Adonai?’ The Torah experts did not know Me. The shepherds rebelled against Me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and went after unprofitable things.
• Jeremiah 5:31The prophets prophesy falsely, the kohanim rule by their own authority, and My people love it this way! But what will you do in the end?”
• Jeremiah 8:9The wise men will be put to shame— shattered, trapped. Look! They have rejected Adonai’s word, so what wisdom do they have?
• Jeremiah 12:10“Many shepherds ruined My vineyard. They trampled My property. They made My pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
• Jeremiah 23:9As for the prophets: My heart within me is broken, all my bones shake. I am like a drunken man, like a man overcome by wine because of Adonai, because of His holy words.
• Isaiah 56:10His watchmen are all blind. All of them know nothing. All of them are mute dogs unable to bark, dreamers lying down, lovers of slumber,
• Ezekiel 22:25There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst, like a roaring lion tearing prey. They have devoured lives, they take wealth and valuables, they multiply widows in her midst.
• Ezekiel 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, thus says Adonai Elohim: “Oy , shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should shepherds not take care of the sheep?
• John 10:12The hired worker is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. He sees the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and flees. Then the wolf snatches and scatters the sheep.
• Zechariah 10:3My anger burns against the shepherds and I will punish the leaders. Adonai-Tzva’ot cares for His flock, the house of Judah. He will make them His valiant steed in battle.
• Jeremiah 23:1“Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of My pasture!” It is a declaration of Adonai.
• Jeremiah 49:32Their camels will become plunder, their many cattle a spoil. I will scatter to all the winds those who shave the edges. I bring their calamity from every side.” It is a declaration of Adonai.
• Jeremiah 50:17Israel is a scattered flock— lions have driven them away. First, Assyria’s king devoured him. This last one who broke his bones was King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon.
• Ezekiel 34:5They were scattered for lack of a shepherd. They became food for all the beasts of the field as they were scattered.
• Zechariah 13:7Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, against the man who is My companion! It is a declaration of Adonai-Tzva’ot. 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