Bible/Jeremiah/23

Jeremiah 23:2

23:1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

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Therefore Yahweh, the God of Israel, says against the shepherds who feed my people: “You have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them; behold, I will visit on you the evil of your doings,” says Yahweh.

Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.

Therefore thus said the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; You have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit on you the evil of your doings, says the LORD.

23:3 And I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all countries whither I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and increase.

What does Jeremiah 23:2 mean?

Jeremiah 23:2 is a verse in the book of Jeremiah, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include אָמַר (ʼâmar), יְהֹוָה (Yᵉhôvâh), אֱלֹהִים (ʼĕlôhîym). It connects to 30 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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Therefore
thus
saithאָמַרʼâmar/aw-mar'/H559to say (used with great latitude)
the
LORDיְהֹוָהYᵉhôvâh/yeh-ho-vaw'/H3068Jehovah, Jewish national name of God
Godאֱלֹהִיםʼĕlôhîym/el-o-heem'/H430gods in the ordinary sense; but specifically used (in the plural thus, especially with the article) of the supreme God; occasionally applied by way of deference to magistrates; and sometimes as a superlative
of
IsraelיִשְׂרָאֵלYisrâʼêl/yis-raw-ale'/H3478Jisrael, a symbolical name of Jacob; also (typically) of his posterity
against
the
pastorsרָעָהrâʻâh/raw-aw'/H7462to tend a flock; i.e. pasture it; intransitively, to graze (literally or figuratively); generally to rule; by extension, to associate with (as a friend)
that
feedרָעָהrâʻâh/raw-aw'/H7462to tend a flock; i.e. pasture it; intransitively, to graze (literally or figuratively); generally to rule; by extension, to associate with (as a friend)
my
people;עַםʻam/am/H5971a people (as a congregated unit); specifically, a tribe (as those of Israel); hence (collectively) troops or attendants; figuratively, a flock
Ye
have
scatteredפּוּץpûwts/poots/H6327to dash in pieces, literally or figuratively (especially to disperse)
my
flock,צֹאןtsôʼn/tsone/H6629a collective name for a flock (of sheep or goats); also figuratively (of men)
and
driven
them
away,נָדַחnâdach/naw-dakh'/H5080to push off; used in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively (to expel, mislead, strike, inflict, etc.)
and
have
not
visitedפָּקַדpâqad/paw-kad'/H6485to visit (with friendly or hostile intent); by analogy, to oversee, muster, charge, care for, miss, deposit, etc.
them:
behold,
I
will
visitפָּקַדpâqad/paw-kad'/H6485to visit (with friendly or hostile intent); by analogy, to oversee, muster, charge, care for, miss, deposit, etc.
upon
you
the
evilרֹעַrôaʻ/ro'-ah/H7455badness (as marring), physically or morally
of
your
doings,מַעֲלָלmaʻălâl/mah-al-awl'/H4611an act (good or bad)
saithנְאֻםnᵉʼum/neh-oom'/H5002an oracle
the
LORD.יְהֹוָהYᵉhôvâh/yeh-ho-vaw'/H3068Jehovah, Jewish national name of God

Commentary on Jeremiah 23:2

HENRY_FULL · Jeremiah 23:2
In this chapter we have, I. A threatening of the paucity and scarceness of man ( ver. 1 ), which might fitly enough have been added to the close of the foregoing chapter, to which it has a plain reference. II. A promise of the restoration of Jerusalem's peace and purity, righteousness and safety, in the days of the Messiah, ver. 2-6 . Thus, in wrath, mercy is remembered, and gospel grace is a sovereign relief, in reference to the terrors of the law and the desolations made by sin. Humiliation of the Daughters of Zion. ( b. c. 758.)

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Exodus 28:2

And thou shalt make holy garments for Aaron thy brother for glory and for beauty.

Jeremiah 10:20

My tabernacle is spoiled, and all my cords are broken: my children are gone forth of me, and they are not: there is none to stretch forth my tent any more, and to set up my curtains.

Jeremiah 11:1

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,

Jeremiah 23:5

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth.

Jeremiah 27:6

And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field have I given him also to serve him.

Jeremiah 27:12

I spake also to Zedekiah king of Judah according to all these words, saying, Bring your necks under the yoke of the king of Babylon, and serve him and his people, and live.

Jeremiah 27:13

Why will ye die, thou and thy people, by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence, as the LORD hath spoken against the nation that will not serve the king of Babylon?

Jeremiah 30:23

Behold, the whirlwind of the LORD goeth forth with fury, a continuing whirlwind: it shall fall with pain upon the head of the wicked. continuing: Heb. cutting fall: or, remain

Jeremiah 33:15

In those days, and at that time, will I cause the Branch of righteousness to grow up unto David; and he shall execute judgment and righteousness in the land.

Jeremiah 44:14

So that none of the remnant of Judah, which are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall escape or remain, that they should return into the land of Judah, to the which they have a desire to return to dwell there: for none shall return but such as shall escape. have: Heb. lift up their soul

Jeremiah 44:28

Yet a small number that escape the sword shall return out of the land of Egypt into the land of Judah, and all the remnant of Judah, that are gone into the land of Egypt to sojourn there, shall know whose words shall stand, mine, or theirs. mine: Heb. from me, or, from them

Ezekiel 7:16

But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity.

Ezekiel 17:22

Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will also take of the highest branch of the high cedar, and will set it; I will crop off from the top of his young twigs a tender one, and will plant it upon an high mountain and eminent:

Ezekiel 17:23

In the mountain of the height of Israel will I plant it: and it shall bring forth boughs, and bear fruit, and be a goodly cedar: and under it shall dwell all fowl of every wing; in the shadow of the branches thereof shall they dwell.

Hosea 2:22

And the earth shall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oil; and they shall hear Jezreel.

Hosea 2:23

And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

Joel 2:32

And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the LORD shall be delivered: for in mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the LORD hath said, and in the remnant whom the LORD shall call.

Joel 3:18

And it shall come to pass in that day, that the mountains shall drop down new wine, and the hills shall flow with milk, and all the rivers of Judah shall flow with waters, and a fountain shall come forth of the house of the LORD, and shall water the valley of Shittim. flow: Heb. go

Obadiah 1:17Zechariah 3:8Zechariah 6:12Zechariah 9:17Matthew 24:22Luke 21:36John 1:14Romans 11:4Romans 11:52 Corinthians 4:62 Peter 1:16Revelation 7:9

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Jeremiah 23:2.

Genesis 2:16

And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: thou: Heb. eating thou shalt eat

Genesis 2:18

And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him. meet: Heb. as before him

Genesis 3:1

Now the serpent was more subtil than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Yea: Heb. Yea, because, etc.

1 Kings 22:17

And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.

Genesis 1:11

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so. grass: Heb. tender grass

Genesis 1:14

And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and years: the day: Heb. between the day and between the night

Genesis 1:20

And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven. moving: or, creeping life: Heb. soul fowl: Heb. let fowl fly open: Heb. face of the firmament of heaven

Genesis 1:22

And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.

Frequently asked questions

What does Jeremiah 23:2 say?

Jeremiah 23:2 (King James Version) reads: "Therefore thus saith the LORD God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD."

Is Jeremiah 23:2 in the Old or New Testament?

Jeremiah 23:2 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Jeremiah.

Reflect

As you read Jeremiah 23:2, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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