Bible/Jeremiah/23

Jeremiah 23:3

23:2 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.
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.

KJV

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“I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and will bring them again to their folds; and they shall be fruitful and multiply.

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.

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

23:4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, saith the LORD.

What does Jeremiah 23:3 mean?

Jeremiah 23:3 is a verse in the book of Jeremiah, in the Old Testament. In the original Hebrew, key words include קָבַץ (qâbats), שְׁאֵרִית (shᵉʼêrîyth), צֹאן (tsôʼn). It connects to 19 cross-referenced passages elsewhere in Scripture.

Hebrew interlinear

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And
I
will
gatherקָבַץqâbats/kaw-bats'/H6908to grasp, i.e. collect
the
remnantשְׁאֵרִיתshᵉʼêrîyth/sheh-ay-reeth'/H7611a remainder or residual (surviving, final) portion
of
my
flockצֹאןtsôʼn/tsone/H6629a collective name for a flock (of sheep or goats); also figuratively (of men)
out
of
all
countriesאֶרֶץʼerets/eh'-rets/H776the earth (at large, or partitively a land)
whither
I
have
drivenנָדַחnâdach/naw-dakh'/H5080to push off; used in a great variety of applications, literally and figuratively (to expel, mislead, strike, inflict, etc.)
them,
and
will
bring
them
againשׁוּבshûwb/shoob/H7725to turn back (hence, away) transitively or intransitively, literally or figuratively (not necessarily with the idea of return to the starting point); generally to retreat; often adverbial, again
to
their
folds;נָוֶהnâveh/naw-veh'/H5116(adjectively) at home; hence (by implication of satisfaction) lovely; also (noun) a home, of God (temple), men (residence), flocks (pasture), or wild animals (den)
and
they
shall
be
fruitfulפָּרָהpârâh/paw-raw'/H6509to bear fruit (literally or figuratively)
and
increase.רָבָהrâbâh/raw-baw'/H7235to increase (in whatever respect)

Commentary on Jeremiah 23:3

HENRY_FULL · Jeremiah 23:3
itle> 1 And in that day seven women shall take hold of one man, saying, We will eat our own bread, and wear our own apparel: only let us be called by thy name, to take away our reproach. It was threatened ( ch. iii. 25 ) that the mighty men should fall by the sword in war, and it was threatened as a punishment to the women that affected gaiety and a loose sort of conversation. Now here we have the effect and consequence of that great slaughter of men, 1. That though Providence has so wisely ordered that, communibus annis—on an average of years, there is nearly an equal number of males and females born into the world, yet, through the devastations made by war, there should scarcely be one man in seven left alive. As there are deaths attending the bringing forth of children, which are peculiar to the woman, who was first in transgression, so, to balance that, there are deaths peculiar to men, those by the sword in the high places of the field, which perhaps devour more than child-bed does. Here it is foretold that such multitudes of men should be cut off that there should be seven women to one man. 2. That by reason of the scarcity of men, though marriage should be kept up for the raising of recruits and the preserving of the race of mankind upon earth, yet the usual method of it should be quite altered,—that, whereas men ordinarily make their court to the women, the women should now take hold of the men, foolishly fearing (as Lot's daughters did, when they saw the ruin of Sodom and perhaps thought it reached further than it did) that in a little time there would be none left ( Gen. xix. 31 ),—that whereas women naturally hate to come in sharers with others, seven should now, by consent, become the wives of one man,—and that whereas by the law the husband was obliged to provide food and raiment for his wife ( Exod. xxi. 10 ), which with many would be the most powerful argument against multiplying wives, these women will be bound to support themselves; they will eat bread of their own earning, and wear apparel of their own working, and the man they court shall be at no expense upon them, only they desire to be called his wives, to take away the reproach of a single life. They are willing to be wives upon any terms, though ever so unreasonable; and perhaps the rather because in these troublesome times it would be a kindness to them to have a husband for their protector. Paul, on the contrary, thinks the single state preferable in a time of distress, 1 Cor. vii. 26 . It were well if this were not introduced here partly as a reflection upon the daughters of Zion, that, notwithstanding the humbling providences they were under ( ch. iii. 18 ), they remained unhumbled, and, instead of repenting of their pride and vanity, when God was contending with them for them, all their care was to get husbands—that modesty, which is the greatest beauty of the fair sex, was forgotten, and with them the reproach of vice was nothing to the reproach of virginity, a sad symptom of the irrecoverable desolations of virtue. The Future Glory of Zion. ( b. c. 758.) 2 I

Cross-references

Related passages from the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge.

Exodus 32:32

Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin--; and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

Exodus 32:33

And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

Jeremiah 52:1

Zedekiah was one and twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. And his mother's name was Hamutal the daughter of Jeremiah of Libnah. began: Heb. reigned

Ezekiel 13:9

And mine hand shall be upon the prophets that see vanity, and that divine lies: they shall not be in the assembly of my people, neither shall they be written in the writing of the house of Israel, neither shall they enter into the land of Israel; and ye shall know that I am the Lord GOD. assembly: or, secret, or, counsel

Ezekiel 36:24

For I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and will bring you into your own land.

Ezekiel 43:12

This is the law of the house; Upon the top of the mountain the whole limit thereof round about shall be most holy. Behold, this is the law of the house.

Zechariah 14:20

In that day shall there be upon the bells of the horses, HOLINESS UNTO THE LORD; and the pots in the LORD'S house shall be like the bowls before the altar. bells: or, bridles

Zechariah 14:21

Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holiness unto the LORD of hosts: and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and seethe therein: and in that day there shall be no more the Canaanite in the house of the LORD of hosts.

Luke 10:20

Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

Ephesians 1:4

According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:

Philippians 4:3

And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.

Colossians 3:12

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;

Hebrews 12:14

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

1 Peter 2:9

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: peculiar: or, purchased praises: or, virtues

Revelation 3:5Revelation 13:8Revelation 17:8Revelation 20:15Revelation 21:27

Verses like this

Other verses that share key original-language words with Jeremiah 23:3.

Deuteronomy 30:4

If any of thine be driven out unto the outmost parts of heaven, from thence will the LORD thy God gather thee, and from thence will he fetch thee:

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.

Genesis 1:28

And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. moveth: Heb. creepeth

Genesis 20:14

And Abimelech took sheep, and oxen, and menservants, and womenservants, and gave them unto Abraham, and restored him Sarah his wife.

Genesis 29:3

And thither were all the flocks gathered: and they rolled the stone from the well's mouth, and watered the sheep, and put the stone again upon the well's mouth in his place.

Genesis 30:31

And he said, What shall I give thee? And Jacob said, Thou shalt not give me any thing: if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock:

Jeremiah 43:5

But Johanan the son of Kareah, and all the captains of the forces, took all the remnant of Judah, that were returned from all nations, whither they had been driven, to dwell in the land of Judah;

Jeremiah 8:3

And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.

Frequently asked questions

What does Jeremiah 23:3 say?

Jeremiah 23:3 (King James Version) reads: "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."

Is Jeremiah 23:3 in the Old or New Testament?

Jeremiah 23:3 is in the Old Testament of the Bible, in the book of Jeremiah.

Reflect

As you read Jeremiah 23:3, what is one truth here you can carry into today?

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