Jeremiah 23:1

Webster's Bible (1833)

Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! says Yahweh.

📖 Grammatical Analysis

Original Text

הוֹי רֹעִים מְאַבְּדִים וּמְפִצִים אֶת־צֹאן מַרְעִיתִי נְאֻם־יְהוָה

Transliteration

Hôy rōʿîm məʾabbədîm ûməp̄îṣîm ʾet-ṣōʾn marʿîtî nəʾum-YHWH

Grammar Details

• *Hôy*: interjection - woe/alas
• *rōʿîm*: masculine plural participle - shepherds/pastors
• *məʾabbədîm*: piel masculine plural participle - destroying/causing to perish
• *ûməp̄îṣîm*: conjunction + hiphil masculine plural participle - and scattering/dispersing
• *ʾet*: direct object marker
• *ṣōʾn*: feminine singular collective noun - flock/sheep
• *marʿîtî*: noun + 1st person singular possessive suffix - my pasture
• *nəʾum*: construct state - declaration/utterance of
• *YHWH*: divine name - Yahweh/LORD

Word Meanings

• *Hôy*: woe/alas/ah
• *rōʿîm*: shepherds/pastors/those who tend
• *məʾabbədîm*: destroying/causing to perish/ruining
• *məp̄îṣîm*: scattering/dispersing/spreading abroad
• *marʿîtî*: my pasture/my pasturage/my flock

Referenced Verses

• Jer 10:21 : 21 For the shepherds are become brutish, and have not inquired of Yahweh: therefore they have not prospered, and all their flocks are scattered.
• Zech 11:15-17 : 15 Yahweh said to me, "Take for yourself yet again the equipment of a foolish shepherd. 16 For, behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land, who will not visit those who are cut off, neither will seek those who are scattered, nor heal that which is broken, nor feed that which is sound; but he will eat the flesh of the fat sheep, and will tear their hoofs in pieces. 17 Woe to the worthless shepherd who leaves the flock! The sword will be on his arm, and on his right eye. His arm will be completely withered, and his right eye will be totally blinded!"
• Ezek 34:2-9 : 2 Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and tell them, even to the shepherds, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves! Shouldn't the shepherds feed the sheep? 3 You eat the fat, and you clothe you with the wool, you kill the fatlings; but you don't feed the sheep. 4 You haven't strengthened the diseased, neither have you healed that which was sick, neither have you bound up that which was broken, neither have you brought back that which was driven away, neither have you sought that which was lost; but with force and with rigor have you ruled over them. 5 They were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and they became food to all the animals of the field, and were scattered. 6 My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill: yes, my sheep were scattered on all the surface of the earth; and there was none who searched or sought. 7 Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh: 8 As I live, says the Lord Yahweh, surely because my sheep became a prey, and my sheep became food to all the animals of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my sheep, but the shepherds fed themselves, and didn't feed my sheep; 9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of Yahweh: 10 Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be food for them.
• Matt 9:36 : 36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed{TR reads "weary" instead of "harassed"} and scattered, like sheep without a shepherd.
• Ezek 13:3 : 3 Thus says the Lord Yahweh, Woe to the foolish prophets, who follow their own spirit, and have seen nothing!
• Isa 56:9-9 : 9 All you animals of the field, come to devour, [yes], all you animals in the forest. 10 His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all mute dogs, they can't bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber. 11 Yes, the dogs are greedy, they can never have enough; and these are shepherds who can't understand: they have all turned to their own way, each one to his gain, from every quarter. 12 Come you, [say they], I will get wine, and we will fill ourselves with strong drink; and tomorrow shall be as this day, [a day] great beyond measure.
• Jer 2:8 : 8 The priests didn't say, Where is Yahweh? and those who handle the law didn't know me: the rulers also transgressed against me, and the prophets prophesied by Baal, and walked after things that do not profit.
• Jer 12:10 : 10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trodden my portion under foot, they have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness.
• Jer 22:22 : 22 The wind shall feed all your shepherds, and your lovers shall go into captivity: surely then shall you be ashamed and confounded for all your wickedness.
• Matt 15:14 : 14 Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit."
• Matt 23:13-29 : 13 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you devour widows' houses, and as a pretense you make long prayers. Therefore you will receive greater condemnation. 14 "But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you shut up the Kingdom of Heaven against men; for you don't enter in yourselves, neither do you allow those who are entering in to enter.{Some Greek manuscripts reverse the order of verses 13 and 14, and some omit verse 13, numbering verse 14 as 13.} 15 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel around by sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much of a son of Gehenna as yourselves. 16 "Woe to you, you blind guides, who say, 'Whoever swears by the temple, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gold of the temple, he is obligated.' 17 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifies the gold? 18 'Whoever swears by the altar, it is nothing; but whoever swears by the gift that is on it, he is obligated.' 19 You blind fools! For which is greater, the gift, or the altar that sanctifies the gift? 20 He therefore who swears by the altar, swears by it, and by everything on it. 21 He who swears by the temple, swears by it, and by him who was living in it. 22 He who swears by heaven, swears by the throne of God, and by him who sits on it. 23 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin,{ cumin is an aromatic seed from Cuminum cyminum, resembling caraway in flavor and appearance. It is used as a spice.} and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. 24 You blind guides, who strain out a gnat, and swallow a camel! 25 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and unrighteousness.{TR reads "self-indulgence" instead of "unrighteousness"} 26 You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the platter, that the outside of it may become clean also. 27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitened tombs, which outwardly appear beautiful, but inwardly are full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. 28 Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. 29 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and decorate the tombs of the righteous,
• Luke 11:42-52 : 42 But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, but you bypass justice and the love of God. You ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone. 43 Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seats in the synagogues, and the greetings in the marketplaces. 44 Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like hidden graves, and the men who walk over them don't know it." 45 One of the lawyers answered him, "Teacher, in saying this you insult us also." 46 He said, "Woe to you lawyers also! For you load men with burdens that are difficult to carry, and you yourselves won't even lift one finger to help carry those burdens. 47 Woe to you! For you build the tombs of the prophets, and your fathers killed them. 48 So you testify and consent to the works of your fathers. For they killed them, and you build their tombs. 49 Therefore also the wisdom of God said, 'I will send to them prophets and apostles; and some of them they will kill and persecute, 50 that the blood of all the prophets, which was shed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zachariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary.' Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation. 52 Woe to you lawyers! For you took away the key of knowledge. You didn't enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in, you hindered."
• John 10:10 : 10 The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly.
• Zeph 3:3-4 : 3 Her princes in the midst of her are roaring lions. Her judges are evening wolves. They leave nothing until the next day. 4 Her prophets are arrogant and treacherous people. Her priests have profaned the sanctuary. They have done violence to the law.
• Zech 11:5-7 : 5 Their buyers slaughter them, and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, 'Blessed be Yahweh, for I am rich;' and their own shepherds don't pity them. 6 For I will no more pity the inhabitants of the land," says Yahweh; "but, behold, I will deliver the men everyone into his neighbor's hand, and into the hand of his king. They will strike the land, and out of their hand I will not deliver them." 7 So I fed the flock of slaughter, especially the oppressed of the flock. I took for myself two staffs. The one I called "Favor," and the other I called "Union," and I fed the flock.
• John 10:12 : 12 He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who doesn't own the sheep, sees the wolf coming, leaves the sheep, and flees. The wolf snatches the sheep, and scatters them.
• Jer 23:2 : 2 Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, 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.
• Jer 23:11-15 : 11 for both prophet and priest are profane; yes, in my house have I found their wickedness, says Yahweh. 12 Therefore their way shall be to them as slippery places in the darkness: they shall be driven on, and fall therein; for I will bring evil on them, even the year of their visitation, says Yahweh. 13 I have seen folly in the prophets of Samaria; they prophesied by Baal, and caused my people Israel to err. 14 In the prophets of Jerusalem also I have seen a horrible thing: they commit adultery, and walk in lies; and they strengthen the hands of evil-doers, so that none does return from his wickedness: they are all of them become to me as Sodom, and the inhabitants of it as Gomorrah. 15 Therefore thus says Yahweh of Hosts concerning the prophets: Behold, I will feed them with wormwood, and make them drink the water of gall; for from the prophets of Jerusalem is ungodliness gone forth into all the land.
• Jer 25:34-36 : 34 Wail, you shepherds, and cry; and wallow [in ashes], you principal of the flock; for the days of your slaughter and of your dispersions are fully come, and you shall fall like a goodly vessel. 35 The shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape. 36 A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and the wailing of the principal of the flock! for Yahweh lays waste their pasture.
• Jer 50:6 : 6 My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray; they have turned them away on the mountains; they have gone from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting-place.
• Jer 2:26 : 26 As the thief is ashamed when he is found, so is the house of Israel ashamed; they, their kings, their princes, and their priests, and their prophets;
• Ezek 22:25-29 : 25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst of it, like a roaring lion ravening the prey: they have devoured souls; they take treasure and precious things; they have made her widows many in the midst of it. 26 Her priests have done violence to my law, and have profaned my holy things: they have made no distinction between the holy and the common, neither have they caused men to discern between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them. 27 Her princes in the midst of it are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, [and] to destroy souls, that they may get dishonest gain. 28 Her prophets have daubed for them with whitewash, seeing false visions, and divining lies to them, saying, Thus says the Lord Yahweh, when Yahweh has not spoken. 29 The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery; yes, they have vexed the poor and needy, and have oppressed the foreigner wrongfully.
• Mic 3:11-12 : 11 Her leaders judge for bribes, And her priests teach for a price, And her prophets of it tell forturnes for money: Yet they lean on Yahweh, and say, Isn't Yahweh in the midst of us? No disaster will come on us. 12 Therefore Zion for your sake will be plowed like a field, And Jerusalem will become heaps of rubble, And the mountain of the temple like the high places of a forest.
• Ezek 34:21 : 21 Because you thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, until you have scattered them abroad;
• Ezek 34:31 : 31 You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, says the Lord Yahweh.