Jeremiah 25:35-36

25:35 The leaders will not be able to run away and hide. ¹ 

The shepherds of the flocks will not be able to escape.

25:36 Listen to the cries of anguish of the leaders.

Listen to the wails of the shepherds of the flocks.

They are wailing because the Lord

is about to destroy their lands. ² 

Jeremiah 23:2

23:2 So the Lord God of Israel has this to say about the leaders who are ruling over his people: “You have caused my people ³  to be dispersed and driven into exile. You have not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil that you have done. ⁴  I, the Lord, affirm it! ⁵ 

Jeremiah 10:21

10:21 For our leaders ⁶  are stupid.

They have not sought the Lord’s advice. ⁷ 

So they do not act wisely,

and the people they are responsible for ⁸  have all been scattered.

Jeremiah 25:34

25:34 Wail and cry out in anguish, you rulers!

Roll in the dust, you who shepherd flocks of people! ⁹ 

The time for you to be slaughtered has come.

You will lie scattered and fallen like broken pieces of fine pottery. ¹⁰ 

Jeremiah 12:14

12:14 “I, the Lord, also have something to say concerning ¹¹  the wicked nations who surround my land ¹²  and have attacked and plundered ¹³  the land that I gave to my people as a permanent possession. ¹⁴  I say: ‘I will uproot the people of those nations from their lands and I will free the people of Judah who have been taken there. ¹⁵ 

[25:35]  ¹ tn Heb “Flight [or “place of escape”] will perish from the shepherds.”

[25:36]  ² tn Heb “their pastures,” i.e., the place where they “shepherd” their “flocks.” The verb tenses in this section are not as clear as in the preceding. The participle in this verse is followed by a vav consecutive perfect like the imperatives in v. 34. The verbs in v. 38 are perfects but they can be and probably should be understood as prophetic like the perfect in v. 31 (נְתָנָם, nÿtanam) which is surrounded by imperfects, participles, and vav consecutive perfects.

[23:2]  ³ tn Heb “about the shepherds who are shepherding my people. ‘You have caused my sheep….’” For the metaphor see the study note on the previous verse.

[23:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who should be shepherding my people: You have scattered my sheep and driven them away and you have not taken care of them. Behold I will visit upon you the evil of your deeds.” “Therefore” announces the judgment which does not come until “Behold.” It is interrupted by the messenger formula and a further indictment. The original has been broken up to conform more to contemporary English style, the metaphors have been interpreted for clarity and the connections between the indictments and the judgments have been carried by “So.”

[23:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “Oracle of the Lord.”

[10:21]  ⁴ tn Heb “the shepherds.”

[10:21]  ⁵ tn Heb “They have not sought the Lord.”

[10:21]  ⁶ tn Heb “all their flock (or “pasturage”).”

[25:34]  ⁵ tn Heb “Wail and cry out, you shepherds. Roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock.” The terms have been reversed to explain the figure.

[25:34]  ⁶ tn The meaning of this line is debated. The Greek version does not have the words “lie scattered” and it reads the words “like broken pieces of fine pottery” (Heb “like choice vessels”; כִּכְלִי חֶמְדָּה, kikhli khemdah) as “like choice rams” (כְּאֵילֵי חֶמְדָּה, kÿ’ele khemdah); i.e., “the days have been completed for you to be slaughtered and you will fall like choice rams.” The reading of the Greek version fits the context better, but is probably secondary for that very reason. The word translated “lie scattered” (תְּפוֹצָה, tÿfotsah) occurs nowhere else and the switch to the simile of “choice vessels” is rather abrupt. However, this section has been characterized by switching metaphors. The key to the interpretation and translation here is the consequential nature of the verbal actions involved. “Fall” does not merely refer to the action but the effect, i.e., “lie fallen” (cf. BDB 657 s.v. נָפַל 7 and compare Judg 3:25; 1 Sam 31:8). Though the noun translated “lie scattered” does not occur elsewhere, the verb does. It is quite commonly used of dispersing people and that has led many to see that as the reference here. The word, however, can be used of scattering other things like seed (Isa 28:25), arrows (2 Sam 22:15; metaphorical for lightning), etc. Here it follows “slaughtered” and refers to their dead bodies. The simile (Heb “ fallen like choice vessels”) is elliptical, referring to “broken pieces” of choice vessels. In this sense the simile fits in perfectly with v. 33.

[12:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “Thus says the Lord concerning….” This structure has been adopted to prevent a long dangling introduction to what the Lord has to say that does not begin until the middle of the verse in Hebrew. The first person address was adopted because the speaker is still the Lord as in vv. 7-13.

[12:14]  ⁷ tn Heb “my wicked neighbors.”

[12:14]  ⁸ tn Heb “touched.” For the nuance of this verb here see BDB 619 s.v. נָגַע Qal.3 and compare the usage in 1 Chr 16:22 where it is parallel to “do harm to” and Zech 2:8 where it is parallel to “plundered.”

[12:14]  ⁹ tn Heb “the inheritance which I caused my people Israel to inherit.” Compare 3:18.

[12:14]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “I will uproot the house of Judah from their midst.”