Jeremiah 23:2

English Standard Version

Therefore thus says the Lord , the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: "You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord .

Parallel Translations

Christian Standard Bible®
“Therefore, this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend my people: You have scattered my flock, banished them, and have not attended to them. I am about to attend to you because of your evil acts”—this is the Lord’s declaration.

Hebrew Names Version
Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Yisra'el, 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 the LORD.

King James Version
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 .

New American Standard Bible
Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel says concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: "You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not been concerned about them; behold, I am going to call you to account for the evil of your deeds," declares the LORD.

New Century Version
They are responsible for the people, so the Lord , the God of Israel, says to them: "You have scattered my people and forced them away and not taken care of them. So I will punish you for the evil things you have done," says the Lord .

Amplified Bible
Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, in regard to the shepherds who care for and feed My people: "You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; hear this, I am about to visit and attend to you for the evil of your deeds," says the LORD.

World English Bible
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.

Geneva Bible (1587)
Therefore thus saith the Lorde God of Israel vnto the pastors that feede my people, Yee haue scattered my flock and thrust them out, and haue not visited them: beholde, I will visite you for the wickednesse of your works, saith the Lord.

Legacy Standard Bible
Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who are shepherding My people: "You have scattered My flock and banished them and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds," declares Yahweh.

Berean Standard Bible
Therefore, this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: "You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.

Contemporary English Version
You were supposed to take care of my people, but instead you chased them away. So now I'll really take care of you, and believe me, you will pay for your crimes!

Complete Jewish Bible
Therefore this is what Adonai , the God of Isra'el, says against the shepherds who shepherd my people: "You have scattered my flock, driven them away and not taken care of them. So I will ‘take care of' you because of your evil deeds," says Adonai .

Darby Translation
Therefore thus saith Jehovah the God of Israel concerning the shepherds 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 Jehovah.

Easy-to-Read Version
They are responsible for my people. And this is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says to them: "You shepherds have made my sheep run away in all directions. You have forced them to go away, and you have not taken care of them. But I will take care of you—I will punish you for the evil things you did." This message is from the Lord :

George Lamsa Translation
Therefore thus speaks the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed my people: You have scattered my flock, and have caused them to go astray, and have not visited them; behold, I will punish you according to your evil doings, says the LORD.

Good News Translation
This is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says about the rulers who were supposed to take care of his people: "You have not taken care of my people; you have scattered them and driven them away. Now I am going to punish you for the evil you have done.

Lexham English Bible
Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Israel concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people, "You yourselves have scattered my flock, and you have driven them away, and you do not attend to them. Look, I will punish you for the evil of your deeds," declares Yahweh.

Literal Translation
Because of this, so says Jehovah the God of Israel against the shepherds who shepherd My people: You have scattered My flock, and have driven them away, and have not visited them. Behold, I will visit on you the evil of your doings, says Jehovah.

Miles Coverdale Bible (1535)
Wherfore, this is the comaundemet of the LORDE God of Israel, vnto the shepherdes that fede my people: Ye scatre ad thrust out my flocke, and loke not vpon them. Therfore, now will I vyset the wickednes of youre ymaginacions, saieth ye LORDE:

American Standard Version
Therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of Israel, against the shepherds 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 Jehovah.

Bible in Basic English
So this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, has said against the keepers who have the care of my people: You have let my flock be broken up, driving them away and not caring for them; see, I will send on you the punishment for the evil of your doings, says the Lord.

JPS Old Testament (1917)
Therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, against the shepherds that feed My people: Ye have scattered My flock, and driven them away, and have not taken care of them; behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the LORD.

King James Version (1611)
Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Yee haue scattered my flocke and driuen them away, and haue not visited them; behold I will visite vpon you the euill of your doings, saith the Lord.

Bishop's Bible (1568)
Wherefore this is the saying of the Lord God of Israel concerning the shepheardes that feede my people, Ye scatter and thrust out my flocke, and loke not vpon them: therefore nowe wyll I visite the wickednesse of your imaginations, saith the Lorde.

Brenton's Septuagint (LXX)
Therefore thus saith the Lord against them that tend my people; Ye have scattered my sheep, and driven them out, and ye have not visited them: behold, I will take vengeance upon you according to your evil practices.

English Revised Version
Therefore thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, against the shepherds 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.

Wycliffe Bible (1395)
Therfor the Lord God of Israel seith these thingis to the scheepherdis, that feeden my puple, Ye han scaterid my floc, and han cast hem out, and han not visitid hem; lo! Y schal visite on you the malice of youre studies, seith the Lord.

Update Bible Version
Therefore this is what Yahweh, the God of Israel, says, against the shepherds that feed my people: You have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them; look, I will visit on you the evil of your doings, says Yahweh.

Webster's Bible Translation
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.

New English Translation
So the Lord God of Israel has this to say about the leaders who are ruling over his people: "You have caused my people 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. I, the Lord , affirm it!

New King James Version
Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel against the shepherds who feed My people: "You have scattered My flock, driven them away, and not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your doings," says the LORD.

New Living Translation
Therefore, this is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says to these shepherds: "Instead of caring for my flock and leading them to safety, you have deserted them and driven them to destruction. Now I will pour out judgment on you for the evil you have done to them.

New Life Bible
The Lord God of Israel says this about the shepherds who are caring for My people, "You have made My flock go everywhere and have driven them away, and have not cared for them. See, I am about to punish you for your sinful things you have done," says the Lord.

New Revised Standard
Therefore thus says the Lord , the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who shepherd my people: It is you who have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. So I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the Lord .

J.B. Rotherham Emphasized Bible
Therefore, Thus, saith Yahweh God of Israel, Concerning the shepherds who are tending my people, - Ye have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and Nave not visited them, - Behold me! visiting upon you the wickedness of your doings Declareth Yahweh.

Douay-Rheims Bible
Therefore thus saith the Lord the God of Israel to the pastors that feed my people: You have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold I will visit upon you for the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.

Revised Standard Version
Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: "You have scattered my flock, and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil doings, says the LORD.

Young's Literal Translation
Therefore, thus said Jehovah, God of Israel, Against the shepherds who feed My people, Ye have scattered My flock, and drive them away, And have not inspected them, Lo, I am charging on you the evil of your doings, An affirmation of Jehovah.

New American Standard Bible (1995)
Therefore thus says the LORD God of Israel concerning the shepherds who are tending My people: "You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them; behold, I am about to attend to you for the evil of your deeds," declares the LORD.

Contextual Overview

¹ "Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!" declares the Lord . ² Therefore thus says the Lord , the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: "You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds, declares the Lord . ³ Then I will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and I will bring them back to their fold, and they shall be fruitful and multiply. ⁴ I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing, declares the Lord . ⁵ "Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord , when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. ⁶ In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.' ⁷ "Therefore, behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord , when they shall no longer say, ‘As the Lord lives who brought up the people of Israel out of the land of Egypt,' ⁸ but ‘As the Lord lives who brought up and led the offspring of the house of Israel out of the north country and out of all the countries where he had driven them.' Then they shall dwell in their own land."

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

and have: Matthew 25:36, Matthew 25:43, James 1:27

I: Jeremiah 23:34, *marg. Jeremiah 5:9, Jeremiah 5:29, Jeremiah 8:12, Jeremiah 11:22, Jeremiah 13:21, *marg. Exodus 32:34, Hosea 2:13, Micah 7:4

Reciprocal: Leviticus 18:25 - therefore Numbers 14:18 - visiting 1 Kings 22:17 - as sheep 2 Chronicles 18:16 - as sheep Psalms 78:52 - like a Jeremiah 2:8 - the pastors Jeremiah 13:20 - where Jeremiah 22:22 - thy pastors Jeremiah 23:1 - pastors Jeremiah 25:12 - punish Jeremiah 50:17 - a scattered Ezekiel 13:2 - prophesy against Ezekiel 34:5 - they were Ezekiel 34:22 - will I Hosea 1:4 - avenge Zechariah 10:3 - anger Zechariah 11:5 - possessors Zechariah 11:16 - which Acts 15:36 - Let 1 Corinthians 9:7 - or 1 Peter 2:25 - ye

Cross-References

Genesis 13:18
So Abram moved his tent and came and settled by the oaks of Mamre, which are at Hebron, and there he built an altar to the Lord .

Genesis 23:14
Ephron answered Abraham,

Genesis 23:15
"My lord, listen to me: a piece of land worth four hundred shekels of silver, what is that between you and me? Bury your dead."

Genesis 23:16
Abraham listened to Ephron, and Abraham weighed out for Ephron the silver that he had named in the hearing of the Hittites, four hundred shekels of silver, according to the weights current among the merchants.

Genesis 23:18
to Abraham as a possession in the presence of the Hittites, before all who went in at the gate of his city.

Genesis 23:19
After this, Abraham buried Sarah his wife in the cave of the field of Machpelah east of Mamre (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan.

Genesis 27:41
Now Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing with which his father had blessed him, and Esau said to himself, "The days of mourning for my father are approaching; then I will kill my brother Jacob."

Genesis 50:10
When they came to the threshing floor of Atad, which is beyond the Jordan, they lamented there with a very great and grievous lamentation, and he made a mourning for his father seven days.

Numbers 13:22
They went up into the Negeb and came to Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.)

Numbers 20:29
And when all the congregation saw that Aaron had perished, all the house of Israel wept for Aaron thirty days.

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel,.... The covenant God of that people, who are Called his sheep, and the sheep of his pasture; having made a covenant with their fathers, and provided a good pasture for them, the land of Israel, where they enjoyed all blessings, civil and religious, and appointed persons over them to feed them; but these did not do their duty, and therefore the Lord was against them, as follows:

against the pastors that feed my people; whose office it was to feed, rule, and defend them; and who pretended to do it, but did it not;

ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them; they had been the means of their being driven out of their dwellings, and out of their own land, and of their being among the nations of the world, and took no care for the return of them, any more than they concerned themselves for their welfare when over them; or they suffered the enemy, like beasts of prey, to come in among them, which scattered them, and drove them from their pasture, as sheep are by bears, dogs, and wolves; and took no care to preserve them from them, or to gather them together again to their pasture. The people of the Jews, at the time when Christ came, hereafter prophesied of, were scattered as sheep without a shepherd, and are called the lost sheep of the house of Israel, Matthew 9:36;

behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord; that is, punish them for their iniquities; since they visited not the flock in a way of mercy and kindness, as the duty of their office required, the Lord would visit them in a way of justice, and punish them according to their deserts.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

They had scattered them first spiritually by leading them into idolatry; and secondly, many had literally been taken to Egypt with Jehoahaz, many in Jehoiakim’s time had fled there, while others fell away to the Chaldaeans: and finally the best of the land had been carried to Babylon with Jeconiah.

Driven away - i. e., made them outcasts. In the East, shepherds never drive their flocks, but go ahead of them John 10:4-5.

Have not visited them - i. e., have not concerned yourselves about their conduct.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse Jeremiah 23:2. Ye have scattered my flock — The bad government both in Church and State was a principal cause of the people's profligacy.