Jeremiah 6:3

3 Shepherds with their flocks will come against her; they will pitch their tents around her, each tending his own portion.”

Jeremiah 6:3 in Other Translations

3 The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her; they shall pitch their tents against her round about; they shall feed every one in his place.

3 Shepherds with their flocks shall come against her; they shall pitch their tents around her; they shall pasture, each in his place.

3 Enemies will surround you, like shepherds camped around the city. Each chooses a place for his troops to devour.

3 Well, now 'shepherds' from the north have discovered her and brought in their flocks of soldiers. They've pitched camp all around her, and plan where they'll 'graze.'

3 Shepherds and their flocks will come against her; they will pitch [their] tents all around her. Each will pasture his own portion.

Jeremiah 6:3 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 6:3

The shepherds with their flocks shall come unto her
Kings and their armies, as the Targum paraphrases it; kings and generals are compared to shepherds, and their armies to flocks, who are under their command and direction; here they design Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, with his generals and armies, who should come up against Jerusalem, as to a good pasture: they shall pitch their tents against her round about;
their military tents, in allusion to pastoral ones. The phrase is expressive of the Chaldean army surrounding and besieging Jerusalem: they shall feed everyone in his place;
where he is ordered and fixed by his head general: or, "everyone shall feed his hand" ^F16: the sheep of his hand; see ( Psalms 95:7 ) , "them that are under his hand", as the Vulgate Latin version renders it; who are committed to his care and charge. The meaning is, he shall direct the company or companies of soldiers under him, where to be, and what part to take in the siege; or "with his hand", as the Septuagint, with the skilfulness of his hands, ( Psalms 78:72 ) , or with might and power; or "at his hand", as the Arabic version; what is at hand, what is nearest to him; or according to his will and pleasure. The Targum is,

``everyone shall help his neighbour.''

The sense, according to Kimchi, is, one king or general shall lay siege against a city, or against cities, and so another, until they have consumed and subdued the whole land.

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FOOTNOTES:

F16 (wdy ta vya wer) "paverunt unusquisque manum suam", Montanus; "eos qui sub manu sua sunt", V. L.

Jeremiah 6:3 In-Context

1 “Flee for safety, people of Benjamin! Flee from Jerusalem! Sound the trumpet in Tekoa! Raise the signal over Beth Hakkerem! For disaster looms out of the north, even terrible destruction.

2 I will destroy Daughter Zion, so beautiful and delicate.

3 Shepherds with their flocks will come against her; they will pitch their tents around her, each tending his own portion.”

4 “Prepare for battle against her! Arise, let us attack at noon! But, alas, the daylight is fading, and the shadows of evening grow long.

5 So arise, let us attack at night and destroy her fortresses!”

Cross References

• 1. Jeremiah 12:10
• 2. S 2 Kings 25:4; Luke 19:43