Jeremiah 12:10

10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trampled down my plot of land. They have made {my pleasant field} like the desert of desolation.

Jeremiah 12:10 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 12:10

Many pastors have destroyed my vineyard
This is a metaphor which is often used of the people of Israel and Judah; see ( Psalms 80:8 ) ( Isaiah 5:1-7 ) ( 27:2 ) , the pastors that destroyed them are not their own governors, civil or religious, but Heathen princes, Nebuchadnezzar and his generals. So the Targum paraphrases it,

``many kings slay my people;''

so Kimchi and Ben Melech. They have trodden my portion under foot;
the people of the Jews, that were his portion, and before called his heritage; whom the Chaldeans subdued, and reduced to extreme servitude and bondage; and were as the dirt under their feet, greatly oppressed and despised. They have made my pleasant portion a desolate wilderness;
by pulling down stately edifices, unwalling of towers, and destroying men; so that there were none to manure the fields, to dress the vineyards, and keep gardens and orchards in good case; but all were come to ruin and what before was a delightful paradise was now like an heath or desert.

Jeremiah 12:10 In-Context

8 My inheritance has become to me like a lion in the forest. She has lifted up against me her voice; {therefore} I hate her.

9 The lair of [the] hyena [is] my inheritance to me, the birds of prey [are] all around her. Go, gather all of the animals of the field, bring [them] {to come and devour}.

10 Many shepherds have destroyed my vineyard, they have trampled down my plot of land. They have made {my pleasant field} like the desert of desolation.

11 They have made it a desolation. Desolate, it mourns to me. All the land is made desolate, but there is no person taking [it] to heart.

12 Upon all [the] barren heights in the desert destroyers have come, for [the] sword of Yahweh devours, from [one] end of [the] land to the [other] end of the land, there is no peace for all flesh.

Footnotes

• [a] Literally "the plot of land of my desire"
• [b] Or "wilderness"