Jeremiah 12:10

10 Many shepherds will destroy my vineyard. They will walk all over it. They will turn my pleasant vineyard into a dry and empty land.

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 land has become to me like a lion in the forest. It roars at me. So I hate it.

9 My own land has become like a spotted hawk. And other hawks surround it and attack it. Come, all of you wild animals! Gather together! Come together to eat up my land.

10 Many shepherds will destroy my vineyard. They will walk all over it. They will turn my pleasant vineyard into a dry and empty land.

11 My vineyard will become a desert. It will be dry and empty in my sight. The whole land will be completely destroyed. And no one even cares.

12 Many will come to destroy it. They will gather on the bare hilltops in the desert. I will use them as my sword to destroy my people. They will kill them from one end of the land to the other. No one will be safe.