Jeremiah 12:10

10 pastores multi demoliti sunt vineam meam conculcaverunt partem meam dederunt portionem meam desiderabilem in desertum solitudinis

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 facta est mihi hereditas mea quasi leo in silva dedit contra me vocem ideo odivi eam
9 numquid avis discolor hereditas mea mihi numquid avis tincta per totum venite congregamini omnes bestiae terrae properate ad devorandum
10 pastores multi demoliti sunt vineam meam conculcaverunt partem meam dederunt portionem meam desiderabilem in desertum solitudinis
11 posuerunt eam in dissipationem luxitque super me desolatione desolata est omnis terra quia nullus est qui recogitet corde
12 super omnes vias deserti venerunt vastatores quia gladius Domini devoravit ab extremo terrae usque ad extremum eius non est pax universae carni
The Latin Vulgate is in the public domain.