Jeremiah 23:1

God pronounces woe on the shepherds who destroy and scatter His flock. Israel's leaders are condemned for ruining the people in their care.

Cross-references · 25

• Jer 10:21For the shepherds have become senseless; they do not seek the LORD. Therefore they have not prospered, and all their flock is scattered.
• Zech 11:15–17And the LORD said to me: “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
• Ezek 34:2–10“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock?
• Ezek 13:3This is what the Lord GOD says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit, yet have seen nothing.
• Matt 9:36When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
• Jer 12:10Many shepherds have destroyed My vineyard; they have trampled My plot of ground. They have turned My pleasant field into a desolate wasteland.
• Jer 22:22The wind will drive away all your shepherds, and your lovers will go into captivity. Then you will be ashamed and humiliated because of all your wickedness.
• Isa 56:9–12Come, all you beasts of the field; eat greedily, all you beasts of the forest.
• Luke 11:42–52Woe to you Pharisees! You pay tithes of mint, rue, and every herb, but you disregard justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without neglecting the former.
• Jer 50:6My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have led them astray, causing them to roam the mountains. They have wandered from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting place.
• Jer 2:8The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ The experts in the law no longer knew Me, and the leaders rebelled against Me. The prophets prophesied by Baal and followed useless idols.
• Matt 23:13–29Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let in those who wish to enter.
• John 10:12The hired hand is not the shepherd, and the sheep are not his own. When he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf pounces on them and scatters the flock.
• Zeph 3:3–4Her princes are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, leaving nothing for the morning.
• Jer 23:2Therefore 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.
• John 10:10The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come that they may have life, and have it in all its fullness.
• Matt 15:14Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
• Ezek 22:25–29The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her.
• Jer 23:11–15“For both prophet and priest are ungodly; even in My house I have found their wickedness,” declares the LORD.
• Zech 11:5–7whose buyers slaughter them without remorse. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion on them.
• Mic 3:11–12Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster can come upon us.”
• Ezek 34:31‘You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
• Ezek 34:21Since you shove with flank and shoulder, butting all the weak ones with your horns until you have scattered them abroad,
• Jer 25:34–36Wail, you shepherds, and cry out; roll in the dust, you leaders of the flock. For the days of your slaughter have come; you will fall and be shattered like fine pottery.
• Jer 2:26As the thief is ashamed when he is caught, so the house of Israel is disgraced. They, their kings, their officials, their priests, and their prophets

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.