Flight will evade the shepherds, and escape will elude the leaders of the flock.
Parallel translations
- WEB The shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the leader of the flock to escape.
- KJV And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.
- NKJV And the shepherds will have no way to flee, Nor the leaders of the flock to escape.
- NASB “There will be no sanctuary for the shepherds, Nor escape for the masters of the flock.
- NLT You will find no place to hide; there will be no way to escape.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The shepherds will find no way to flee and the leaders no way to escape. There is no refuge from God's judgment for the rulers.
Overview
God declares that escape is impossible for the nations' leaders when His judgment falls. Their power and position avail nothing against the LORD's decree. The verse underscores the inescapability of divine justice, leaving repentance as the only hope.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 17
- Job 11:20But the eyes of the wicked will fail, and escape will elude them; they will hope for their last breath.”
- Amos 2:14Escape will fail the swift, the strong will not prevail by his strength, and the mighty will not save his life.
- Jer 32:4Zedekiah king of Judah will not escape from the hands of the Chaldeans, but he will surely be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, and will speak with him face to face and see him eye to eye.
- Jer 48:44“Whoever flees the panic will fall into the pit, and whoever climbs from the pit will be caught in the snare. For I will bring upon Moab the year of their punishment,” declares the LORD.
- Jer 38:23All your wives and children will be brought out to the Chaldeans. And you yourself will not escape their grasp, for you will be seized by the king of Babylon, and this city will be burned down.”
- Jer 38:18But if you do not surrender to the officers of the king of Babylon, then this city will be delivered into the hands of the Chaldeans. They will burn it down, and you yourself will not escape their grasp.’”
- Jer 52:24–27The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
- Isa 2:12–22For the Day of the LORD of Hosts will come against all the proud and lofty, against all that is exalted—it will be humbled—
- Isa 24:21–23In that day the LORD will punish the host of heaven above and the kings of the earth below.
- Dan 5:30That very night Belshazzar king of the Chaldeans was slain,
- Amos 9:1–3I saw the Lord standing beside the altar, and He said: “Strike the tops of the pillars so that the thresholds shake. Topple them on the heads of all the people, and I will kill the rest with the sword. None of those who flee will get away; none of the fugitives will escape.
- Ezek 17:18He despised the oath by breaking the covenant. Seeing that he gave his hand in pledge yet did all these things, he will not escape!’
- Ezek 17:15But this king rebelled against Babylon by sending his envoys to Egypt to ask for horses and a large army. Will he flourish? Will the one who does such things escape? Can he break a covenant and yet escape?’
- Rev 19:19–21Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies assembled to wage war against the One seated on the horse, and against His army.
- Jer 52:8–11but the army of the Chaldeans pursued the king and overtook Zedekiah in the plains of Jericho, and all his army was separated from him.
- Rev 6:14–17The sky receded like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place.
- Jer 34:3And you yourself will not escape his grasp, but will surely be captured and delivered into his hand. You will see the king of Babylon eye to eye and speak with him face to face; and you will go to Babylon.
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Against the failure of false shepherds Jeremiah promises the Righteous Branch, 'The LORD our righteousness,' and the new covenant written on the heart and sealed in the blood of Christ.
How Jeremiah 25:35 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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.