Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
Parallel translations
- WEB I will give you shepherds according to my heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
- KJV And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
- NKJV And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.
- NASB “Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you knowledge and understanding.
- NLT And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will guide you with knowledge and understanding.
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
Ishbosheth takes Michal from her second husband Paltiel and sends her to David. The political weakness of Saul's house is evident in his quick compliance.
Overview
Ishbosheth, too weak to resist Abner's pressure, removes Michal from Paltiel to whom Saul had unlawfully given her. The terse account underscores how powerless Saul's heir had become. The episode is morally tangled, exposing the human grief caused by Saul's earlier disregard for David's marriage.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 18
- Jer 23:4I will raise up shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or dismayed, nor will any go missing, declares the LORD.
- Acts 20:28Keep watch over yourselves and the entire flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which He purchased with His own blood.
- Eph 4:11–12And it was He who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers,
- Ezek 34:23I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.
- John 21:15–17When they had finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus replied, “Feed My lambs.”
- Isa 30:20–21The Lord will give you the bread of adversity and the water of affliction, but your Teacher will no longer hide Himself—with your own eyes you will see Him.
- Prov 10:21The lips of the righteous feed many, but fools die for lack of judgment.
- 1 Cor 3:1–2Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual, but as worldly—as infants in Christ.
- Luke 12:42And the Lord answered, “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, whom the master puts in charge of his servants to give them their portion at the proper time?
- Ezek 37:24My servant David will be king over them, and there will be one shepherd for all of them. They will follow My ordinances and keep and observe My statutes.
- 1 Cor 2:6Among the mature, however, we speak a message of wisdom—but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing.
- 1 Cor 2:12–13We have not received the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
- John 10:1–5“Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.
- 1 Pet 5:1–4As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you:
- Mic 5:4–5He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD His God. And they will dwell securely, for then His greatness will extend to the ends of the earth.
- 1 Pet 2:2Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
- 1 Sam 13:14But now your kingdom will not endure; the LORD has sought a man after His own heart and appointed him ruler over His people, because you have not kept the command of the LORD.”
- Heb 5:12–14Although by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to reteach you the basic principles of God’s word. You need milk, not solid food!
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
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 3:15 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.