Hear, O nations, the word of the LORD, and proclaim it in distant coastlands: “The One who scattered Israel will gather them and keep them as a shepherd keeps his flock.
Parallel translations
- WEB “Hear Yahweh’s word, you nations, and declare it in the islands afar off; and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd does his flock.’
- KJV Hear the word of the LORD, O ye nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, He that scattered Israel will gather him, and keep him, as a shepherd doth his flock.
- NKJV “Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, And declare it in the isles afar off, and say, ‘He who scattered Israel will gather him, And keep him as a shepherd does his flock.’
- NASB ¶Hear the word of the Lord, you nations, And declare it in the coastlands far away, And say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him, And He will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.”
- NLT “Listen to this message from the Lord, you nations of the world; proclaim it in distant coastlands: The Lord, who scattered his people, will gather them and watch over them as a shepherd does his flock.
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
God calls the nations to hear that the One who scattered Israel will gather and keep them like a shepherd. The Scatterer becomes the Shepherd.
Overview
The proclamation goes out even to distant islands: the LORD who judged Israel will tenderly regather and guard them. The shepherd image reveals God's watchful, protective care. It points directly to Jesus, the Good Shepherd who gathers and keeps His flock (John 10:11-16).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 32
- Isa 40:11He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
- Ezek 34:12As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.
- Deut 30:4Even if you have been banished to the farthest horizon, He will gather you and return you from there.
- Isa 66:19I will establish a sign among them, and I will send survivors from among them to the nations—to Tarshish, Put, and the archers of Lud; to Tubal, Javan, and the islands far away who have not heard of My fame or seen My glory. So they will proclaim My glory among the nations.
- John 11:52and not only for the nation, but also for the scattered children of God, to gather them together into one.
- Ezek 11:16Therefore declare that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Although I sent them far away among the nations and scattered them among the countries, yet for a little while I have been a sanctuary for them in the countries to which they have gone.’
- Acts 20:28–29Keep 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.
- Mic 4:6“On that day,” declares the LORD, “I will gather the lame; I will assemble the outcast, even those whom I have afflicted.
- John 10:27My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.
- Zeph 3:19Behold, at that time, I will deal with all who afflict you. I will save the lame and gather the scattered; and I will appoint praise and fame for the disgraced throughout the earth.
- Mic 5:4He 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.
- Isa 24:14They raise their voices, they shout for joy; from the west they proclaim the majesty of the LORD.
- Gen 10:5From these, the maritime peoples separated into their territories, according to their languages, by clans within their nations.
- Mic 2:12I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will collect the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in the midst of its pasture—a noisy throng.
- Jer 50:17Israel is a scattered flock, chased away by lions. The first to devour him was the king of Assyria; the last to crush his bones was Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon.”
- Luke 12:32Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father is pleased to give you the kingdom.
- Jer 25:22all the kings of Tyre and Sidon; the kings of the coastlands across the sea;
- Zech 9:16On that day the LORD their God will save them as the flock of His people; for like jewels in a crown they will sparkle over His land.
- 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.
- Isa 42:10Sing to the LORD a new song—His praise from the ends of the earth—you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it, you islands, and all who dwell in them.
- Isa 54:7“For a brief moment I forsook you, but with great compassion I will bring you back.
- Ezek 5:2When the days of the siege have ended, you are to burn up a third of the hair inside the city; you are also to take a third and slash it with the sword all around the city; and you are to scatter a third to the wind. For I will unleash a sword behind them.
- Isa 41:1“Be silent before Me, O islands, and let the peoples renew their strength. Let them come forward and testify; let us together draw near for judgment.
- Zeph 2:11The LORD will be terrifying to them when He starves all the gods of the earth. Then the nations of every shore will bow in worship to Him, each in its own place.
- Ezek 20:34With a strong hand, an outstretched arm, and outpoured wrath I will bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands to which you have been scattered.
- Isa 42:4He will not grow weak or discouraged before He has established justice on the earth. In His law the islands will put their hope.”
- Isa 60:9Surely the islands will wait for Me, with the ships of Tarshish in the lead, to bring your children from afar, with their silver and gold, to the honor of the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, for He has glorified you.
- Ezek 5:10As a result, fathers among you will eat their sons, and sons will eat their fathers. I will execute judgments against you and scatter all your remnant to every wind.’
- Ps 72:10May the kings of Tarshish and distant shores bring tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.
- Deut 32:26I would have said that I would cut them to pieces and blot out their memory from mankind,
- Isa 27:12In that day the LORD will thresh from the flowing Euphrates to the Wadi of Egypt, and you, O Israelites, will be gathered one by one.
- Jer 50:19I will return Israel to his pasture, and he will graze on Carmel and Bashan; his soul will be satisfied on the hills of Ephraim and Gilead.
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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 31:10 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
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