You have given us up as sheep to be devoured; You have scattered us among the nations.
Parallel translations
- WEB You have made us like sheep for food, and have scattered us among the nations.
- KJV Thou hast given us like sheep appointed for meat; and hast scattered us among the heathen.
- NKJV You have given us up like sheep intended for food, And have scattered us among the nations.
- NASB You turn us over to be eaten like sheep, And have scattered us among the nations.
- NLT You have butchered us like sheep and scattered us among the nations.
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 has made His people like sheep for slaughter and scattered them among the nations. It matters because it laments suffering that feels like divine handing-over.
Overview
The imagery of sheep for food and scattering among the nations describes devastating loss, possibly exile. The people see God's hand even in their calamity. Paul later quotes the parallel verse 22 to describe the suffering of believers, who in Christ are more than conquerors even when led as sheep to the slaughter.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 12
- Deut 4:27Then the LORD will scatter you among the peoples, and only a few of you will survive among the nations to which the LORD will drive you.
- Deut 28:64Then the LORD will scatter you among all the nations, from one end of the earth to the other, and there you will worship other gods, gods of wood and stone, which neither you nor your fathers have known.
- Rom 8:36As it is written: “For Your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.”
- 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.
- Jer 32:37I will surely gather My people from all the lands to which I have banished them in My furious anger and great wrath, and I will return them to this place and make them dwell in safety.
- Isa 11:11–12On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
- Ps 14:4Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon the LORD.
- Ps 60:1For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lily of the Covenant.” A Miktam of David for instruction. When he fought Aram-naharaim and Aram-zobah, and Joab returned and struck down 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. You have rejected us, O God; You have broken us; You have been angry; restore us!
- Ps 106:27to disperse their offspring among the nations and scatter them throughout the lands.
- Jer 12:3But You know me, O LORD; You see me and test my heart toward You. Drag away the wicked like sheep to the slaughter and set them apart for the day of carnage.
- 2 Kgs 17:6In the ninth year of Hoshea, the king of Assyria captured Samaria and carried away the Israelites to Assyria, where he settled them in Halah, in Gozan by the Habor River, and in the cities of the Medes.
- Luke 21:24They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive into all the nations. And Jerusalem will be trodden down by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 44:11 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.