The Meaning of Jeremiah 50:6 Explained

Jeremiah 50:6

KJV: My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.

YLT: A perishing flock hath My people been, Their shepherds have caused them to err, To the mountains causing them to go back, From mountain unto hill they have gone, They have forgotten their crouching-place.

Darby: My people are lost sheep; their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they turned them away on the mountains: they went from mountain to hill, they forgot their resting-place.

ASV: My people have been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray; they have turned them away on the mountains; they have gone from mountain to hill; they have forgotten their resting-place.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

My people  hath been lost  sheep:  their shepherds  have caused them to go astray,  they have turned them away  {08675;07726> [on] the mountains:  they have gone  from mountain  to hill,  they have forgotten  their restingplace. 

What does Jeremiah 50:6 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Lord"s chosen people had gotten lost like sheep misled by their shepherds. They had wandered on dangerous mountains instead of staying in their safe places of rest. This verse reflects conditions that marked the Israelites long after Cyrus permitted them to return to Palestine. They are still scattered around the world today.

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 50

1  The judgment of Babylon and the redemption of Israel

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 50:6 mean?

Sheep lost - have been My people their shepherds have led them astray [on] the mountains - they have turned them away from mountain to hill they have gone they have forgotten their resting place
צֹ֤אן אֹֽבְדוֹת֙ [היה] (הָי֣וּ) עַמִּ֔י רֹעֵיהֶ֣ם הִתְע֔וּם הָרִ֖ים [שובבים] (שֽׁוֹבְב֑וּם) מֵהַ֤ר אֶל־ גִּבְעָה֙ הָלָ֔כוּ שָׁכְח֖וּ רִבְצָֽם

צֹ֤אן  Sheep 
Parse: Noun, common singular
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.
אֹֽבְדוֹת֙  lost 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, feminine plural
Root: אָבַד  
Sense: perish, vanish, go astray, be destroyed.
[היה]  - 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular
(הָי֣וּ)  have  been 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: אֶהְיֶה 
Sense: to be, become, come to pass, exist, happen, fall out.
עַמִּ֔י  My  people 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, first person common singular
Root: עַם 
Sense: nation, people.
רֹעֵיהֶ֣ם  their  shepherds 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural construct, third person masculine plural
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
הִתְע֔וּם  have  led  them  astray 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person common plural, third person masculine plural
Root: תָּעָה  
Sense: to err, wander, go astray, stagger.
הָרִ֖ים  [on]  the  mountains 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
[שובבים]  - 
Parse: Adjective, masculine plural
(שֽׁוֹבְב֑וּם)  they  have  turned  them  away 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person common plural, third person masculine plural
Root: שֹׁובָב  
Sense: backsliding, backturning, apostate, recusant.
מֵהַ֤ר  from  mountain 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine singular
Root: הַר  
Sense: hill, mountain, hill country, mount.
גִּבְעָה֙  hill 
Parse: Noun, feminine singular
Root: גִּבְעָה  
Sense: hill.
הָלָ֔כוּ  they  have  gone 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: הָלַךְ  
Sense: to go, walk, come.
שָׁכְח֖וּ  they  have  forgotten 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: כָּשַׁח 
Sense: to forget, ignore, wither.
רִבְצָֽם  their  resting  place 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct, third person masculine plural
Root: רֵבֶץ  
Sense: resting or dwelling place, place of lying down.