The Meaning of Jeremiah 25:35 Explained

Jeremiah 25:35

KJV: And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.

YLT: And perished hath refuge from the shepherds, And escape from the honourable of the flock.

Darby: And refuge shall perish from the shepherds, and escape from the noble ones of the flock.

ASV: And the shepherds shall have no way to flee, nor the principal of the flock to escape.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

And the shepherds  shall have no way  to flee,  nor the principal  of the flock  to escape. 

What does Jeremiah 25:35 Mean?

Context Summary

Jeremiah 25:1-38 - Shepherds That Mislead God's Flock
It is God's purpose to care for His people through shepherds (pastors) who are responsible to Him. Jesus our Lord is the Branch into which we may be grafted. He is our King who saves us and clothes us with His own spotless righteousness. God finds us in Him, Philippians 3:9. Because He reigns, we are saved and dwell in safety. When we are brought into contact with false shepherds, whether the failure be in doctrine or example, let us ask for the broken heart of Jeremiah 23:9.
God is everywhere present; as the latter paragraph indicates, He is near at hand to overhear the blasphemy of those who deride religion, and to be a very present help in time of trouble. If He fills heaven and earth, can He not fill thy heart? If His Word is like fire, let it cleanse thee! If it is as a hammer, let it pulverize thy pride! Let those of us who essay to teach and preach, not steal our words from our neighbors, or utter our own, but receive them from the source of all truth. [source]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 25

1  Jeremiah, reproving the Jews' disobedience to the prophets,
8  foretells the seventy years' captivity;
12  and after that, the destruction of Babylon
15  Under the type of a cup of wine he foreshows the destruction of all nations
34  The howling of the shepherds

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 25:35 mean?

And will have no way to flee shall have no way to flee the shepherds nor to escape the leaders of the flock
וְאָבַ֥ד מָנ֖וֹס מִן־ הָֽרֹעִ֑ים וּפְלֵיטָ֖ה מֵאַדִּירֵ֥י הַצֹּֽאן

וְאָבַ֥ד  And  will  have  no  way 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Verb, Qal, Conjunctive perfect, third person masculine singular
Root: אָבַד  
Sense: perish, vanish, go astray, be destroyed.
מָנ֖וֹס  to  flee 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: מָנׄוס  
Sense: flight, refuge, place of escape.
מִן־  shall  have  no  way  to  flee 
Parse: Preposition
Root: מִן 
Sense: from, out of, on account of, off, on the side of, since, above, than, so that not, more than.
הָֽרֹעִ֑ים  the  shepherds 
Parse: Article, Verb, Qal, Participle, masculine plural
Root: רָעָה 
Sense: to pasture, tend, graze, feed.
וּפְלֵיטָ֖ה  nor  to  escape 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Noun, feminine singular
Root: פְּלֵיטָה  
Sense: escape, deliverance.
מֵאַדִּירֵ֥י  the  leaders 
Parse: Preposition-m, Noun, masculine plural construct
Root: אַדִּיר  
Sense: great, majestic.
הַצֹּֽאן  of  the  flock 
Parse: Article, Noun, common singular
Root: צֹאן  
Sense: small cattle, sheep, sheep and goats, flock, flocks.