The Meaning of Jeremiah 50:17 Explained

Jeremiah 50:17

KJV: Israel is a scattered sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria hath devoured him; and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

YLT: A scattered sheep is Israel, lions have driven away, At first, devour him did the king of Asshur, And now, at last, broken his bone Hath Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon.

Darby: Israel is a hunted sheep; the lions have driven him away: first the king of Assyria devoured him, and last this Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

ASV: Israel is a hunted sheep; the lions have driven him away: first, the king of Assyria devoured him; and now at last Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon hath broken his bones.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

Israel  [is] a scattered  sheep;  the lions  have driven [him] away:  first  the king  of Assyria  hath devoured  him; and last  this Nebuchadrezzar  king  of Babylon  hath broken his bones. 

What does Jeremiah 50:17 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The king of Assyria, Shalmanezer, had scattered the Israelites in the Northern Kingdom like sheep (in722 B.C.; 2 Kings 17:1-6; 2 Kings 18:9-12), and the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar, had done worse to the Judahites in the south (in605-581 B.C.; Jeremiah 4:7; 2 Kings 24). He had broken their bones-not just scattered the people but also slain them.
"Politically, the intrigues and treacheries of Judah"s kings ("shepherds", as the Old Testament regards them) had brought Assyria and now Babylon to the kill. Spiritually too (to adopt the New Testament connotation of "shepherd"), a badly pastored flock is soon astray, then swiftly preyed upon." [1]

Chapter Summary: Jeremiah 50

1  The judgment of Babylon and the redemption of Israel

What do the individual words in Jeremiah 50:17 mean?

Like sheep scattered Israel [is] the lions have driven [him] away First devoured him the king of Assyria and this at last has broken his bones Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon -
שֶׂ֧ה פְזוּרָ֛ה יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל אֲרָי֣וֹת הִדִּ֑יחוּ הָרִאשׁ֤וֹן אֲכָלוֹ֙ מֶ֣לֶךְ אַשּׁ֔וּר וְזֶ֤ה הָאַחֲרוֹן֙ עִצְּמ֔וֹ נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּ֖ר מֶ֥לֶךְ בָּבֶֽל ס

שֶׂ֧ה  Like  sheep 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular
Root: שֶׂה  
Sense: one of a flock, lamb, sheep, goat, young sheep, young goat.
פְזוּרָ֛ה  scattered 
Parse: Verb, Qal, QalPassParticiple, feminine singular
Root: פָּזַר  
Sense: to scatter, disperse.
יִשְׂרָאֵ֖ל  Israel  [is] 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: יִשְׂרָאֵל  
Sense: the second name for Jacob given to him by God after his wrestling with the angel at Peniel.
אֲרָי֣וֹת  the  lions 
Parse: Noun, masculine plural
Root: אֲרִי 
Sense: lion.
הִדִּ֑יחוּ  have  driven  [him]  away 
Parse: Verb, Hifil, Perfect, third person common plural
Root: נָדַח 
Sense: to impel, thrust, drive away, banish.
הָרִאשׁ֤וֹן  First 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: רִאשֹׁון  
Sense: first, primary, former.
אֲכָלוֹ֙  devoured  him 
Parse: Verb, Qal, Perfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: אָכַל  
Sense: to eat, devour, burn up, feed.
מֶ֣לֶךְ  the  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
אַשּׁ֔וּר  of  Assyria 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: אַשּׁוּר  
Sense: the second son of Shem, eponymous ancestor of the Assyrians.
וְזֶ֤ה  and  this 
Parse: Conjunctive waw, Pronoun, masculine singular
Root: זֶה  
Sense: this, this one, here, which, this … that, the one … the other, another, such.
הָאַחֲרוֹן֙  at  last 
Parse: Article, Adjective, masculine singular
Root: אַחֲרֹון  
Sense: behind, following, subsequent, western.
עִצְּמ֔וֹ  has  broken  his  bones 
Parse: Verb, Piel, Perfect, third person masculine singular, third person masculine singular
Root: עָצַם 
Sense: to be vast, be numerous, be mighty.
נְבוּכַדְרֶאצַּ֖ר  Nebuchadnezzar 
Parse: Proper Noun, masculine singular
Root: נְבוּכַדְנֶאצַּר 
Sense: the great king of Babylon who captured Jerusalem and carried Judah captive.
מֶ֥לֶךְ  king 
Parse: Noun, masculine singular construct
Root: מֶלֶךְ 
Sense: king.
בָּבֶֽל  of  Babylon 
Parse: Proper Noun, feminine singular
Root: בָּבֶל  
Sense: Babel or Babylon, the ancient site and/or capital of Babylonia (modern Hillah) situated on the Euphrates.
ס  - 
Parse: Punctuation