Bible Strands
Jeremiah 31:10
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.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Yahweh speaks through the prophet to the nations, positioned between the promise of Israel’s tearful return and the declaration of Jacob’s ransom. The words — שִׁמְע֤וּ (shim.'U) commands "hear," and גּוֹיִ֔ם (go.Yim) addresses the "nations," framing the verse as a public summons. The thread — The shepherd imagery echoes Isaiah 40:11 and Ezekiel 34:12, while the gathering motif aligns with Deuteronomy 30:4. Why it lands — It requires readers to recognize God’s sovereign role in regathering a scattered people and to extend that announcement globally without adding personal commentary.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
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.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 40:11 He 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.
- Ezekiel 34:12 As 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.
- Deuteronomy 30:4 Even if you have been banished to the farthest horizon, He will gather you and return you from there.
- Isaiah 66:19 I 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 11:52 and not only for the nation, but also for the scattered children of God, to gather them together into one.
- Ezekiel 11:16 Therefore 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.’
- Micah 4:6 “On that day,” declares the LORD, “I will gather the lame; I will assemble the outcast, even those whom I have afflicted.
- Zephaniah 3:19 Behold, 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.
- John 10:27 My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.
- Acts 20:28 Keep 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.