Jeremiah 50:17
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.
Study Note
Study Note
The image of Israel as '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' compresses Israel's entire national tragedy into the figure of a sheep attacked successively by predators. The double-lion imagery identifies two distinct phases of judgment — Assyrian exile of the north (722 BC) and Babylonian exile of the south (605-586 BC) — presenting them as a continuous divine-permitted process rather than historical accidents. The verse is embedded in the great oracles against Babylon (chapters 50-51) that promise Babylon's own fall after Israel's judgment — the instrument of judgment will itself be judged, a pattern established in Isaiah 10. Ezekiel 34's extended sheep-and-shepherd allegory develops the same Israel-as-scattered-sheep motif into a full messianic promise ('I will seek that which was lost').
Other Translations
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.
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.
Israel is a wandering sheep; the lions have been driving him away: first he was attacked by the king of Assyria, and now his bones have been broken by Nebuchadrezzar, king of Babylon.
Cross References
And they slew the sons of Zedekiah before his eyes, and put out the eyes of Zedekiah, and bound him …
In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and …
Now in the fourteenth year of king Hezekiah did Sennacherib king of Assyria come up against all the fenced cities …
And it came to pass in the fourth year of king Hezekiah, which was the seventh year of Hoshea son …
Until the Lord removed Israel out of his sight, as he had said by all his servants the prophets. So …
In the ninth year of Hoshea the king of Assyria took Samaria, and carried Israel away into Assyria, and placed …
In the days of Pekah king of Israel came Tiglath–pileser king of Assyria, and took Ijon, and Abel–beth–maachah, and Janoah, …
Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the Lord God of heaven given me; …
Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father’s stead …
Wherefore the Lord brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among …