to give · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 1st person common singular
pastors
רֹעִ֖יםro.'Im
H7462
to tend a flock · verb, qal active participle, masculine plural absolute
heart
כְּלִבִּ֑יke.li.Bi
H3820
the heart · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix
feed
וְרָע֥וּve.ra.'U
H7462
to tend a flock · conjunction + verb, qal sequential perfect, 3rd person common plural
knowledge
דֵּעָ֥הde.'Ah
H1844
knowledge · noun, common feminine singular absolute
understanding
וְהַשְׂכֵּֽילve.has.Keil
H7919
to be (causatively · conjunction + verb, hiphil infinitive absolute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Jeremiah 23:4 And I will set up shepherds over them which shall feed them: and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall they be lacking, sa…
Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God,…
Ephesians 4:11-12 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
Ezekiel 34:23 And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
John 21:15-17 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou…
Isaiah 30:20-21 And though the Lord give you the bread of adversity, and the water of affliction, yet shall not thy teachers be removed into a corner any mo…
Proverbs 10:21 The lips of the righteous feed many: but fools die for want of wisdom.
Luke 12:42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion…
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Jeremiah 3:12-19
Here is a great deal of gospel in these verses, both that which was always gospel, God's readiness to pardon sin and to receive and entertain returning repenting sinners, and those blessings which were in a special manner reserved for gospel times, the forming and founding of the gospel church by bringing into it the children of God that were scattered abroad, the superseding of the ceremonial law, and the uniting of Jews and Gentiles, typified by the uniting of Israel and Judah in their return out of captivity. The prophet is directed to proclaim these words towards the north, for they are a call to backsliding Israel, the ten tribes that were carried captive into Assyria, which lay north f…
pastors--not religious, but civil rulers, as Zerubbabel, Nehemiah (Jer 23:4; Jer 2:8).
John Gill on Jeremiah 3:15
And I will give you pastors according to mine heart,.... Which is to be understood not of political rulers and governors, but ministers of the word; who are "pastors" or "shepherds" under Christ the great Shepherd, and are "gifts" of his to the churches, and "according to his heart"; or "conformable to his mind", as the Arabic version; whom he calls, qualifies, puts into the ministry, and sends forth; whom he holds in his right hand, and keeps as the apple of his eye; who do his will, as the Targum, and feed men according to his heart: and as this prophecy belongs to Gospel times, as appears both by what goes before and by what follows, the apostles of Christ and first ministers of the Gospe…
Jeremiah 3:15
15. And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
15. Et dabo vobis pastores secundum cor meurn, et pascent vos scientia et intelligentia (hoc est, scienter et prudenter).
Here God promises that he would so provide for the salvation of his people after their return from exile, that they should not again perish. But the cause of God's vengeance ought to be observed, which is expressed in the fifth chapter of Isaiah, "My people," he says, "have been led captive, because they had no knowledge; therefore the grave has widened its soul or its throat. [86] He then says, that the cause of the people's ruin was, because i…
The Church Fathers
The Lord does not say: I will appoint other good shepherds, to do these things, but I, He says, will do; I will commit my sheep to no one. Be secure, Brothers; you sheep, be secure. ...Here I find all good shepherds in one shepherd. For truly good shepherds are not lacking, but they are in one. There are many who are divided. This one is proclaimed, because unity is commended. Nor indeed are the shepherds now silent, and it is said "shepherd," because the Lord has not found one to whom He might entrust His sheep. But then He commended, because He found Peter. Moreover, even in Peter himself, He commended unity. There were many Apostles, and it is said to one: Feed my sheep. Let it not be that good shepherds are now lacking, let it not be that they are missing from us, let it not be that by His mercy, He does not beget and establish them. Surely, if there are good sheep, there are also good shepherds, for from good sheep come good shepherds. But all good shepherds are in one, they are one. They feed, Christ feeds. For the friends of the bridegroom do not speak their own voice, but they rejoice greatly because of the voice of the bridegroom. Therefore, He Himself feeds, when they feed; and He says: I feed, because His voice is in them, His love is in them. For even Peter himself, to whom He was entrusting His sheep as one to another, He wanted to make one with Himself, and thus to commend the sheep to him, so that he would be the head, he would bear the figure of the body, that is, of the Church, and as if the bridegroom and bride were one in one flesh. Therefore, that He might commend the sheep, what does He first say to him, not as to another he might commend? Peter, do you love me? And he responded: I love you. And again: Do you love me? And he responded: I love you. And thirdly: Do you love me? And he responded: I love you. He affirms love, so that He might strengthen unity.
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Shepherd — A word naturally of frequent occurence in Scripture. Sometimes the word “pastor” is used instead (Jer. 2:8; 3:15; 10:21; 12:10; 17:16). This word is used figuratively to represent the relation of…
Christ Is God · As Giver of pastors to the Church — As Giver of pastors to the Church
Church, The · God provides ministers for — God provides ministers for
Condescension Of God · Expostulates with backsliding Israel — Expostulates with backsliding Israel
Minister, Christian · PASTORS — PASTORS
Ministers · Are bound to: Feed the Church — Are bound to: Feed the Church
Titles And Names Of Ministers · Pastors — Pastors
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
An indispensable element of the return is: Acknowledge thy guilt, thine offence, for grievously hast thou offended; thou art fallen away (פּשׁע), and תּפזּרי את־דּרכיך, lit., hast scattered thy ways for strangers; i.e., hither and thither, on many a track, hast thou run after the strange gods: cf. Jer 2:23.
The repeated call שׁוּבוּ, Jer 3:14, is, like that in Jer 3:12, addressed to Israel in the narrower sense, not to the whole covenant people or to Judah. The "backsliding sons" are "the backsliding Israel" of Jer 3:7, Jer 3:8, Jer 3:11., and of Jer 3:22. In Jer 3:18 also Judah is mentioned only as it is in connection with Israel. בּעלתּי בכם, here and in Jer 31:32, is variously explained.…
If the people of Israel repented, the Lord wanted to give them more than just the land. He also promised to provide leaders (shepherds) who would guide them with knowledge and understanding (23:4, 31; Ezek 34:11; Acts 20:28; Eph 4:11).
Rashi on Jeremiah 3:14
backsliding children (Envasec in O.F.) That you perverted your way because of much good, that you enjoyed tranquility and pleasure, as Scripture states: They hum snatches of song to the tune of the lute (Amos 6:5), those who drink from bowls of wine (v. 6).
for I possessed you and you are called by My name, that I am your Master, and it is not honorable for Me to leave you in the hands of My enemies.
