Jeremiah 50:6
“My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have caused them to go astray. They have turned them away on the mountains. They have gone from mountain to hill. They have forgotten their resting place.”
What does Jeremiah 50:6 mean?
God is describing his people through the image of sheep who've lost their way, and it's the shepherds' fault. The "shepherds" here are Israel's leaders and spiritual guides, who were supposed to protect and direct the people but instead led them astray into idolatry and unfaithfulness. The wandering from "mountain to hill" captures the exhausting, purposeless nature of being spiritually lost, constantly moving without direction or rest. What makes this verse tender is the implication that there *is* a resting place they've forgotten, a home they could return to, suggesting that even in this season of abandonment and failure, restoration remains possible.