Sympathy for the Feeble
Genesis 33:13
And he said to him, My lord knows that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me…


The Lord chooses under-shepherds for His flock among men subject to weakness and infirmity, that they may have a fellow-feeling for the feeble. Selah Merrill, in his "East of the Jordan," describes the movement of an Arab tribe, and says," The flocks of sheep and goats were mostly driven by small children. Sometimes there were flocks of lambs and kids driven by children not much older relatively than the lambs and kids themselves. Some of the men had in their arms two, three, four, or a whole armful of kids and lambs that were too young to walk; and among some cooking utensils there was a large saucepan, and in it was a pair of small kids that were too young for the journey."

( C. H. Spurgeon.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: And he said unto him, My lord knoweth that the children are tender, and the flocks and herds with young are with me: and if men should overdrive them one day, all the flock will die.

WEB: Jacob said to him, "My lord knows that the children are tender, and that the flocks and herds with me have their young, and if they overdrive them one day, all the flocks will die.




Jacob's Precaution
Top of Page
Top of Page