Shattered
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In the context of the Bible, the term "shattered" often conveys the idea of destruction, brokenness, or the complete dismantling of something once whole. This concept can be applied both physically and metaphorically throughout the Scriptures, illustrating the consequences of sin, divine judgment, and the transformative power of God.

Physical Destruction

The Bible frequently uses the imagery of shattering to describe the physical destruction of objects, cities, or nations as a result of divine judgment or human conflict. For instance, in Jeremiah 19:11, God instructs the prophet to break a clay jar as a symbol of how He will shatter Jerusalem and its people: "Then you are to shatter the jar in the presence of the men who accompany you, and you are to say to them, ‘This is what the LORD of Hosts says: I will shatter this nation and this city like one shatters a potter’s jar, which cannot be repaired.’" . This act serves as a powerful visual representation of the irreversible judgment that would come upon the city due to its persistent disobedience.

Metaphorical Brokenness

Beyond physical destruction, "shattered" is also used metaphorically to describe the brokenness of the human spirit or the collapse of pride and self-reliance. In Psalm 51:17, David speaks of a "broken and contrite heart" as being pleasing to God: "The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, You will not despise." . Here, the shattering of the heart signifies repentance and humility, essential attitudes for receiving God's forgiveness and grace.

Divine Judgment and Restoration

The theme of being shattered is often linked with divine judgment, where God allows or causes the breaking down of individuals or nations as a consequence of sin. However, this is not the end of the account. The Bible also speaks of God's ability to restore and rebuild what has been shattered. In Ezekiel 34:16, God promises to seek out the lost and bring back the strayed, binding up the injured and strengthening the weak: "I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bind up the broken, and strengthen the weak. But the sleek and strong I will destroy. I will shepherd them with justice." . This passage highlights God's redemptive power to heal and restore those who turn back to Him.

Prophetic Imagery

Prophets often used the imagery of shattering to convey messages of warning and hope. In Isaiah 30:14, the prophet describes the shattering of a wall as a metaphor for the impending judgment on those who rely on their own strength rather than on God: "It will break in pieces like a potter’s jar, shattered so that no fragment can be found among its broken pieces to scoop coals from a hearth or to ladle water from a cistern." . This vivid imagery serves as a caution against self-reliance and a call to trust in God's provision and protection.

Christ as the Healer of the Shattered

In the New Testament, Jesus Christ is portrayed as the ultimate healer of the shattered. His ministry was marked by acts of restoration and healing, both physically and spiritually. In Luke 4:18, Jesus reads from the scroll of Isaiah, declaring His mission: "The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed." . Through His life, death, and resurrection, Christ offers hope and restoration to all who are broken and shattered by sin.

Conclusion

The concept of being shattered in the Bible serves as a powerful reminder of the consequences of sin and the reality of divine judgment. Yet, it also points to the hope of restoration and healing through repentance and faith in God. The imagery of shattering underscores the transformative power of God's grace, which can rebuild and restore even the most broken of lives.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary
(imp. & p. p.) of Shatter.
Strong's Hebrew
2865. chathath -- to be shattered or dismayed
... chathath. 2866 . to be shattered or dismayed. Transliteration: chathath Phonetic
Spelling: (khaw-thath') Short Definition: dismayed. Word Origin a prim. ...
/hebrew/2865.htm - 6k

2844b. chath -- shattered, dismayed
... 2844a, 2844b. chath. 2845 . shattered, dismayed. Transliteration: chath Short
Definition: shattered. Word Origin from chathath Definition ...
/hebrew/2844b.htm - 5k

1855. deqaq -- to be shattered, fall to pieces
... 1854, 1855. deqaq. 1856 . to be shattered, fall to pieces. Transliteration:
deqaq Phonetic Spelling: (dek-ak') Short Definition: crushed. ...
/hebrew/1855.htm - 6k

3807. kathath -- to beat, crush by beating
... battered (1), beat (2), beat them down (1), broke in pieces (1), broken in pieces
(1), crush (1), crushed (4), defeated (1), hammer (2), shattered (1), smashed ...
/hebrew/3807.htm - 6k

5310a. naphats -- to shatter
... root Definition to shatter NASB Word Usage broken (1), dash (1), dashes (1), pulverized
(1), shatter (11), shattered (1), shattering (1), smashed (1). ...
/hebrew/5310a.htm - 5k

4272. machats -- to smite through, wound severely, shatter
... root Definition to smite through, wound severely, shatter NASB Word Usage crush
through (1), shatter (6), shattered (4), struck (1), wounded (1), wounds (1). ...
/hebrew/4272.htm - 6k

7665. shabar -- to break, break in pieces
... demolished (1), destroy (2), fractured (1), hurt (2), injured (1), pieces (1), placed
(1), point of birth (1), quench (1), shatter (2), shattered (13), smash (3 ...
/hebrew/7665.htm - 6k

6565a. parar -- to break, frustrate
... away (1), fail (1), frustrate (2), frustrated (2), frustrates (1), indeed annuls
(2), ineffective (1), made my void (1), nullifies (1), shattered (1), thwart (2 ...
/hebrew/6565a.htm - 5k

6483a. patsats -- to break
... Word Origin a prim. root Definition to break NASB Word Usage shaken me to pieces
(1), shattered (1), shatters (1). 6483, 6483a. patsats. 6483b . ...
/hebrew/6483a.htm - 5k

Library

And, Behold, Suddenly Hades Trembled, and the Gates of Death and ...
... Latin. Second Version. Chapter 8 (24). And, behold, suddenly Hades trembled,
and the gates of death and the bolts were shattered? ...
/.../unknown/the gospel of nicodemus /chapter 8 24 and behold.htm

He Refutes Another Argument of Nestorius, in which He Tried to ...
... your pestilent treatises you have maintained and said that "Since man is the image
of the Divine nature, and the devil dragged this down and shattered it, God ...
/.../cassian/the seven books of john cassian /chapter vi he refutes another.htm

The Risen Lord's Self-Revelation to Wavering Disciples
... The stranger assumes ignorance, in order to win to a full outpouring. Jesus wishes
us to put all fears and doubts and shattered hopes into plain words to Him. ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture e/the risen lords self-revelation to.htm

Conflagration
... bishop was being seized by violence, began to batter furiously upon the principal
gates, which at last they partly burst open, and partly shattered to fragments ...
/.../chapter lii conflagration.htm

The Suicide of Thought
... When a religious scheme is shattered (as Christianity was shattered at the
Reformation), it is not merely the vices that are let loose. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/chesterton/orthodoxy/iii the suicide of thought.htm

Letter iii. To Rufinus the Monk.
... am unworthy (not that you should so come to me but) that I should so come to you,
and because my poor body, weak even when well, has been shattered by frequent ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter iii to rufinus the.htm

But Seeing that Paradise is the Home of Living Spirits...
... If, then, death cannot pass beyond virginity, but finds his power checked and shattered
there, it is demonstrated that virginity is a stronger thing than death ...
/.../gregory of nyssa dogmatic treatises etc/chapter xiii but seeing that.htm

The Peaceable Fruits of Sorrows Rightly Borne
... If so regarded, it would hopelessly be shattered against facts; for the world is
full of instances of saintly men and women who have not experienced in their ...
/.../maclaren/expositions of holy scripture g/the peaceable fruits of sorrows.htm

How St Francis Converted Certain Robbers and Assassins, who Became ...
... pushed him with such violence, that he fell into the abyss, and rolling down from
stone to stone and from rock to rock, he reached the bottom shattered all to ...
/.../the little flowers of st francis of assisi/chapter xxvi how st francis.htm

The Way of Transgressors.
... Without great care and prudence during that time, her constitution may be
shattered so as to set all remedial efforts at defiance.". ...
//christianbookshelf.org/arthur/words for the wise/the way of transgressors.htm

Thesaurus
Shattered (42 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (imp. & pp) of Shatter. Multi-Version Concordance
Shattered (42 Occurrences). Mark 5:4 because he had been ...
/s/shattered.htm - 18k

Shatter (26 Occurrences)
... violently into fragments; to rend into splinters; as, an explosion shatters a rock
or a bomb; too much steam shatters a boiler; an oak is shattered by lightning ...
/s/shatter.htm - 14k

Uproar (33 Occurrences)
... pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered!
Dress for battle, and be shattered! (WEB JPS ASV). ...
/u/uproar.htm - 16k

Countries (86 Occurrences)
... Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress
for battle, and be shattered! (WEB KJV JPS ASV WBS RSV). ...
/c/countries.htm - 35k

Vines (39 Occurrences)
... (WEB KJV JPS ASV BBE DBY WBS NAS RSV NIV). Psalms 105:33 He struck their vines and
also their fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country. ...
/v/vines.htm - 18k

Repair (26 Occurrences)
... injury, dilapidation, or partial destruction; to renew; to restore; to mend; as,
to repair a house, a road, a shoe, or a ship; to repair a shattered fortune. ...
/r/repair.htm - 17k

Removing (24 Occurrences)
... of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made
in the two courts of the house of Jehovah, and he shattered them, removing ...
/r/removing.htm - 14k

Mallet (1 Occurrence)
... 5:26 She put her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workmen's mallet;
she struck Sis'era a blow, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced ...
/m/mallet.htm - 6k

Powder (14 Occurrences)
... of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made
in the two courts of the house of Jehovah, and he shattered them, removing ...
/p/powder.htm - 12k

Cilicia (8 Occurrences)
... Alexander was one of the most renowned leaders of such expeditions, and at
Issus he met and shattered the power of the Persian empire. ...
/c/cilicia.htm - 13k

Resources
What is the Society of Jesus? Who are the Jesuits, and what do they believe? | GotQuestions.org

What can we learn from what the Bible says about Jesus and women? | GotQuestions.org

What does it mean that we live in a fallen world? | GotQuestions.org

Shattered: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible ConcordanceBible DictionaryBible EncyclopediaTopical BibleBible Thesuarus
Concordance
Shattered (42 Occurrences)

Mark 5:4
because he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been torn asunder by him, and the fetters were shattered; and no one was able to subdue him.
(DBY)

Exodus 9:25
The hail struck throughout all the land of Egypt all that was in the field, both man and animal; and the hail struck every herb of the field, and broke every tree of the field.
(See NAS RSV)

Exodus 15:6
Your right hand, Yahweh, is glorious in power. Your right hand, Yahweh, dashes the enemy in pieces.
(See NIV)

Exodus 32:19
And it came to pass, when he came near the camp, and saw the calf and the dancing, that Moses' anger burned, and he cast the tables out of his hands, and shattered them beneath the mountain.
(DBY NAS)

Exodus 34:1
Yahweh said to Moses, "Chisel two stone tablets like the first: and I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke.
(See NAS)

Deuteronomy 10:2
And I will write on the tables the words that were on the first tables which thou didst break, and thou shalt put them in the ark.'
(See NAS)

Judges 5:26
She put her hand to the tent peg and her right hand to the workmen's mallet; she struck Sis'era a blow, she crushed his head, she shattered and pierced his temple.
(DBY NAS RSV NIV)

1 Samuel 2:4
"The bows of the mighty men are broken. Those who stumbled are girded with strength.
(See NAS)

1 Samuel 2:10
They that strive with the LORD shall be broken to pieces; against them will He thunder in heaven; the LORD will judge the ends of the earth; and He will give strength unto His king, and exalt the horn of His anointed.
(See NAS NIV)

2 Samuel 22:39
I have consumed them, and struck them through, so that they can't arise. Yes, they have fallen under my feet.
(See NAS)

1 Kings 19:11
And He saith, 'Go out, and thou hast stood in the mount before Jehovah.' And lo, Jehovah is passing by, and a wind -- great and strong -- is rending mountains, and shivering rocks before Jehovah: -- not in the wind 'is' Jehovah; and after the wind a shaking: -- not in the shaking 'is' Jehovah;
(See NIV)

2 Kings 23:12
And the king broke down the altars that were on the roof of the upper chamber of Ahaz, which the kings of Judah had made, and the altars that Manasseh had made in the two courts of the house of Jehovah, and he shattered them, removing them from thence, and cast the powder of them into the torrent of Kidron.
(DBY)

2 Chronicles 14:13
And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and there fell of the Ethiopians so many that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before Jehovah, and before his host; and they carried away very much booty.
(See JPS NAS)

Job 4:20
Betwixt morning and evening they are destroyed: They perish for ever without any regarding it.
(See JPS)

Job 16:12
I was at rest, but he hath shattered me; he hath taken me by the neck and shaken me to pieces, and set me up for his mark.
(DBY NAS NIV)

Job 17:11
My days are past, my plans are broken off, as are the thoughts of my heart.
(See NIV)

Job 26:12
He stirs up the sea with his power, and by his understanding he strikes through Rahab.
(See NAS)

Psalms 3:7
Arise, Yahweh! Save me, my God! For you have struck all of my enemies on the cheek bone. You have broken the teeth of the wicked.
(See NAS)

Psalms 18:38
I will strike them through, so that they will not be able to rise. They shall fall under my feet.
(See NAS)

Psalms 48:7
With the east wind, you break the ships of Tarshish.
(See NIV)

Psalms 105:33
He struck their vines and also their fig trees, and shattered the trees of their country.
(WEB NAS RSV NIV)

Psalms 107:16
For he has broken the gates of brass, and cut through bars of iron.
(See NAS)

Ecclesiastes 12:6
before the silver cord is loosed, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is broken at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern,
(See JPS DBY NAS NIV)

Isaiah 7:8
For the head of Aram is Damascus, and the head of Damascus is Rezin; and within threescore and five years shall Ephraim be broken, that it be not a people;
(See NAS NIV)

Isaiah 8:9
Make an uproar, you peoples, and be broken in pieces! Listen, all you from far countries: dress for battle, and be shattered! Dress for battle, and be shattered!
(WEB NAS NIV)

Isaiah 9:4
For by your hand the yoke on his neck and the rod on his back, even the rod of his cruel master, have been broken, as in the day of Midian.
(See NIV)

Isaiah 21:9
See, here come war-carriages with men, horsemen by twos: and in answer he said, Babylon is made low, is made low, and all her images are broken on the earth.
(See NAS RSV NIV)

Isaiah 30:14
And He shall break it as a potter's vessel is broken, breaking it in pieces without sparing; so that there shall not be found among the pieces thereof a sherd to take fire from the hearth, or to take water out of the cistern.
(See NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 22:28
Is this man Coniah a despised broken vessel? is he a vessel in which none delights? why are they cast out, he and his seed, and are cast into the land which they don't know?
(See NAS)

Jeremiah 25:34
Wail, ye shepherds, and cry; and wallow yourselves in the dust, ye leaders of the flock; for the days of your slaughter are fully come, and I will break you in pieces, and ye shall fall like a precious vessel.
(See NIV)

Jeremiah 48:1
Concerning Moab: 'Thus said Jehovah of Hosts, God of Israel: Wo unto Nebo, for it is spoiled, Put to shame, captured hath been Kiriathaim, Put to shame hath been the high tower, Yea, it hath been broken down.
(See NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 48:20
Put to shame hath been Moab, For it hath been broken down, Howl and cry, declare ye in Arnon, For spoiled is Moab,
(See NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 48:39
How hath it been broken down! they have howled, How hath Moab turned the neck ashamed, And Moab hath been for a derision. And for a terror to all round about her.
(See NAS NIV)

Jeremiah 50:2
Declare ye among nations, and sound, And lift up an ensign, sound, do not hide, Say ye: Captured hath been Babylon, Put to shame hath been Bel, Broken hath been Merodach, Put to shame have been her grievous things, Broken have been her idols.
(See NAS)

Jeremiah 50:23
How is the hammer of the whole earth cut apart and broken! how is Babylon become a desolation among the nations!
(See NIV)

Jeremiah 50:36
A sword is upon the boasters, and they shall become fools; a sword is upon her mighty men, and they shall be dismayed.
(See NAS)

Jeremiah 51:56
for the destroyer is come upon her, even upon Babylon, and her mighty men are taken, their bows are broken in pieces; for Jehovah is a God of recompenses, he will surely requite.
(See JPS NAS)

Daniel 8:7
I saw him come close to the ram, and he was moved with anger against him, and struck the ram, and broke his two horns; and there was no power in the ram to stand before him; but he cast him down to the ground, and trampled on him; and there was none who could deliver the ram out of his hand.
(See NAS)

Daniel 11:20
Then shall stand up in his place one that shall cause an exactor to pass through the glory of the kingdom; but within few days he shall be destroyed, neither in anger, nor in battle.
(See NAS)

Daniel 11:22
And the arms of the flood shall be swept away from before him, and shall be broken; yea, also the prince of the covenant.
(See NAS)

Nahum 1:6
Who can stand before his indignation? Who can endure the fierceness of his anger? His wrath is poured out like fire, and the rocks are broken apart by him.
(See NIV)

Habakkuk 3:6
He hath stood, and He measureth earth, He hath seen, and He shaketh off nations, And scatter themselves do mountains of antiquity, Bowed have the hills of old, The ways of old 'are' His.
(See NAS)

Subtopics

Shattered

Related Terms

Shattering (5 Occurrences)

Shattered (42 Occurrences)

Shatter
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