Charles Ellicott Commentary Jeremiah 25:36

"A voice of the cry of the shepherds, and the wailing of the principal of the flock! for Jehovah layeth waste their pasture." — Jeremiah 25:36 (ASV)

A voice of the cry ... shall be heard.— Here again the insertion of the words in italics is a change for the worse, and reduces the dramatic vividness of the Hebrew to the tamest prose. The prophet speaks as if he actually heard the “cry of the shepherds”—i.e., the princes—and the howling of the “principal of the flocks”—i.e., of the captains under them. The work of spoiling was begun.