Ezekiel 34:10
in Ezekiel 34This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand from them My flock and remove them from tending the flock, so that they can no longer feed themselves. For I will deliver My flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.’
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Thus saith the Lord Jehovah, Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be food for them.
KJV
Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
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This verse in Ezekiel 34
Commentary
9 notes on this verseI myself will go to the shepherds and will seek out my flock from the hand of those who find it convenient to have a millstone placed around their neck.
This site's exposition
Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word
on Ezekiel 34:7-10
The double summons, “hear the word of the LORD”, frames the sentence: God declares Himself against the shepherds and will “demand from them My flock”. They will be removed from tending the flock entirely, and the flock is delivered “from their mouths” and will no longer be food for them.
This site's exposition
I will demand from them My flock
To demand the flock from a shepherd is the language of a herdsman's contract, in which a hired shepherd answered for every animal lost. The shepherds have become the beasts. Their own mouths are the danger.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers3 voices
Listen and learn, you sheep of God; from the bad shepherds God will require his sheep, and from their hands he will require their death.… So let us see, because that is what I had proposed to do, whether he takes the sheep away from the bad shepherds and gives them to good shepherds.
These words predict the end both of the kingdom of the Jews and the priesthood. I will free my flocks, he says, from those who look after them badly, who have steered them with no kind of providence but have only continued to devour them. …
(Chapter 34.) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds (or to the shepherds) of Israel, prophesy, and say to the shepherds: Thus says the Lord God: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves. (Or: O shepherds of Israel, do the shepherds not feed themselves?) Do not the flocks feed on the shepherds? (Or do the sheep not feed the shepherds?)
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
Thus saith the Lord God, behold, I am against the shepherds,.... His heart was against them; his hand was against them; his face was against them, to cut them off.
A gracious promise that God would take care of his flock, though they did not, and that it should not always suffer as it had done by their mal-administrations,
1 more voice on this verse
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
I will - cause them to cease from feeding the flock - God, in this country, unpriested a whole hierarchy who fed not the flock, but ruled them with force and cruelty; and he raised up a new set of shepherds better qualified, both by sound doctrine and learning, to feed the flock. Let these be faithful, lest God cause them to cease, and raise up other feeders.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
and the shepherds will no longer shepherd themselves [Heb. אוֹתָם,] themselves.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 5 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
26 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כֹּה־ | koh- | thus | H3541 → | 577 times |
| אָמַ֞ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| אֲדֹנָ֣י | ʾadonai | [the] Lord | H136 → | 440 times |
| יְהוִ֗ה | yahweh | Yahweh | H3069 → | 306 times |
| הִנְנִ֨י | hini | here I | H2005 → | 316 times |
| אֶֽל־ | ʾel- | [am] against | H413 → | 5510 times |
| הָרֹעִ֜ים | haroim | the shepherds | H7462 → | 177 times |
| וְֽדָרַשְׁתִּ֧י | vedarashti | and I will seek | H1875 → | 164 times |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| צֹאנִ֣י | tzoni | flock my | H6629 → | 274 times |
| מִיָּדָ֗ם | miyadam | from hand their | H3027 → | 1618 times |
| וְהִשְׁבַּתִּים֙ | vehishbatim | and I will cause to cease them | H7673 → | 71 times |
| מֵרְע֣וֹת | mereot | from shepherding | H7462 → | 177 times |
| צֹ֔אן | tzon | a flock | H6629 → | 274 times |
| וְלֹא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| יִרְע֥וּ | yiru | they will shepherd | H7462 → | 177 times |
| ע֛וֹד | od | again | H5750 → | 490 times |
| הָרֹעִ֖ים | haroim | the shepherds | H7462 → | 177 times |
| אוֹתָ֑ם | ʾotam | <obj.> themselves | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְהִצַּלְתִּ֤י | vehitzalti | and I will deliver | H5337 → | 212 times |
| צֹאנִי֙ | tzoni | flock my | H6629 → | 274 times |
| מִפִּיהֶ֔ם | mipihem | from mouth their | H6310 → | 498 times |
| וְלֹֽא־ | velo'- | and not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִהְיֶ֥יןָ | tihyeina | they will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָהֶ֖ם | lahem | for them | ||
| לְאָכְלָֽה׃ ס | leokhlah | <into> food | H402 → | 18 times |
כֹּה־thus
koh-H3541 →577 times
אָמַ֞רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
אֲדֹנָ֣י[the] Lord
ʾadonaiH136 →440 times
יְהוִ֗הYahweh
yahwehH3069 →306 times
הִנְנִ֨יhere I
hiniH2005 →316 times
אֶֽל־[am] against
ʾel-H413 →5510 times
הָרֹעִ֜יםthe shepherds
haroimH7462 →177 times
וְֽדָרַשְׁתִּ֧יand I will seek
vedarashtiH1875 →164 times
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
צֹאנִ֣יflock my
tzoniH6629 →274 times
מִיָּדָ֗םfrom hand their
miyadamH3027 →1618 times
וְהִשְׁבַּתִּים֙and I will cause to cease them
vehishbatimH7673 →71 times
מֵרְע֣וֹתfrom shepherding
mereotH7462 →177 times
צֹ֔אןa flock
tzonH6629 →274 times
וְלֹא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
יִרְע֥וּthey will shepherd
yiruH7462 →177 times
ע֛וֹדagain
odH5750 →490 times
הָרֹעִ֖יםthe shepherds
haroimH7462 →177 times
אוֹתָ֑ם<obj.> themselves
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
וְהִצַּלְתִּ֤יand I will deliver
vehitzaltiH5337 →212 times
צֹאנִי֙flock my
tzoniH6629 →274 times
מִפִּיהֶ֔םfrom mouth their
mipihemH6310 →498 times
וְלֹֽא־and not
velo'-H3808 →5168 times
תִהְיֶ֥יןָthey will become
tihyeinaH1961 →3559 times
לָהֶ֖םfor them
lahem
לְאָכְלָֽה׃ ס<into> food
leokhlahH402 →18 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Ezekiel 34:2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the…
it leads to
- Jeremiah 23:1
“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD.
- Jeremiah 3:15
Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
- Isaiah 40:11
He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
- Ezekiel 34:8–10
‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because My flock lacks a shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because My shepherds did not search for My…
- Luke 20:46–47
“Beware of the scribes. They like to walk around in long robes, and they love the greetings in the marketplaces, the chief seats in the synagogues, and the places of honor at banquets.
- Jeremiah 23:1
Through
Zechariah 10:3“My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders. For the LORD of Hosts attends to His flock, the house of Judah; He will make them like His royal steed in…
it leads to
- Ezekiel 34:7–10
Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:
- Ezekiel 34:2
“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the…
- Ezekiel 34:7–10
Through
Jeremiah 21:13Behold, I am against you who dwell above the valley, atop the rocky plateau—declares the LORD—you who say, “Who can come against us? Who can enter our dwellings?”
it leads to
- Lamentations 4:12
The kings of the earth did not believe, nor any people of the world, that an enemy or a foe could enter the gates of Jerusalem.
- Lamentations 4:12
Where this verse is studied
On this page
Studies8
On this verse
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 46:20-21; Jerome, COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL 11:34.1-31; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Patrick Fairbairn, Ezekiel and the Book of His Prophecy and Theodoret of Cyrus, COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL 13:34.