Ezekiel 34:12
in Ezekiel 34As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places whither they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
KJV
As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.
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This verse in Ezekiel 34
Commentary
10 notes on this verseA commentator
Gregory of NazianzusIN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS, ORATION 2:117 · Written before 390.
He is shepherd to shepherds and a guide to guides: that we may feed his flock with knowledge, not with the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
This site's exposition
I Myself will search for My flock
on Ezekiel 34:11-16
What the shepherds failed to do, God announces He will do Himself. He will seek the scattered, bind the broken, strengthen the weak. The unit ends on a harder note, “the sleek and strong I will destroy”, naming that some had grown strong by preying on the weak.
This site's exposition
on a day of clouds and darkness
A day of clouds and darkness is the prophets' language for the day of the LORD's judgment, used at Joel 2:2 and Zephaniah 1:15. Here it names the fall of Jerusalem and the deportations to Babylon. The search begins in that darkness.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
(Verse 11 onwards) For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his dispersed sheep (or when there is darkness and clouds among his separated sheep), so will I seek out my sheep and will deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.
When it is difficult for them to be found, now I will find them. The fog is dense, the storm cloud thick; nothing escapes his eyes.
The Puritans and the Awakening2 voices
But, (1.) Wherever they are the eye of God will find them out; for his eyes run to and fro through the earth, in favour of them. I will seek out my sheep; and not one that belongs to the fold, though driven ever so far off, shall be lost. The Lord knows those that are his; he knows their work and where they dwell ( Rev. ii.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered,....
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
Cloudy and dark day - Times of general distress and persecution; in such times the shepherd should be especially watchful.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
in the day that he is among--in the midst of (Hebrew) His sheep that had been scattered. Referring to Messiah's second advent, when He shall be "the glory in the midst of Israel" (Zec 2:5). in the cloudy . . . day--the day of the nation's calamity (Joe 2:2).
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
The cloudy and dark day - Contrasted with the day in which the Lord will be among them like a shepherd to gather them together again.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
separated when they are scattered, and he walks among them and gathers them back together.
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
22 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כְּבַקָּרַת֩ | kevakarat | like [the] seeking of | H1243 → | |
| רֹעֶ֨ה | roeh | a shepherd | H7462 → | 177 times |
| עֶדְר֜וֹ | edro | flock his | H5739 → | |
| בְּיוֹם־ | beyom- | on [the] day | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| הֱיוֹת֤וֹ | heyoto | is he | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| בְתוֹךְ־ | vetokh- | in among | H8432 → | 418 times |
| צֹאנוֹ֙ | tzono | flock his | H6629 → | 274 times |
| נִפְרָשׁ֔וֹת | nifrashot | separated | H6567 → | |
| כֵּ֖ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| אֲבַקֵּ֣ר | ʾavaker | I will seek | H1239 → | |
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| צֹאנִ֑י | tzoni | flock my | H6629 → | 274 times |
| וְהִצַּלְתִּ֣י | vehitzalti | and I will deliver | H5337 → | 212 times |
| אֶתְהֶ֗ם | ʾethem | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| מִכָּל־ | mikol | from all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| הַמְּקוֹמֹת֙ | hamekomot | the places | H4725 → | 401 times |
| אֲשֶׁ֣ר | ʾasher | where | H834 → | 5497 times |
| נָפֹ֣צוּ | nafotzu | they were scattered | H6327 → | 67 times |
| שָׁ֔ם | sham | there | H8033 → | 834 times |
| בְּי֥וֹם | beyom | on a day of | H3117 → | 2304 times |
| עָנָ֖ן | ʾanan | cloud | H6051 → | 87 times |
| וַעֲרָפֶֽל׃ | vaarafel | and thick darkness | H6205 → |
כְּבַקָּרַת֩like [the] seeking of
kevakaratH1243 →
רֹעֶ֨הa shepherd
roehH7462 →177 times
עֶדְר֜וֹflock his
edroH5739 →
בְּיוֹם־on [the] day
beyom-H3117 →2304 times
הֱיוֹת֤וֹis he
heyotoH1961 →3559 times
בְתוֹךְ־in among
vetokh-H8432 →418 times
צֹאנוֹ֙flock his
tzonoH6629 →274 times
נִפְרָשׁ֔וֹתseparated
nifrashotH6567 →
כֵּ֖ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
אֲבַקֵּ֣רI will seek
ʾavakerH1239 →
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
צֹאנִ֑יflock my
tzoniH6629 →274 times
וְהִצַּלְתִּ֣יand I will deliver
vehitzaltiH5337 →212 times
אֶתְהֶ֗ם<obj.> them
ʾethemH853 →10935 times
מִכָּל־from all
mikolH3605 →5413 times
הַמְּקוֹמֹת֙the places
hamekomotH4725 →401 times
אֲשֶׁ֣רwhere
ʾasherH834 →5497 times
נָפֹ֣צוּthey were scattered
nafotzuH6327 →67 times
שָׁ֔םthere
shamH8033 →834 times
בְּי֥וֹםon a day of
beyomH3117 →2304 times
עָנָ֖ןcloud
ʾananH6051 →87 times
וַעֲרָפֶֽל׃and thick darkness
vaarafelH6205 →
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
Luke 19:10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
it leads to
- Ezekiel 34:16
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.’
- Matthew 1:21
She will give birth to a Son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins.”
- 1 Timothy 1:13–16
I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man; yet because I had acted in ignorance and unbelief, I was shown mercy.
- Luke 5:31–32
Jesus answered, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
- Luke 15:4–7
“What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds…
- Ezekiel 34:16
Through
Isaiah 40:11He 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.
it leads to
- Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd. ‘He will lead them to springs of living water,’ and ‘God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’”
- Psalms 23:1–6
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
- Micah 5:4
He will stand and shepherd His flock in the strength of the LORD, in the majestic name of the LORD His God. And they will dwell securely, for then His greatness will extend to…
- Revelation 7:17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 12 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 46:23; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Ezekiel; Gregory of Nazianzus, IN DEFENSE OF HIS FLIGHT TO PONTUS, ORATION 2:117; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.