Ezekiel 34:23
in Ezekiel 34I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
KJV
And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
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This verse in Ezekiel 34
Commentary
11 notes on this verseI will set up one Shepherd - my servant David - David, king of Israel, had been dead upwards of four hundred years; and from that time till now there never was a ruler of any kind, either in the Jewish church or state, of the name of David. This, then, must be some typical person; and from the texts marked in the margin we understand that Jesus Christ alone is meant, as both Old and New Testaments agree in this.
This site's exposition
I will appoint over them one shepherd
on Ezekiel 34:23-24
The promise culminates in a single figure, my servant David. The Jewish and Christian reading takes David as the coming Messiah of David's line, the reading the church has carried into John 10's good shepherd. A minority reading has looked for a literal, raised David reigning in the restored land.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
A commentator
Origen of AlexandriaCOMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 1:146 · Written before 253.
proposed
David also is called the Christ, as when Ezekiel prophesied to the shepherds and added, in the person of God, "I will raise up David my servant, who will shepherd them." For the patriarch David will not be raised up to shepherd the saints, but Christ.
On this principle again all the kings whom they had in honor after his time were named from him, both by the people themselves and by God. For both Ezekiel and other prophets besides speak of David as coming and rising again; not meaning him that was dead, but them who were emulating his virtue. And to Hezekiah He saith, "I will defend this city, for mine own sake and for my servant David's sake."
You will readily understand, brothers, that it is a prophecy of Christ coming to people from the seed of David, if you realize the dates. This prophet Ezekiel lived in the time of the captivity, which resulted from the exile of the people to Babylonia. From the time of David to the time of the exile there are fourteen generations.
(Verses 23-24) And I will raise up over them (here and elsewhere) (or over them) one shepherd who will feed them (or him), my servant David: he will feed them (or him): and he will be their shepherd. But I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I, the Lord, have spoken.
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
One shepherd - Christ, the great good, chief, only shepherd, that laid down his life for his sheep. My servant David - The seed of David, the beloved one, who was typified by David, and is in other places called by his name, as Jer. xxx, 9 chap. xxxvii, 24 Isaiah xxxvii, 35 Hosea iii, 5. He shall feed - Do all the office of a good and faithful shepherd, and that forever.
4 more voices on this verse
The Puritans and the Awakening3 voices
Note, It is no new thing for the flock of God to receive a great deal of damage and mischief from those that are themselves of the flock, and in eminent stations in it, Acts xx. Comfort spoken to those of the flock that are poor and feeble, and that wait for the consolation of Israel (
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And I will set up one shepherd over them,....
The prophecy of this chapter is not dated, nor any of those that follow it, till ch. xl. It is most probable that it was delivered after the completing of Jerusalem's destruction, when it would be very seasonable to enquire into the causes of it.
The Nineteenth Century1 voice
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
"God by Him reconciling all things unto Himself, whether things in earth or in heaven." David--the antitypical David, Messiah, of the seed of David, which no other king after the captivity was: who was fully, what David was only in a degree, "the man after God's own heart." Also, David means beloved: Messiah was truly God's beloved Son (Isa 42:1;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — unbalanced-parens
The words behind it
16 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וַהֲקִמֹתִ֨י | vahakimoti | and I will raise up | H6965 → | 628 times |
| עֲלֵיהֶ֜ם | ʾaleihem | over them | H5921 → | 5755 times |
| רֹעֶ֤ה | roeh | a shepherd | H7462 → | 177 times |
| אֶחָד֙ | ʾechad | one | H259 → | 971 times |
| וְרָעָ֣ה | veraah | and he will shepherd | H7462 → | 177 times |
| אֶתְהֶ֔ן | ʾethen | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| אֵ֖ת | ʾet | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| עַבְדִּ֣י | ʾavdi | servant my | H5650 → | 799 times |
| דָוִ֑יד | david | David | H1732 → | 999 times |
| ה֚וּא | hu' | he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יִרְעֶ֣ה | yireh | he will shepherd | H7462 → | 177 times |
| אֹתָ֔ם | ʾotam | <obj.> them | H853 → | 10935 times |
| וְהֽוּא־ | vehu'- | and he | H1931 → | 1879 times |
| יִהְיֶ֥ה | yihyeh | he will become | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| לָהֶ֖ן | lahen | for them | ||
| לְרֹעֶֽה׃ | leroeh | <into> a shepherd | H7462 → | 177 times |
וַהֲקִמֹתִ֨יand I will raise up
vahakimotiH6965 →628 times
עֲלֵיהֶ֜םover them
ʾaleihemH5921 →5755 times
רֹעֶ֤הa shepherd
roehH7462 →177 times
אֶחָד֙one
ʾechadH259 →971 times
וְרָעָ֣הand he will shepherd
veraahH7462 →177 times
אֶתְהֶ֔ן<obj.> them
ʾethenH853 →10935 times
אֵ֖ת<obj.>
ʾetH853 →10935 times
עַבְדִּ֣יservant my
ʾavdiH5650 →799 times
דָוִ֑ידDavid
davidH1732 →999 times
ה֚וּאhe
hu'H1931 →1879 times
יִרְעֶ֣הhe will shepherd
yirehH7462 →177 times
אֹתָ֔ם<obj.> them
ʾotamH853 →10935 times
וְהֽוּא־and he
vehu'-H1931 →1879 times
יִהְיֶ֥הhe will become
yihyehH1961 →3559 times
לָהֶ֖ןfor them
lahen
לְרֹעֶֽה׃<into> a shepherd
leroehH7462 →177 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
John 10:11I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
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.’”
Reached by 2 separate paths from here.
- Psalms 23:1
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
- John 10:14–15
I am the good shepherd. I know My sheep and My sheep know Me,
- John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
- 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.
- Revelation 7:17
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
- 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…
- John 10:11–16
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
- Psalms 23:1–6
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 11 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 47:20; Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Ezekiel; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; John Chrysostom, HOMILIES ON THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW 2:6; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament; Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Origen of Alexandria, COMMENTARY ON THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 1:146 and Patrick Fairbairn, An Exposition of Ezekiel.