Ezekiel 34:3
in Ezekiel 34You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill the fatlings; but ye feed not the sheep.
KJV
Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
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This verse in Ezekiel 34
Commentary
9 notes on this verseYe eat the fat,.... The Septuagint, Vulgate Latin, and Arabic versions, render it, "the milk"; the words for fat and milk differ only in the points; and this was not unlawful, for who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? 1Co 9:7, provided it was done with moderation, that they ate some, but not all; but these rulers milked their subjects too much, oppressed them with heavy taxes, and got their substance into their own hands.
This site's exposition
You eat the fat, wear the wool
on Ezekiel 34:3-6
The indictment is specific and material. The shepherds took the flock's wool and meat while leaving the sick unhealed, the broken unbound, the strayed unsought and the lost unfound. The consequence is named plainly, “They were scattered for lack of a shepherd”, laying the exile itself at the leaders' door.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers4 voices
(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?)
They do not look for what has perished. They do not desire to save the lost, any more than to devour those who are in the churches. They govern them harshly and infuriatingly, behaving haughtily as is expected of them. They adorn the dignity of their office with their works and take on pride instead of humility. They think that they have assumed honor rather than the burden of their work, and whoever they see coming forward in the church preaching the word of God, they set out to oppress.
A commentator
Apostolic ConstitutionsApostolic Constitutions (Book II), Section 4, XXV · Written before 380.
proposed
Let him use those tenths and first-fruits, which are given according to the command of God, as a man of God; as also let him dispense in a right manner the free-will offerings which are brought in on account of the poor, to the orphans, the widows, the afflicted, and strangers in distress, as having that God for the examiner of his accounts who has committed the disposition to him. Distribute to all those in want with righteousness, and yourselves use the things which belong to the Lord, but do not abuse them; eating of them, but not eating them all up by yourselves: communicate with those that are in want, and thereby show yourselves unblameable before God. For if you shall consume them by yourselves, you will be reproached by God, who says to such unsatiable people, who alone devour all, "You eat up the milk, and clothe yourselves with the wool;" [Ezekiel 34:3] and in another passage, "Must you alone live upon the earth"? [Isaiah 5:8] Upon which account you are commanded in the law, "You shall love your neighbour as yourself." [Leviticus 19:18] Now we say these things, not as if you might not partake of the fruits of your labours; for it is written, "You shall not muzzle the mouth of the ox which treads out the grain;" [Deuteronomy 25:4; 1 Corinthians 9:9] but that you should do it with moderation and righteousness. As, therefore, the ox that labours in the threshing-floor without a muzzle eats indeed, but does not eat all up; so do you who labour in the threshing-floor, that is, in the Church of God, eat of the Church: which was also the case of the Levites, who served in the tabernacle of the testimony, which was in all things a type of the Church.
In the same way, everyone who leads a bad life for all those to see whom he has been put in charge of, as far as he is concerned is killing even the strong ones. Any who imitate him die; whoever does not imitate him lives.
The Medieval Church1 voice
Hasten then to increase the flock of your master! Do not turn aside to relaxations or pleasures of the body or vilely squander the wool and the fat of Christ's sheep by hoarding up the goods of the monastery for your own benefit rather than …
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Ye eat the fat - I think החלב hacheleb should be translated the milk, and so most of the Versions understand it. Or they lived on the fat sheep, and took the wool of all. “The priests,” says Calmet, “ate the tithes, the first-fruits, and the offerings of the people; the princes received the tributes and imposts and instead of instructing and protecting them, the latter took away their lives by the cruelties they practiced against them: the former destroyed their souls by the poison of their doctrine, and by their bad example.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
fat--or, by differently pointing the Hebrew, "milk" [Septuagint]. Thus the repetition "fat" and "fed" is avoided: also the eating of "fat" would not probably be put before the "killing" of the sheep.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase
The words behind it
11 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| אֶת־ | ʾet- | <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַחֵ֤לֶב | hachelev | the fat | H2459 → | 92 times |
| תֹּאכֵ֙לוּ֙ | tokhelu | you eat | H398 → | 810 times |
| וְאֶת־ | veet | and <obj.> | H853 → | 10935 times |
| הַצֶּ֣מֶר | hatzemer | the wool | H6785 → | 16 times |
| תִּלְבָּ֔שׁוּ | tilbashu | you clothe yourselves | H3847 → | 110 times |
| הַבְּרִיאָ֖ה | haberiah | the fat [sheep] | H1277 → | |
| תִּזְבָּ֑חוּ | tizbachu | you slaughter | H2076 → | 134 times |
| הַצֹּ֖אן | hatzon | the flock | H6629 → | 274 times |
| לֹ֥א | lo' | not | H3808 → | 5168 times |
| תִרְעֽוּ׃ | tiru | you shepherd | H7462 → | 177 times |
אֶת־<obj.>
ʾet-H853 →10935 times
הַחֵ֤לֶבthe fat
hachelevH2459 →92 times
תֹּאכֵ֙לוּ֙you eat
tokheluH398 →810 times
וְאֶת־and <obj.>
veetH853 →10935 times
הַצֶּ֣מֶרthe wool
hatzemerH6785 →16 times
תִּלְבָּ֔שׁוּyou clothe yourselves
tilbashuH3847 →110 times
הַבְּרִיאָ֖הthe fat [sheep]
haberiahH1277 →
תִּזְבָּ֑חוּyou slaughter
tizbachuH2076 →134 times
הַצֹּ֖אןthe flock
hatzonH6629 →274 times
לֹ֥אnot
lo'H3808 →5168 times
תִרְעֽוּ׃you shepherd
tiruH7462 →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
Isaiah 1:15When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
it leads to
- Micah 3:4
Then they will cry out to the LORD, but He will not answer them. At that time He will hide His face from them because of the evil they have done.
- Proverbs 1:28
Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; they will earnestly seek me, but will not find me.
- Isaiah 59:2–3
But your iniquities have built barriers between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He does not hear.
- Zechariah 7:13
And just as I had called and they would not listen, so when they called I would not listen, says the LORD of Hosts.
- Jeremiah 7:8–10
But look, you keep trusting in deceptive words to no avail.
- Micah 3:4
Through
Jeremiah 2:30“I have struck your sons in vain; they accepted no discipline. Your own sword has devoured your prophets like a voracious lion.”
it leads to
- Nehemiah 9:26
But they were disobedient and rebelled against You; they flung Your law behind their backs. They killed Your prophets, who had admonished them to return to You. They committed terrible blasphemies.
- Acts 7:52
Which of the prophets did your fathers fail to persecute? They even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One. And now you are His betrayers and murderers—
- 1 Thessalonians 2:15
who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out as well. They are displeasing to God and hostile to all men,
- Nehemiah 9:26
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Ezekiel
This page draws on 10 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Apostolic Constitutions, Apostolic Constitutions (Book II), Section 4, XXV; Augustine of Hippo, SERMON 46:9; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jamieson, Fausset and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Ezekiel; Jerome, COMMENTARY ON EZEKIEL 11:34.1-31; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Symeon the New Theologian, DISCOURSES 18:17.