Ezekiel 36:38
in Ezekiel 36Like the numerous flocks for sacrifices at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts, so the ruined cities will be filled with flocks of people. Then they will know that I am the LORD.”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
As the flock for sacrifice, as the flock of Jerusalem in her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men; and they shall know that I am Jehovah.
KJV
As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the Lord.
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This verse in Ezekiel 36
Commentary
13 notes on this verseAnd again the prophetic word exhorts the repentant, that even when they have returned to the Church, they should always seek the Lord, and find Him: so that the flocks of the Lord may multiply with the multitude of those who return: not of horses and brute animals, but of flocks of men, who are full of faith and reason, the holy flocks, the flocks of the city of Jerusalem, on all the solemnities, which they have received through the mercy of God; so that when the multitude of such flocks has filled the cities of the Lord, then all may know that He is the Lord.
This site's exposition
hear the plea of the house of Israel
on Ezekiel 36:37-38
The chapter closes with a flock. “I will multiply their people like a flock”, compared to “the numerous flocks for sacrifices at Jerusalem during her appointed feasts”. The image answers chapter 34's scattered, shepherdless sheep with cities so full of returned exiles they read as one long feast day.
This site's exposition
the numerous flocks for sacrifices at Jerusalem
At the dedication of Solomon's temple, 2 Chronicles 7:5 counts 120,000 sheep offered. Flocks brought for sacrifice were set apart for God, so the comparison makes the returned people consecrated as well as numerous. Crowded streets replace the ruins.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 16 and following) And the word of the Lord came to me, saying: Son of man, the house of Israel have dwelt (or dwells) in their own land, and they have defiled it with their ways and their idols: according to the uncleanness of a woman in her menstrual impurity, their way has become before me.
The Puritans and the Awakening4 voices
Thus shall men multiply, and fill the cities of replanted Judea. And the increase of the numbers of men is then honourable, when they are all dedicated to God as a holy flock, to be presented to him for living sacrifices. Crowds are a lovely sight in God's temple.
) to the large flocks of cattle that are brought to Jerusalem, to be sacrificed at one of the solemn feasts. Even the cities that now lie waste shall be filled with flocks of men, not like the flocks with which the pastures are covered over ( Ps. lxvi. 13 ), but like the holy flock which is brought to the courts of the Lord's house.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens
As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts,....
The prophet had been ordered to set his face towards the mountains of Israel and prophesy against them, ch. vi. Then God was coming forth to contend with his people; but now that God is returning in mercy to them he must speak good words and comfortable words to these mountains,
5 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century5 voices
As the holy flock - The Church of Christ, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. The flock of Jerusalem - The Jerusalem that is from above, the city of the living God, the place where his Majesty dwells. As they came in ancient times to the solemn national feasts so shall they come when they have fully returned unto the Lord, and received his salvation by Christ Jesus.
MULTIPLICATION is a very ancient form of blessing. The first benediction pronounced upon man was of this sort, for we read in the first chapter of Genesis, "And God blessed them, and God said unto them: Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth." That same blessing was pronounced, again, when God accepted His servant Noah, and entered into covenant with him. We read in Genesis 9:1 that "God blessed Noah and his sons and said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth." This also constituted a main part of the blessing promised to faithful Abraham.
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
As the holy flock--the great flock of choice animals for sacrifice, brought up to Jerusalem at the three great yearly festivals, the passover, pentecost, and feast of the tabernacles.
MULTIPLICATION is a very ancient form of blessing. The first benediction pronounced upon man was of this sort, for we read in the first chapter of Genesis, "And God blessed them, and God said unto them: Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth." That same blessing was pronounced, again, when God accepted His servant Noah, and entered into covenant with him. We read in Genesis 9:1 that "God blessed Noah and his sons and said unto them, Be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth." This also constituted a main part of the blessing promised to faithful Abraham. In Genesis 22:17, and many other places, we read to this effect, "In blessing I will bless you, and in multiplying I will multiply your seed as the stars of Heaven, and as the sand which is upon the seashore, and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies." This was the blessing of God's chosen people, a blessing which all the malice of Pharaoh could not turn aside, for the more the Israelites were oppressed, the more they multiplied. David, in the 107th Psalm uses the expression, "He blesses them, also, so that they are multiplied greatly" (v. 38), so that, clearly, increase of numbers in families and nations was anciently regarded as a token of Divine favor. In a spiritual sense this is the blessing of the Church of God. When the Church is visited by the power of the Holy Spirit, she is increased on every side. When a Church, in the midst of a vast population, remains stationary in numbers, or even becomes smaller, no man can see in such a condition the marks of God's blessing.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
As the holy flock - A reference to the flocks and herds brought up to Jerusalem to be consecrated and offered unto the Lord 2Ch 35:7. Thus, the idea is brought out: (1) of the multiplication of the people, (2) of their dedication to the service of God.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| כְּצֹ֣אן | ketzon | like sheep of | H6629 → | 274 times |
| קָֽדָשִׁ֗ים | kadashim | holiness<es> | H6944 → | 469 times |
| כְּצֹ֤אן | ketzon | like [the] sheep of | H6629 → | 274 times |
| יְרוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙ | yerushalim | Jerusalem | H3389 → | 643 times |
| בְּמ֣וֹעֲדֶ֔יהָ | bemoadeiha | at appointed times its | H4150 → | 223 times |
| כֵּ֤ן | ken | so | H3651 → | 771 times |
| תִּהְיֶ֙ינָה֙ | tihyeinah | they will be | H1961 → | 3559 times |
| הֶעָרִ֣ים | hearim | the cities | H5892 → | 1090 times |
| הֶחֳרֵב֔וֹת | hechorevot | <the> wasted | H2720 → | |
| מְלֵא֖וֹת | meleot | full | H4392 → | 64 times |
| צֹ֣אן | tzon | of flock[s] of | H6629 → | 274 times |
| אָדָ֑ם | ʾadam | human[s] | H120 → | 551 times |
| וְיָדְע֖וּ | veyadeu | and they will know | H3045 → | 945 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | that | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֲנִ֥י | ʾani | I | H589 → | 874 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ ס | yahweh | [am] Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
כְּצֹ֣אןlike sheep of
ketzonH6629 →274 times
קָֽדָשִׁ֗יםholiness<es>
kadashimH6944 →469 times
כְּצֹ֤אןlike [the] sheep of
ketzonH6629 →274 times
יְרוּשָׁלִַ֙ם֙Jerusalem
yerushalimH3389 →643 times
בְּמ֣וֹעֲדֶ֔יהָat appointed times its
bemoadeihaH4150 →223 times
כֵּ֤ןso
kenH3651 →771 times
תִּהְיֶ֙ינָה֙they will be
tihyeinahH1961 →3559 times
הֶעָרִ֣יםthe cities
hearimH5892 →1090 times
הֶחֳרֵב֔וֹת<the> wasted
hechorevotH2720 →
מְלֵא֖וֹתfull
meleotH4392 →64 times
צֹ֣אןof flock[s] of
tzonH6629 →274 times
אָדָ֑םhuman[s]
ʾadamH120 →551 times
וְיָדְע֖וּand they will know
veyadeuH3045 →945 times
כִּֽי־that
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אֲנִ֥יI
ʾaniH589 →874 times
יְהוָֽה׃ ס[am] Yahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 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 10:16I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in as well, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd.
it leads to
- Isaiah 56:8
Thus declares the Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel: “I will gather to them still others besides those already gathered.”
- John 11:52
and not only for the nation, but also for the scattered children of God, to gather them together into one.
- 1 Peter 2:25
For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
- Ezekiel 34:23
I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.
- Ephesians 2:13–18
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.
- Isaiah 56:8
Through
1 Kings 8:63And Solomon offered as peace offerings to the LORD 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. So the king and all the Israelites dedicated the house of the LORD.
it leads to
- Ezra 6:16–17
Then the people of Israel—the priests, the Levites, and the rest of the exiles—celebrated the dedication of the house of God with joy.
- 2 Chronicles 15:11
At that time they sacrificed to the LORD seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sheep from all the plunder they had brought back.
- Nehemiah 12:27
At the dedication of the wall of Jerusalem, the Levites were sought out from all their homes and brought to Jerusalem to celebrate the joyous dedication with thanksgiving and singing, accompanied by cymbals, harps,…
- Ezra 6:16–17
Where this verse is studied
On this page
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About Ezekiel
Who and where
1 name in this verse with a page on the site.
This page draws on 10 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); Carl Friedrich Keil, Biblical Commentary on the Old Testament: Ezekiel; Charles Spurgeon, The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, Sermon No. 1304: “Enquire of the Lord” (lightly modernized text, CCEL edition); 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); John Wesley, Explanatory Notes upon the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.