Ezekiel 34

Verse 2

"Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy and say to them,

Thus says the Lord God to the shepherds:

"Woe to the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves!

Should not the shepherds feed the flocks?" (NKJV)

• "Son of man" (Hebrew: בן־אדם ḇen-’ā-ḏām): this phrase is used 93 times to address Ezekiel.
• "Shepherd" (Hebrew: רועי or רעי rō-w-‘ê): the noun is derived from the Hebrew verb רָעָה ra'ah (Assyrian rê°û, verb: "pasture", noun: "ruler") meaning to "pasture, tend, graze", to "feed (the flock)"; figuratively "to guard, care for, rule." A "common allegory" referring to the rulers of Israel, either political or spiritual.

Verse 3

You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.

"You eat the milk" in the Septuagint - the consonants are the same.

Verse 5

So they were scattered because there was no shepherd;

and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered. (NKJV)

Cross reference: Numbers 27:17; 1 Kings 22:17; 2 Chronicles 18:16; Isaiah 13:14; Jeremiah 50:6; Zechariah 10:2; Matthew 9:36; Mark 6:34; Acts 20:29

Verse 6

My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and on every high hill; yes, My flock was scattered over the whole face of the earth, and no one was seeking or searching for them.”

The final words, "for them", are added in most English translations, as they are not in the original text. Robert Young's Literal Translation ends "and there is none inquiring, and none seeking". The sheep are scattered, "first on to 'every high hill' as idolaters, and then 'over the face of the earth' in exile".

Verse 16

“I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.”

This verse "clearly anticipates a return from exile to the land of Israel".

Verse 23

I will establish one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them — My servant David.

He shall feed them and be their shepherd. (NKJV)

Cross reference: 2 Samuel 5:2; 2 Samuel 7:8; 1 Chronicles 11:2; Psalm 78:71; Isaiah 40:11; Jeremiah 3:15; John 10:1–16; John 21:15–17; 1 Peter 5:2–4; Acts 20:28

Verse 25

“I will make a covenant of peace with them, and cause wild beasts to cease from the land; and they will dwell safely in the wilderness and sleep in the woods.” (NKJV)

Cross reference: Leviticus 26:6; Hosea 2:20; Jeremiah 31:31

Verse 31

“You are My flock, the flock of My pasture;

you are men, and I am your God,”

says the Lord God. (NKJV)