The Prophets · Old Testament
Ezekiel 34
Ezekiel 34: the shepherds of Israel and the Lord who seeks his sheep
General context
The prophet is told to prophesy against the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves. They eat the fat, wear the wool and kill the fed, but do not feed the flock; they have not strengthened the diseased, healed the sick, bound the broken, brought back the driven away or sought the lost, and they rule with force and cruelty. The sheep are scattered and become meat for beasts, and no one searches for them. The Lord declares himself against the shepherds, will require his flock at their hand and end their feeding. He himself will search out his sheep, deliver them from where they were scattered in the cloudy and dark day, bring them to their own land and feed them on the mountains of Israel. He will seek the lost and bind the broken, but destroy the fat and the strong. He then judges among the flock itself, between rams and he goats, fat cattle and lean, because some ate the good pasture and trampled the rest, drank the deep water and fouled it, and pushed the diseased with side, shoulder and horns. He will set up one shepherd, his servant David, who will feed them and be a prince among them. He will make a covenant of peace, remove the evil beasts, send showers of blessing, make the trees and earth yield, break the bands of their yoke, and raise up a plant of renown so that they no longer bear hunger or the shame of the heathen. The chapter ends: "ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God".
Cited passages: Ezekiel 34:2, Ezekiel 34:3, Ezekiel 34:4, Ezekiel 34:5, Ezekiel 34:6, Ezekiel 34:10, Ezekiel 34:11, Ezekiel 34:12, Ezekiel 34:13, Ezekiel 34:16, Ezekiel 34:17, Ezekiel 34:18, Ezekiel 34:21, Ezekiel 34:23, Ezekiel 34:24, Ezekiel 34:25, Ezekiel 34:26, Ezekiel 34:27, Ezekiel 34:29, Ezekiel 34:31
Ezekiel 34 (KJV)
1And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,
2Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the flocks?
3Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
4The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them.
5And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
6My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
7Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;
8As I live, saith the Lord God, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
9Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord;
10Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
11For thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
12As 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.
13And I will bring them out from the people, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own land, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
14I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
15I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God.
16I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
17And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.
18Seemeth it a small thing unto you to have eaten up the good pasture, but ye must tread down with your feet the residue of your pastures? and to have drunk of the deep waters, but ye must foul the residue with your feet?
19And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have trodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.
20Therefore thus saith the Lord God unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle.
21Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad;
22Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
23And 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.
24And I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the Lord have spoken it.
25And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.
26And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing.
27And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the Lord, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them.
28And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid.
29And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more.
30Thus shall they know that I the Lord their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord God.
31And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord God.
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Historical context
The chapter has no date heading. The "shepherds of Israel" are not named as individuals; the nearest the text comes to identifying them is "those that served themselves of them". The flock is explicitly the house of Israel, and the last verse removes any doubt about the figure: the sheep "are men". The judgment falls in two places, on the shepherds and then on the strong animals within the flock, so the chapter does not blame leaders alone. The one shepherd to be set up is called "my servant David" and "a prince"; the text does not explain how David is meant, and the same phrase recurs in 37:24 and 37:25. The gathering is "from the countries" to "their own land" and the mountains of Israel, without a time. The "covenant of peace" and the "plant of renown" are stated without further definition. The phrase "the cloudy and dark day" describes the scattering; the same image of a cloudy day was used of Egypt's judgment in 30:3.
Cited passages: Ezekiel 34:1, Ezekiel 34:2, Ezekiel 34:27, Ezekiel 34:30, Ezekiel 34:31, Ezekiel 34:20, Ezekiel 34:24, Ezekiel 37:25, Ezekiel 34:13, Ezekiel 34:12, Ezekiel 30:3
Literary context
The indictment of the shepherds lists five failures in a row, the diseased, the sick, the broken, the driven away and the lost, and the Lord's promise later takes up four of them in reverse order, seeking the lost, bringing again the driven away, binding the broken and strengthening the sick. The emphatic "I, even I" appears twice, first for searching the sheep and then for judging between them. The chapter turns at "And as for you, O my flock", so that the sheep who seemed only victims are now addressed as offenders, with pasture eaten and trampled and water drunk and fouled as the charge. Feeding is the governing word throughout: shepherds who "feed themselves", the Lord who says "I will feed my flock" and, sharply, "I will feed them with judgment". The David promise is stated twice in parallel lines and followed by a series of blessings in the language of land and weather: beasts gone, showers in season, fruit and increase, safety. The final sentence steps out of the figure and names its terms plainly.
Cited passages: Ezekiel 34:4, Ezekiel 34:16, Ezekiel 34:11, Ezekiel 34:20, Ezekiel 34:17, Ezekiel 34:19, Ezekiel 34:8, Ezekiel 34:15, Ezekiel 34:23, Ezekiel 34:28, Ezekiel 34:31
Key moments
- Woe to the self-feeding shepherds (Ezekiel 34:2). The Lord pronounces woe on shepherds of Israel who feed themselves and not the flock.
- Five neglected duties (Ezekiel 34:4). The shepherds have not strengthened, healed, bound, brought back or sought the sheep.
- I, even I, will search (Ezekiel 34:11). The Lord says he himself will search out and seek his sheep.
- Judgment between the sheep (Ezekiel 34:17). The Lord judges between rams and he goats, fat cattle and lean.
- One shepherd, my servant David (Ezekiel 34:23). The Lord promises to set up one shepherd, his servant David, over the flock.
- A covenant of peace (Ezekiel 34:25). The Lord promises a covenant of peace and the end of evil beasts in the land.
- The flock are men (Ezekiel 34:31). The chapter closes by saying plainly that the flock are men and the Lord is their God.
For reflection
The Lord judges not only the shepherds but the fat sheep who trampled the pasture and fouled the water for the rest. Where in a community does the line between those who were failed and those who did the failing become hard to draw?
