Old Testament Commentary - Ezekiel 34

by Don R. Hender

Scriptural Text [& Editorial]	Commentary & Explanation	Footnotes ~ References ~ JST
CHAPTER 34 The Lord reproves those shepherds who do not feed the flock—In the last days, the Lord will gather the lost sheep of Israel—The Messiah shall be their Shepherd—The Lord will make his gospel covenant with them.
1 AND the word of the LORD came unto me, saying, 2 Son 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 ^ashepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds ^bfeed the flocks?
3 Ye eat the ^afat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. 4 The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was ^asick, 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 ^bcruelty have ye ruled them.
5 And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. 6 My ^asheep 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.
7 ¶ Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; 8 As 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 ^ashepherds ^bfed themselves, and fed not my flock;
9 Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD; 10 Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will ^arequire my flock at their hand, and cause them to ^bcease 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.
11 ¶ For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both ^asearch my sheep, and seek them out. 12 As a ^ashepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I ^bseek out my ^csheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been ^dscattered in the ^ecloudy and ^fdark day. 13 And I will ^abring them out from the people, and ^bgather them from the countries, and will bring them to their own ^cland, and feed them upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers, and in all the inhabited places of the country.
14 I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they ^alie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. 15 I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD. 16 I will seek that which was ^alost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was ^bsick: but I will destroy the ^cfat and the strong; I will feed them with ^djudgment.
17 And as for you, O my ^aflock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I ^bjudge ^cbetween cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats. 18 Seemeth 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 ^afoul the residue with your feet? 19 And as for my flock, they eat that which ye have ^atrodden with your feet; and they drink that which ye have fouled with your feet.
20 ¶ Therefore thus saith the Lord GOD unto them; Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat cattle and between the lean cattle. 21 Because ye have thrust with side and with shoulder, and pushed all the diseased with your horns, till ye have scattered them abroad; 22 Therefore will I save my ^aflock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
23 And I will set up *^aone ^bshepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even* my servant ^cDavid^a*; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. 24 And I ^athe LORD will be their ^bGod, and my servant ^cDavid a ^dprince among them; I the LORD have spoken it.* 25 And I will make with them a ^acovenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land^a: and they shall ^bdwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods.	*23^a one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even* my servant David The one shepherd who will reign during the millennium will be the good shepherd, even Jesus Christ. David is one of his names, meaning 'Beloved', for he was and is the Beloved Son of God, the Firstborn of the spirit of God the Father of Spirits. And he is the God of creation, the God of the Old Testament, the Lord God Jesus Christ who came and performed the atonement that he might save that which he had created, and it will be he who is Lord of the Millennium and our advocate and final judge with justice and mercy, that all who will come unto him and live as he would have them live might obtain eternal life. 25^a will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land** This likely refers to Satan and his followers who work to cause the down fall of man. Satan will be bound for the thousand years of the Millennium that peace and righteousness may prevail over the whole earth.
26 And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the ^ashower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of ^bblessing. 27 And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the ^aearth shall yield her increase, and they shall be ^bsafe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their ^cyoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that ^dserved themselves of them. 28 And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell ^asafely, and none shall make them afraid.
29 And I will raise up for them a ^aplant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the ^bshame of the heathen any more. 30 Thus 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. 31 And ye my ^aflock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.