# Ezekiel 34 📖: God the Good Shepherd [[📚 Explore the Bible Books]] [[-Ezekiel Overview]] | [[Ezekiel 33]] | [[Ezekiel 35]] > [!info] Table of Contents > [[#📜 Scripture Text (NET)]] > [[#📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary]] > [[#🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights]] > [[#🧠 Chapter Summary]] > [[#✝️ Christ in This Chapter]] > [[#🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application]] > [[#💬 Discussion Questions]] > [[#✍️ Key Verses to Remember]] > [[#🔗 Related Passages]] > [[#🙏 Devotional Reflection]] > [[#📂 Internal Notes]] ## 📜 Scripture Text (NET) (The NET Bible: New English Translation. Biblical Studies Press, 2005) ### The Shepherds of Israel [[#Verse 01.]] The Lord’s message came to me: [[#Verse 02.]] “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy, and say to them—to the shepherds: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves! Should not shepherds feed the flock? [[#Verse 03.]] You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the choice animals, but you do not feed the sheep! [[#Verse 04.]] You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost, but with force and harshness you have ruled over them. [[#Verse 05.]] They were scattered because they had no shepherd, and they became food for every wild beast. [[#Verse 06.]] My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over the entire face of the earth with no one looking or searching for them. [[#Verse 07.]] “‘Therefore, you shepherds, listen to the Lord’s message: [[#Verse 08.]] As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, my sheep have become prey and have become food for all the wild beasts. There was no shepherd, and my shepherds did not search for my flock, but fed themselves and did not feed my sheep. [[#Verse 09.]] Therefore, you shepherds, listen to the Lord’s message. [[#Verse 10.]] This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand my sheep from their hand. I will no longer let them be shepherds; the shepherds will not feed themselves anymore. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths, so that they will no longer be food for them. ### The Good Shepherd [[John10.10-18 (Ezekiel 34) (Easter 2025)]] [[#Verse 11.]] “‘For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out. [[#Verse 12.]] As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his scattered sheep, so I will seek out my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy, dark day. [[#Verse 13.]] I will bring them out from among the peoples and gather them from foreign countries; I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the streams and all the inhabited places of the land. [[#Verse 14.]] In a good pasture I will feed them; the mountain heights of Israel will be their pasture. There they will lie down in a lush pasture, and they will feed on rich grass on the mountains of Israel. [[#Verse 15.]] I myself will feed my sheep and I myself will make them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. [[#Verse 16.]] I will seek the lost and bring back the strays; I will bandage the injured and strengthen the sick, but the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them—with judgment! [[#Verse 17.]] “‘As for you, my sheep, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: Look, I am about to judge between one sheep and another, between rams and goats. [[#Verse 18.]] Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture that you must trample the rest of your pastures with your feet? When you drink clean water, must you muddy the rest of the water by trampling it with your feet? [[#Verse 19.]] As for my sheep, they must eat what you trampled with your feet and drink what you have muddied with your feet! [[#Verse 20.]] “‘Therefore, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to them: Look, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. [[#Verse 21.]] Because you push with your side and your shoulder, and thrust your horns at all the weak sheep until you scatter them abroad, [[#Verse 22.]] I will save my sheep; they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another. [[#Verse 23.]] “‘I will set one shepherd over them, and he will feed them—namely, my servant David. He will feed them and will be their shepherd. [[#Verse 24.]] I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them; I, the Lord, have spoken! ### The Lord’s Covenant of Peace [[#Verse 25.]] “‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and will rid the land of wild beasts, so that they can live securely in the wilderness and even sleep in the woods. [[#Verse 26.]] I will turn them and the regions around my hill into a blessing. I will make showers come down in their season; they will be showers that bring blessing. [[#Verse 27.]] The trees of the field will yield their fruit and the earth will yield its crops. They will live securely on their land; they will know that I am the Lord, when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the hand of those who enslaved them. [[#Verse 28.]] They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the wild beasts will not devour them. They will live securely, and no one will make them afraid. [[#Verse 29.]] I will prepare for them a healthy planting. They will no longer be victims of famine in the land and will no longer bear the insults of the nations. [[#Verse 30.]] Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them and that they are my people, the house of Israel, declares the Sovereign Lord. [[#Verse 31.]] And you, my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are my people, and I am your God, declares the Sovereign Lord.’” ## 📖 Verse-by-Verse Commentary ###### Overall. ###### Verse 01. ###### Verse 02. ###### Verse 03. ###### Verse 04. ###### Verse 05. ###### Verse 06. ###### Verse 07. ###### Verse 08. ###### Verse 09. ###### Verse 10. ###### Verse 11. ###### Verse 12. ###### Verse 13. ###### Verse 14. ###### Verse 15. ###### Verse 16. ###### Verse 17. ###### Verse 18. ###### Verse 19. ###### Verse 20. ###### Verse 21. ###### Verse 22. ###### Verse 23. ###### Verse 24. ###### Verse 25. ###### Verse 26. ###### Verse 27. ###### Verse 28. ###### Verse 29. ###### Verse 30. ###### Verse 31. ## 🤔 Interesting Facts / Historical and Cultural Insights 1. Kings in the ancient Near East were often called shepherds. Hammurabi of Babylon called himself a shepherd of his people. 2. The shepherds of Israel ate the fat and wore the wool but did not care for the flock (34:3). 3. Five failures are listed: not strengthening the weak, healing the sick, binding the injured, bringing back strays, or seeking the lost (34:4). 4. God says He will search for His sheep Himself (34:11), a strong statement of His personal care. 5. He will rescue them from all the places they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness (34:12). 6. God will judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and goats (34:17). Jesus uses similar imagery in Matthew 25:32-33. 7. "My servant David" (34:23-24) was promised centuries after David died, pointing to a future king from David's line. 8. God promises a covenant of peace (34:25). 9. "Showers of blessing" (34:26) is the source of the phrase used in a well-known hymn. 10. Jesus' parable of the lost sheep (Luke 15:4-7) reflects the heart of this chapter. ## 🧠 Chapter Summary > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## ✝️ Christ in This Chapter Christ is the Good Shepherd God promised. God said He Himself would search for His sheep and set over them one shepherd, His servant David (34:11, 23), and Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11). ## 🔎 Key Observations / 🛟 Life Application > [!note] 🌱 Still growing. This section is on its way. ## 💬 Discussion Questions 1. The shepherds of Israel fed themselves instead of the flock (34:2-4). What does faithful spiritual leadership look like? 2. God says, "I Myself will search for My sheep" (34:11). How have you experienced God seeking you out? 3. God judges between sheep and sheep, not only the shepherds (34:17-22). How do we treat the others in God's flock? ## ✍️ Key Verses to Remember - 📖 verse 4: The shepherds did not strengthen the weak, heal the sick, or seek the lost. - 📖 verses 11-12: God Himself will search for His sheep and rescue them. - 📖 verse 23: God will set over them one shepherd, His servant David. ## 🔗 Related Passages - 🔗 [[John 10#Verse 11.|John 10:11-16]] - I am the good shepherd. - 🔗 [[Luke 15#Verse 04.|Luke 15:4-7]] - The parable of the lost sheep. - 🔗 [[Psalm 23#Verse 01.|Psalm 23:1-4]] - The Lord is my shepherd. - 🔗 [[Jeremiah 23#Verse 01.|Jeremiah 23:1-6]] - Woe to the shepherds; a righteous Branch for David. - 🔗 [[1 Peter 05#Verse 02.|1 Peter 5:2-4]] - Shepherd God's flock until the Chief Shepherd appears. ## 🙏 Devotional Reflection 📝 SOAP: [[Ezekiel 34 - SOAP|When God Steps In]] ## 📂 Internal Notes