Ezekiel 34:5

5 and they are dispersed because there is no shepherd; and they became food to all the beasts of the field, and they were scattered.

Ezekiel 34:5 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 34:5

And they were scattered because there is no shepherd
No good one; there were shepherds, but they were idol shepherds, good for nothing, and it was all one as if there were none: so, in Christ's time, there were the Scribes and Pharisees; yet, since these did not feed the people with wholesome doctrine, they are said to be as sheep without a shepherd, and scattered abroad, as here from the fold, and from one another; dispersed here and there, seeking food, and none, which moved his compassion, ( Matthew 9:36 ) , in the political sense it may refer to their captivity, and their dispersion among the nations, having no king: So the Targum,

``and they were scattered without a governor.''

And they became meat to all beasts of the field when they were
scattered;
the Targum is,

``and they were delivered to all the kingdoms of the people to be consumed;''

such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, Ammonites, Moabites, and others; and may be applied to false teachers, those grievous wolves, which spare not the flock, into whose hands members of churches, professors of religion, fall, when neglected by their shepherds.

Ezekiel 34:5 In-Context

3 Ye eat the milk, and ye clothe yourselves with the wool, ye kill those that are fat; but ye do not feed the flock.

4 Ye have not strengthened the weak, 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 ye have ruled them;

5 and they are dispersed because there is no shepherd; and they became food to all the beasts of the field, and they were scattered.

6 My sheep were lost and wandered through all the mountains and upon every high hill; my flock was dispersed upon all the face of the earth, and there was no one to search for them or to require anything of them.

7 Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the LORD;