Ezekiel 34:10

10 Adonai ELOHIM says, "I am against the shepherds. I demand that they hand my sheep back to me. I will not allow them to feed the sheep, and they won't feed themselves either. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths; they will be food for them no longer."

Ezekiel 34:10 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 34:10

Thus saith the Lord God, behold, I am against the shepherds,
&c.] His heart was against them; his hand was against them; his face was against them, to cut them off. The Targum is,

``behold, I will send my fury upon the governors;''
and there was good reason for it, they were against him and his glory, against his flock, his people, his cause, and interest; sad it is for any to have God against them, and to be against God; for none ever hardened themselves against him and prospered, ( Job 9:4 ) : and I will require my flock at their hand;
the full tale of them that have been committed to their care, and will punish them for the neglect of them; their blood, their life, and the loss of them, I will require at their hands; thus he punished Zedekiah and his princes, and the priests and prophets: and cause them to cease from feeding the flock;
take the kingdom from them, as he did from Zedekiah; abolish the ecclesiastical hierarchy among the Jews; cut off three shepherds in one month, the priests, prophets, and scribes of the people; and put the flock into other hands, the apostles and ministers of the Gospel: neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more;
enrich themselves with the substance of the people: for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat
for them;
who, instead of being shepherds to feed the flock, were no other than wolves in sheep's clothing, and ravenous lions and bears, which devoured the flock; but this they should do no longer.

Ezekiel 34:10 In-Context

8 "As I live," Adonai ELOHIM swears, "because my sheep have become prey, my sheep have become food for every wild animal, since there was no shepherd, since my shepherds didn't look for my sheep, and instead my shepherds fed themselves but not my sheep,"
9 therefore, shepherds, hear the word of ADONAI!
10 Adonai ELOHIM says, "I am against the shepherds. I demand that they hand my sheep back to me. I will not allow them to feed the sheep, and they won't feed themselves either. I will rescue my sheep from their mouths; they will be food for them no longer."
11 "'For here is what Adonai ELOHIM says: "I am taking over! I will search for my sheep and look after them, myself.
12 Just as a shepherd looks after his flock when he finds himself among his scattered sheep, so I will look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered when it was cloudy and dark.
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.