Ezekiel 34:10

10 "This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against the shepherds.^[a] I will demand My flock from them^[b] and prevent them from shepherding the flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves, for I will rescue My flock from their mouths so that they will not be food for them.

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"-the declaration of the Lord God -"because My flock has become [prey and] food for every wild animal since [they] lack a shepherd, for My shepherds do not search for My flock, and [because] the shepherds feed themselves rather than My flock,

9 therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord!

10 "This is what the Lord God says: Look, I am against the shepherds. I will demand My flock from them and prevent them from shepherding the flock. The shepherds will no longer feed themselves, for I will rescue My flock from their mouths so that they will not be food for them.

11 "For this is what the Lord God says: See, I Myself will search for My flock and look for them.

12 As a shepherd looks for his sheep on the day he is among his scattered flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a cloudy and dark day.

Footnotes

• [a] Jr 23:1
• [b] Lit their hand