Ezekiel 34:5

5 They were scattered for lack of a shepherd;^[a] they became food for all the wild animals^[b] when 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 You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fatlings, but you do not tend the flock.

4 You have not strengthened the weak, healed the sick, bandaged the injured, brought back the strays, or sought the lost. Instead, you have ruled them with violence and cruelty.

5 They were scattered for lack of a shepherd; they became food for all the wild animals when they were scattered.

6 My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the whole face of the earth, and there was no one searching or seeking [for them].

7 "Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the Lord.

Footnotes

• [a]. Zch 13:7
• [b]. Ezk 33:27