Ezekiel 34:10

10 "'Watch out! I'm coming down on the shepherds and taking my sheep back. They're fired as shepherds of my sheep. No more shepherds who just feed themselves! I'll rescue my sheep from their greed. They're not going to feed off my sheep any 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

9 listen to what God has to say:
10 "'Watch out! I'm coming down on the shepherds and taking my sheep back. They're fired as shepherds of my sheep. No more shepherds who just feed themselves! I'll rescue my sheep from their greed. They're not going to feed off my sheep any longer!
11 "'God, the Master, says: From now on, I myself am the shepherd. I'm going looking for them.
12 As shepherds go after their flocks when they get scattered, I'm going after my sheep. I'll rescue them from all the places they've been scattered to in the storms.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.