Ezekiel 34:4

Ezekiel 34:4 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)The diseased have ye not strengthened, 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 have ye ruled them.
• New International Version (NIV)You have not strengthened the weak or healed the sick or bound up the injured. You have not brought back the strays or searched for the lost. You have ruled them harshly and brutally.
• English Standard Version (ESV)The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.
• New King James Version (NKJV)The weak you have not strengthened, nor have you healed those who were sick, nor bound up the broken, nor brought back what was driven away, nor sought what was lost; but with force and cruelty you have ruled them.

Context of Ezekiel 34:4

2Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, even to the shepherds, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe unto the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! should not the shepherds feed the sheep? 3Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill the fatlings; but ye feed not the sheep. The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought back that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with rigor have ye ruled over them. 5And they were scattered, because there was no shepherd; and they became food to all the beasts of the field, and were scattered. 6My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my sheep were scattered upon all the face of the earth; and there was none that did search or seek after them.

Ezekiel 34:4 word by word

אֶֽת־הַנַּחְלוֹת֩ לֹ֨א חִזַּקְתֶּ֜ם וְאֶת־הַחוֹלָ֣ה לֹֽא־רִפֵּאתֶ֗ם וְלַנִּשְׁבֶּ֙רֶת֙ לֹ֣א חֲבַשְׁתֶּ֔ם וְאֶת־הַנִּדַּ֙חַת֙ לֹ֣א הֲשֵׁבֹתֶ֔ם וְאֶת־הָאֹבֶ֖דֶת לֹ֣א בִקַּשְׁתֶּ֑ם וּבְחָזְקָ֛ה רְדִיתֶ֥ם אֹתָ֖ם וּבְפָֽרֶךְ׃Read the interlinear

• strengthenedחָזַקchâzaq · to strengthen: strengthenH2388
• healedרָפָאrâphâ' râphâh · to healH7495
• sickחָלָהchâlâh · be weak: weakH2470
• boundחָבַשׁchâbash · to saddle/tieH2280
• brokenשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
• broughtשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• backשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
• drivenנָדַחnâdach · to banishH5080
• soughtבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
• forceחׇזְקָהchozqâh · forceH2394

Cross-references for Ezekiel 34:4

• Ezekiel 34:16I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but the fat and the strong I will destroy; I will feed them in justice.
• Isaiah 56:10His watchmen are blind, they are all without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs, they cannot bark; dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber.
• Jeremiah 8:22Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? why then is not the health of the daughter of my people recovered?
• Zechariah 11:15And Jehovah said unto me, Take unto thee yet again the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
• Matthew 9:36But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were distressed and scattered, as sheep not having a shepherd.
• Hebrews 12:12Wherefore lift up the hands that hang down, and the palsied knees;
• Matthew 10:6but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
• Matthew 18:12How think ye? if any man have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and go unto the mountains, and seek that which goeth astray?
• Luke 15:4What man of you, having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it?
• Exodus 1:13And the Egyptians made the children of Israel to serve with rigor:
• Jeremiah 22:13Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his chambers by injustice; that useth his neighbor’s service without wages, and giveth him not his hire;
• Matthew 21:35And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another.
• Matthew 24:49and shall begin to beat his fellow-servants, and shall eat and drink with the drunken;
• 2 Corinthians 1:24Not that we have lordship over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for in faith ye stand fast.
• James 5:1Come now, ye rich, weep and howl for your miseries that are coming upon you.
• 1 Peter 5:2Tend the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not of constraint, but willingly, according to the will of God; nor yet for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

Commentaries on Ezekiel 34:4

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 4The diseased have ye not strengthened - No person is fit for the office of a shepherd, who does not well understand the diseases to which sheep are incident, and the mode of cure. And is any man fit for the pastoral office, or to be a shepherd of souls, who is not well acquainted with the disease of sin in all its varieties, and the remedy for this disease, and the proper mode of administering it, in those various cases? He who does not know Jesus Christ…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 2-6Woe to the shepherds: Israel’s leaders did not care for the weak or search for those who wandered away and were lost. They pursued their own interests, feeding themselves at the flock’s expense. They ruled the sheep with harshness and cruelty, similar to how the Egyptians treated the Israelites in the time of Moses (Exodus 1:13–14). The neglect and abuse by these cruel shepherds scattered the Lord’s flock across the earth.Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 44. The diseased--rather, those weak from the effects of "disease," as "strengthened" (that is, with due nourishment) requires [Grotius]. broken--that is, fractures from wounds inflicted by the wolf. brought again ... driven away--(Ex 23:4). Those "driven away" by the enemy into foreign lands through God's judgments are meant (Jr 23:3). A spiritual reformation of the state by the rulers would have turned away God's wrath, and "brought again" the exiles…Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 34:4

• Levites
• Minister, Christian
• Rulers

In the dictionaries

• Cruelty
• Ezekiel, Book of
• Require
• Seek
• Ezekiel
• Sick; Sickness
• Teach; Teacher; Teaching

Commentaries on Ezekiel 34

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings