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, unto the shepherds, Thus saith the Lord Jehovah: Woe to the shepherds of Israel that feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flock? 3Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool; ye kill them that are fattened: [but] ye feed not the flock. The weak have ye not strengthened, nor have ye healed the sick, and ye have not bound up [what was] broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought for that which was lost; but with harshness and with rigour have ye ruled over them. 5And they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, and were scattered. 6My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill, and my sheep have been scattered upon all the face of the earth, and there was none that searched, or that sought for 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
• drivenנָדַחnâdach · to banishH5080
• soughtבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245

Cross-references for Ezekiel 34:4

• Ezekiel 34:16I will seek the lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up the broken, and will strengthen that which was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong: I will feed them with judgment.
• Isaiah 56:10His watchmen are all of them blind, they are without knowledge; they are all dumb dogs that cannot bark, dreaming, lying down, loving to slumber:
• Jeremiah 8:22Is there no balm in Gilead? is there no physician there? Why then is there no dressing applied for the healing of the daughter of my people?
• Zechariah 11:15And Jehovah said unto me, Take unto thee yet the instruments of a foolish shepherd.
• Matthew 9:36But when he saw the crowds he was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed, and cast away as sheep not having a shepherd.
• Hebrews 12:12Wherefore lift up the hands that hang down, and the failing knees;
• Matthew 10:6but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
• Matthew 18:12What think ye? If a certain man should have a hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, does he not, leaving the ninety and nine on the mountains, go and seek the one that has gone astray?
• Luke 15:4What man of you having a hundred sheep, and having lost one of them, does 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 serve with harshness;
• Jeremiah 22:13Woe unto him that buildeth his house by unrighteousness, and his upper chambers by injustice; that taketh his neighbour's service without wages, and giveth him not his earning;
• Matthew 21:35And the husbandmen took his bondmen, and beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
• Matthew 24:49and begin to beat his fellow-bondmen, and eat and drink with the drunken;
• 2 Corinthians 1:24Not that we rule over your faith, but are fellow-workmen of your joy: for by faith ye stand.
• James 5:1Go to now, ye rich, weep, howling over your miseries that [are] coming upon [you].
• 1 Peter 5:2shepherd the flock of God which [is] among you, exercising oversight, not by necessity, but willingly; not for base gain, but readily;

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