God’s Word Translation
Ezekiel 34:5
5So they were scattered because there was no shepherd. When they were scattered, they became food for every wild animal.
Ezekiel 34:5 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered.
- New International Version (NIV)So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.
- English Standard Version (ESV)So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts. My sheep were scattered;
- New King James Version (NKJV)So they were scattered because there was no shepherd; and they became food for all the beasts of the field when they were scattered.
Context of Ezekiel 34:5
3You eat the best parts of the sheep, dress in the wool, and butcher the finest sheep. Yet, you don’t take care of the sheep. 4You have not strengthened those that were weak, healed those that were sick, or bandaged those that were injured. You have not brought back those that strayed away or looked for those that were lost. You have ruled them harshly and violently. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd. When they were scattered, they became food for every wild animal. 6My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered throughout the whole earth. No one searched or looked for them. 7“ ‘So, you shepherds, listen to the Lord’s word.
Read all of Ezekiel 34Ezekiel 34:5 word by word
וַתְּפוּצֶ֖ינָה מִבְּלִ֣י רֹעֶ֑ה וַתִּהְיֶ֧ינָה לְאָכְלָ֛ה לְכָל־חַיַּ֥ת הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה וַתְּפוּצֶֽינָה׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
Cross-references for Ezekiel 34:5
- Ezekiel 34:6My sheep wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. They were scattered throughout the whole earth. No one searched or looked for them.
- Ezekiel 33:21On the fifth day of the tenth month in the twelfth year of our captivity, a refugee from Jerusalem came to me. He said, “The city has been captured.”
- 1 Kings 22:17So Micaiah said, “I saw Israel’s troops scattered in the hills like sheep without a shepherd. The Lord said, ‘These ⌞sheep⌟ have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’ ”
- 2 Chronicles 18:16So Micaiah said, “I saw Israel’s troops scattered in the hills like sheep without a shepherd. The Lord said, ‘These sheep have no master. Let each one go home in peace.’ ”
- Jeremiah 23:2“This is what I, the Lord God of Israel, said to the shepherds who take care of my people: You have scattered my sheep and chased them away. You have not taken care of them, so now I will take care of you by punishing you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord.
- Jeremiah 50:6My people have been lost sheep. Their shepherds have led them astray. They wander around on the mountains. They go from mountains to hills. They have forgotten their resting place.
- Zechariah 13:7“Arise, sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my friend,” declares the Lord of Armies. “Strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered. Then I will turn my hand against the little ones.”
- Matthew 9:36When he saw the crowds, he felt sorry for them. They were troubled and helpless like sheep without a shepherd.
- Ezekiel 34:8As I live, declares the Almighty Lord, because there is no shepherd, my sheep have become prey. My sheep have become food for every wild animal. My shepherds haven’t searched for my sheep. They have taken care of only themselves, not my sheep.
- Zechariah 10:2The idols speak lies. The fortunetellers see false visions. They speak about false dreams. They give useless comfort. That is why people wander around like sheep. They are troubled because there is no shepherd.
- Isaiah 56:9All you animals in the field, all you animals in the forest, come and eat.
- Jeremiah 12:9My people are like a colorful bird of prey. Other birds of prey surround it. Go, gather all the animals in the field, and bring them to devour it.
- John 10:2But the one who enters through the gate is the shepherd.
- Acts 20:29I know that fierce wolves will come to you after I leave, and they won’t spare the flock.
Commentaries on Ezekiel 34:5
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 5And they were scattered - There was no discipline kept up; and the flock, the Church, became disorganized, and separated from each other, both in affection and fellowship. And the consequence was, the grievous wolves, false and worldly interested teachers, seized on and made a prey of them. Of the communion of saints such shepherds know nothing, farther than that it makes a part of the common creed.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. 55. scattered, because ... no shepherd--that is, none worthy of the name, though there were some called shepherds (1Ki 22:17; Mt 9:36). Compare Mt 26:31, where the sheep were scattered when the true Shepherd was smitten. God calls them "My sheep"; for they were not, as the shepherds treated them, their patrimony whereby to "feed themselves." meat to all ... beasts--They became a prey to the Syrians, Ammon, Moab, and Assyria.Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 34:5
In the dictionaries
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
God’s Word Translation — © 1995 God’s Word to the Nations Bible Society
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