New International Version
Ezekiel 34:16
16I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.
Ezekiel 34:16 in other versions
- King James Version (KJV)I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but I will destroy the fat and the strong; I will feed them with judgment.
- English Standard Version (ESV)I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.
- New King James Version (NKJV)“I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick; but I will destroy the fat and the strong, and feed them in judgment.”
- New Living Translation (NLT)I will search for my lost ones who strayed away, and I will bring them safely home again. I will bandage the injured and strengthen the weak. But I will destroy those who are fat and powerful. I will feed them, yes—feed them justice!
Context of Ezekiel 34:16
14I will tend them in a good pasture, and the mountain heights of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in good grazing land, and there they will feed in a rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15I myself will tend my sheep and have them lie down, declares the Sovereign Lord. I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice. 17“ ‘As for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will judge between one sheep and another, and between rams and goats. 18Is it not enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of your pasture with your feet? Is it not enough for you to drink clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?
Read all of Ezekiel 34Ezekiel 34:16 word by word
אֶת־הָאֹבֶ֤דֶת אֲבַקֵּשׁ֙ וְאֶת־הַנִּדַּ֣חַת אָשִׁ֔יב וְלַנִּשְׁבֶּ֣רֶת אֶחֱבֹ֔שׁ וְאֶת־הַחוֹלָ֖ה אֲחַזֵּ֑ק וְאֶת־הַשְּׁמֵנָ֧ה וְאֶת־הַחֲזָקָ֛ה אַשְׁמִ֖יד אֶרְעֶ֥נָּה בְמִשְׁפָּֽט׃Read the interlinear
Words taken from the KJV.
- I will seekבָּקַשׁbâqash · to seekH1245
- that which was lostאָבַד'âbad · to perishH6
- and bring againשׁוּבshûb · to return: returnH7725
- that which was driven awayנָדַחnâdach · to banishH5080
- and will bind upחָבַשׁchâbash · to saddle/tieH2280
- brokenשָׁבַרshâbar · to breakH7665
- and will strengthenחָזַקchâzaq · to strengthen: strengthenH2388
- that which was sickחָלָהchâlâh · be weak: weakH2470
- but I will destroyשָׁמַדshâmad · to destroyH8045
- the fatשָׁמֵןshâmên · richH8082
- and the strongחָזָקchâzâq · strongH2389
- I will feedרָעָהrâ‛âh · to pastureH7462
- them with judgmentמִשְׁפָּטmishpâţ · justiceH4941
Cross-references for Ezekiel 34:16
- Ezekiel 34:4You 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.
- Isaiah 40:11He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
- Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
- Micah 4:6“In that day,” declares the Lord, “I will gather the lame; I will assemble the exiles and those I have brought to grief.
- Matthew 15:24He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
- Mark 2:17On hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
- Luke 5:31Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.
- Luke 15:4“Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?
- Luke 19:10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
- Ezekiel 39:18You will eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of the princes of the earth as if they were rams and lambs, goats and bulls—all of them fattened animals from Bashan.
- Deuteronomy 32:15Jeshurun grew fat and kicked; filled with food, they became heavy and sleek. They abandoned the God who made them and rejected the Rock their Savior.
- Isaiah 5:17Then sheep will graze as in their own pasture; lambs will feed among the ruins of the rich.
- Isaiah 10:16Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty, will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors; under his pomp a fire will be kindled like a blazing flame.
- Jeremiah 50:11“Because you rejoice and are glad, you who pillage my inheritance, because you frolic like a heifer threshing grain and neigh like stallions,
- Amos 4:1Hear this word, you cows of Bashan on Mount Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy and say to your husbands, “Bring us some drinks!”
Commentaries on Ezekiel 34:16
- Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 16I will destroy the fat and the strong - I will destroy those cruel and imperious shepherds who abuse their authority, and tyrannize over the flock.Read the comment
- Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 16With judgment - It is characteristic of Yahweh as a shepherd that He judges between sheep and sheep, rejecting the proud and accepting the penitent and broken-hearted.Read the comment
- Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 7-16Verses 7-16 The Lord declared that he intended mercy towards the scattered flock. Doubtless this, in the first place, had reference to the restoration of the Jews. It also represented the good Shepherd's tender care of the souls of his people. He finds them in their days of darkness and ignorance, and brings them to his fold. He comes to their relief in times of persecution and temptation. He leads them in the ways of righteousness, and causes them to…Read the comment
- Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 12-16The dark and cloudy day, the day of judgment (compare Ezekiel 32:7–8), was over. Now God would bring his people back to the mountains of Israel, the center of the land promised to the patriarchs, and care for his sheep (see Psalm 23).Read the comment
- Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 1616. In contrast to the unfaithful shepherds (Eze 34:4). The several duties neglected by them I will faithfully discharge. fat ... strong--that is, those rendered wanton by prosperity (De 32:15; Jr 5:28), who use their strength to oppress the weak. Compare Eze 34:20, "the fat cattle" (Is 10:16). The image is from fat cattle that wax refractory. with judgment--that is, justice and equity, as contrasted with the "force" and "cruelty" with which the…Read the comment
Topics related to Ezekiel 34:16
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
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