Ezekiel 34:3

Ezekiel 34:3 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
• English Standard Version (ESV)You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep.
• New King James Version (NKJV)You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.
• New Living Translation (NLT)You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve.

Context of Ezekiel 34:3

1The word of the Lord came to me: 2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel; prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to you shepherds of Israel who only take care of yourselves! Should not shepherds take care of the flock? You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of the flock. 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. 5So they were scattered because there was no shepherd, and when they were scattered they became food for all the wild animals.

Ezekiel 34:3 word by word

אֶת־הַחֵ֤לֶב תֹּאכֵ֙לוּ֙ וְאֶת־הַצֶּ֣מֶר תִּלְבָּ֔שׁוּ הַבְּרִיאָ֖ה תִּזְבָּ֑חוּ הַצֹּ֖אן לֹ֥א תִרְעֽוּ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Ye eatאָכַל'âkal · to eatH398
• the fatחֵ֫לֶבcheleb chêleb · fatH2459
• and ye clotheלָבֵשׁlâbash lâbêsh · to clotheH3847
• you with the woolצֶ֫מֶרtsemer · woolH6785
• ye killזָבַחzâbach · to sacrificeH2076
• them that are fedבָּרִיאbârîy' · fatH1277
• ye feedרָעָהrâ‛âh · to pastureH7462
• not the flockצֹאןtsô'n tse'ôn · flockH6629

Cross-references for Ezekiel 34:3

• Isaiah 56:11They are dogs with mighty appetites; they never have enough. They are shepherds who lack understanding; they all turn to their own way, they seek their own gain.
• Zechariah 11:5Their buyers slaughter them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Praise the Lord, I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.
• Ezekiel 19:3She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a strong lion. He learned to tear the prey and he became a man-eater.
• Ezekiel 22:25There is a conspiracy of her princes within her like a roaring lion tearing its prey; they devour people, take treasures and precious things and make many widows within her.
• Ezekiel 33:25Therefore say to them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Since you eat meat with the blood still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land?
• 1 Kings 22:13The messenger who had gone to summon Micaiah said to him, “Look, the other prophets without exception are predicting success for the king. Let your word agree with theirs, and speak favorably.”
• 2 Kings 21:16Moreover, Manasseh also shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end—besides the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, so that they did evil in the eyes of the Lord.
• Isaiah 1:10Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
• Jeremiah 2:30“In vain I punished your people; they did not respond to correction. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a ravenous lion.
• Jeremiah 22:17“But your eyes and your heart are set only on dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood and on oppression and extortion.”
• Lamentations 4:13But it happened because of the sins of her prophets and the iniquities of her priests, who shed within her the blood of the righteous.
• Micah 3:1Then I said, “Listen, you leaders of Jacob, you rulers of Israel. Should you not embrace justice,
• Zephaniah 3:3Her officials within her are roaring lions; her rulers are evening wolves, who leave nothing for the morning.

Commentaries on Ezekiel 34:3

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 3Ye eat the fat - I think החלב hacheleb should be translated the milk, and so most of the Versions understand it. Or they lived on the fat sheep, and took the wool of all. "The priests," says Calmet, "ate the tithes, the first-fruits, and the offerings of the people; the princes received the tributes and imposts and instead of instructing and protecting them, the latter took away their lives by the cruelties they practiced against them: the former…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. 33. fat--or, by differently pointing the Hebrew, "milk" [Septuagint]. Thus the repetition "fat" and "fed" is avoided: also the eating of "fat" would not probably be put before the "killing" of the sheep. The eating of sheep's or goats' milk as food (De 32:14; Pr 27:27) was unobjectionable, had not these shepherds milked them too often, and that without duly "feeding" them [Bochart], (Is 56:11). The rulers levied exorbitant tributes. kill ... fed--kill the…Read the comment

Topics related to Ezekiel 34:3

• Levites
• Minister, Christian
• Rulers
• Wool

In the dictionaries

• Cruelty
• Dress
• Ezekiel, Book of
• Require
• Seek
• Ezekiel
• Teach; Teacher; Teaching
• Wool

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