Ezekiel 34:16

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.
• New International Version (NIV)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.
• 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.”

Context of Ezekiel 34:16

14Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills. 15I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord. 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! 17“And as for you, my flock, this is what the Sovereign Lord says to his people: I will judge between one animal of the flock and another, separating the sheep from the goats. 18Isn’t it enough for you to keep the best of the pastures for yourselves? Must you also trample down the rest? Isn’t it enough for you to drink clear water for yourselves? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet?

Ezekiel 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 taken care of the weak. You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost. Instead, you have ruled them with harshness and cruelty.
• Isaiah 40:11He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in his arms, holding them close to his heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young.
• Isaiah 61:1The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is upon me, for the Lord has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed.
• Micah 4:6“In that coming day,” says the Lord, “I will gather together those who are lame, those who have been exiles, and those whom I have filled with grief.
• Matthew 15:24Then Jesus said to the woman, “I was sent only to help God’s lost sheep—the people of Israel.”
• Mark 2:17When Jesus heard this, he told them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
• Luke 5:31Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do.
• Luke 15:4“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?
• Luke 19:10For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost.”
• Ezekiel 39:18Eat the flesh of mighty men and drink the blood of princes as though they were rams, lambs, goats, and bulls—all fattened animals from Bashan!
• Deuteronomy 32:15“But Israel soon became fat and unruly; the people grew heavy, plump, and stuffed! Then they abandoned the God who had made them; they made light of the Rock of their salvation.
• Isaiah 5:17In that day lambs will find good pastures, and fattened sheep and young goats will feed among the ruins.
• Isaiah 10:16Therefore, the Lord, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, will send a plague among Assyria’s proud troops, and a flaming fire will consume its glory.
• Jeremiah 50:11“You rejoice and are glad, you who plundered my chosen people. You frisk about like a calf in a meadow and neigh like a stallion.
• Amos 4:1Listen to me, you fat cows living in Samaria, you women who oppress the poor and crush the needy, and who are always calling to your husbands, “Bring us another drink!”

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

• Minister, Christian
• Righteous

In the dictionaries

• Cruelty
• Ezekiel, Book of
• Require
• Seek
• Ezekiel
• Sheep
• 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