Ezekiel 34:5

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

3Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock. 4The 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. And they were scattered, because there is no shepherd: and they became meat to all the beasts of the field, when they were scattered. 6My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them. 7Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of Yhwh;

Ezekiel 34:5 word by word

וַתְּפוּצֶ֖ינָה מִבְּלִ֣י רֹעֶ֑ה וַתִּהְיֶ֧ינָה לְאָכְלָ֛ה לְכָל־חַיַּ֥ת הַשָּׂדֶ֖ה וַתְּפוּצֶֽינָה׃Read the interlinear

• And they were scatteredפּוּץpûts · to scatterH6327
• no shepherdרָעָהrâ‛âh · to pastureH7462
• and they became meatאׇכְלָה'ôklâh · foodH402
• to all the beastsחַיָּהchay · living thingH2416
• of the fieldשָׂדֶהώâdeh ώâday · land: wildlifeH7704

Cross-references for Ezekiel 34:5

• Ezekiel 34:6My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.
• Ezekiel 33:21And it came to pass in the twelfth year of our captivity, in the tenth month, in the fifth day of the month, that one that had escaped out of Jerusalem came unto me, saying, The city is smitten.
• 1 Kings 22:17And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: And Yhwh said, These have no master: let them return every man to his house in peace.
• 2 Chronicles 18:16Then he said, I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: And Yhwh said, These have no master; let them return therefore every man to his house in peace.
• Jeremiah 23:2Therefore thus saith Yhwh God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith Yhwh.
• Jeremiah 50:6My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains: they have gone from mountain to hill, they have forgotten their restingplace.
• Zechariah 13:7Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith Yhwh of Armies: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones.
• Matthew 9:36But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.
• Ezekiel 34:8As I live, saith the Lord Yhwh, surely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no shepherd, neither did my shepherds search for my flock, but the shepherds fed themselves, and fed not my flock;
• Zechariah 10:2For the idols have spoken vanity, and the diviners have seen a lie, and have told false dreams; they comfort in vain: therefore they went their way as a flock, they were troubled, because there was no shepherd.
• Isaiah 56:9All ye beasts of the field, come to devour, yea, all ye beasts in the forest.
• Jeremiah 12:9Mine heritage is unto me as a speckled bird, the birds round about are against her; come ye, assemble all the beasts of the field, come to devour.
• John 10:2But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
• Acts 20:29For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing 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

• Levites
• Minister, Christian

In the dictionaries

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