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.
• New International Version (NIV)You eat the curds, clothe yourselves with the wool and slaughter the choice animals, but you do not take care of 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.

Context of Ezekiel 34:3

1The word of Adonai came to me saying: 2“Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and say to those shepherds, thus says Adonai Elohim: “Oy , shepherds of Israel who only take care of themselves! Should shepherds not take care of the sheep? You eat the fat. You clothe yourself with the wool. You kill the fat ones. But you do not take care of the sheep. 4You do not strengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the broken, bring back the stray or seek the lost. Instead, you have ruled over them with force and cruelty. 5They were scattered for lack of a shepherd. They became food for all the beasts of the field as they were scattered.

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 56:11and the dogs are greedy— they never have enough. They are shepherds with no discernment. They have all turned to their own way, each to his own gain, one and all.
• Zechariah 11:5Their buyers slay them and go unpunished. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be Adonai, for I am rich!’ Their own shepherds do not spare them.
• Ezekiel 19:3When she raised up one of her cubs, he became a young lion. When he learned to tear prey, he devoured people.
• Ezekiel 22:25There is a conspiracy of her prophets in her midst, like a roaring lion tearing prey. They have devoured lives, they take wealth and valuables, they multiply widows in her midst.
• Ezekiel 33:25“Therefore say to them, thus says Adonai Elohim: ‘You eat with the blood, lift up your eyes to your idols and shed blood. Should you possess the land?
• 1 Kings 22:13Meanwhile the messenger that went to summon Micaiah spoke to him saying, “Behold now, the words of the prophets are uniformly declaring favor to the king. So please let your word be like the word of one of them, and speak favorably.”
• 2 Kings 21:16Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood until he filled Jerusalem with blood from one end to another—in addition to his sin which he made Judah sin, in doing what was evil in Adonai’s eyes.
• Isaiah 1:10Hear the word of Adonai, you rulers of Sodom! Give ear to the Torah of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
• Jeremiah 2:30“In vain I struck your children. They took no correction. Your sword devoured your prophets like a ravaging lion.”
• Jeremiah 22:17“But your eyes and your heart are only on your unjust gain, and on shedding innocent blood, and committing extortion and fraud.”
• Lamentations 4:13Yet it happened because of the sins of her prophets, and the iniquities of her kohanim, who shed in her midst the blood of the tzadikim .
• Micah 3:1Then I said: “Hear, leaders of Jacob, rulers of the house of Israel. Is it not for you to know justice?
• Zephaniah 3:3Her princes within her are roaring lions. Her judges are wolves of the night, leaving nothing but bones for 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