As
for you, O my flock, thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the male goats.
Ezekiel 34:17
Ezekiel 34 [10.] Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be food for them. For thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out. As a shepherd seeks out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered abroad, so will I seek out my sheep; and I will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and will bring them into their own land; and I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the watercourses, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture; and on the mountains of the height of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie down in a good fold; and on fat pasture shall they feed on the mountains of Israel.
Ezekiel 34 [15.] I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord Yahweh. I will seek that which was lost, and will bring back that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick: but the fat and the strong I will destroy; I will feed them in justice. As for you, O my flock, thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep, the rams and the male goats. Does it seem a small thing to you to have fed on the good pasture, but you must tread down with your feet the residue of your pasture? and to have drunk of the clear waters, but you must foul the residue with your feet? As for my sheep, they eat that which you have trodden with your feet, and they drink that which you have fouled with your feet.
Ezekiel 34 [20.] Therefore thus says the Lord Yahweh to them: Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. Because you thrust with side and with shoulder, and push all the diseased with your horns, until you have scattered them abroad; therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep. I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. I, Yahweh, will be their God, and my servant David prince among them; I, Yahweh, have spoken it.
Meaning:
Ezekiel spoke to Jewish exiles in Babylon after Jerusalem had fallen. In chapter 34 God condemns Israel’s leaders, the shepherds who fed themselves instead of the flock, and promises to shepherd his people himself (Ezekiel 34:15-16). In this verse he turns to the flock.
- “As for you, O my flock”
God still calls them “my flock”. Though scattered and mistreated, they belong to him.
- “Behold, I judge between sheep and sheep”
Not every member of the flock is innocent. Some sheep behaved like the bad shepherds. The next verses explain that strong animals trampled the pasture, muddied the water and pushed the weak aside with horn and shoulder: “Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep” (Ezekiel 34:20). God sees how people treat the weak among them.
- “the rams and the male goats”
Rams and male goats lead and dominate a flock. Here they stand for the powerful who use their strength selfishly.
The Significance of Ezekiel 34:17
- The final separation
Jesus took up this picture when he described the Son of Man separating the nations “as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats” (Matthew 25:32). In both passages the judgement concerns how people have treated the needy.
- The Good Shepherd
God promised to set one shepherd, David, over his flock (Ezekiel 34:23). Jesus fulfils this: “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
Cross-References:
Matthew 25:32: "as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats." Jesus’ picture of the final judgement.
Ezekiel 34:20: "Behold, I, even I, will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep." God defends the weak.
John 10:11: "The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." The promised shepherd.
Conclusion: In Ezekiel 34:17 God tells his flock that he will judge between sheep and sheep, between rams and male goats. He sees how the strong treat the weak and will set things right. Jesus used this picture for the final judgement, when the Good Shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible