Bible Strands
Ezekiel 34:10
This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand from them My flock and remove them from tending the flock, so that they can no longer feed themselves. For I will deliver My flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.’
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Lord GOD addresses the corrupt shepherds of Israel immediately after commanding them to hear His word. He interrupts their self-serving leadership to announce a direct confrontation.
The words — The Hebrew phrase אֶל־הָרֹעִים (el-ha-ro'im) translates literally as "against the shepherds," establishing God's stance of opposition. The verb וְדָרַשְׁתִּי (ve-darash-ti), meaning "I will demand" or "I will seek," introduces the divine action of reclaiming authority over the flock.
The thread — This confrontation with negligent leaders echoes Ezekiel 34:2, where God commands prophecy against the same shepherds. It directly precedes Ezekiel 34:11, which shifts from judgment to God's personal promise to search for and restore His flock.
Why it lands — The text demands acknowledgment that spiritual authority belongs to God alone and cannot be hoarded by human leaders. It requires readers to reject self-serving religious control and expect divine intervention to protect the vulnerable.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
Thus saith the Lord God; Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 34:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock?
- Zechariah 10:3 “My anger burns against the shepherds, and I will punish the leaders. For the LORD of Hosts attends to His flock, the house of Judah; He will make them like His royal steed in battle.
- Jeremiah 21:13 Behold, I am against you who dwell above the valley, atop the rocky plateau—declares the LORD—you who say, “Who can come against us? Who can enter our dwellings?”
- Ezekiel 13:8 Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: Because you have uttered vain words and seen false visions, I am against you, declares the Lord GOD.
- Psalms 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
- Psalms 72:12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out and the afflicted who have no helper.
- Jeremiah 52:24 The captain of the guard also took away Seraiah the chief priest, Zephaniah the priest of second rank, and the three doorkeepers.
- Ezekiel 3:18 If I say to the wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ but you do not warn him or speak out to warn him from his wicked way to save his life, that wicked man will die in his iniquity, and I will hold you responsible for his blood.
- Ezekiel 34:8 ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord GOD, because My flock lacks a shepherd and has become prey and food for every wild beast, and because My shepherds did not search for My flock but fed themselves instead,
- Nahum 2:13 “Behold, I am against you,” declares the LORD of Hosts. “I will reduce your chariots to cinders, and the sword will devour your young lions. I will cut off your prey from the earth, and the voices of your messengers will no longer be heard.”