Ezekiel 34:12

As a shepherd looks for his scattered sheep when he is among the flock, so I will look for My flock. I will rescue them from all the places to which they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The Lord God speaks through the prophet Ezekiel to the exiled Israelites, issuing a promise of direct intervention after detailing the failure of Israel's own leaders in the preceding verses.

The words — The Hebrew נִפְרָשׁוֹת (nif.ra.Shot) literally means "separated" or "scattered," describing the flock's condition. The phrase בְּיוֹם הֱיוֹתוֹ בְּתוֹךְ (be./yom- he.yo.T/o ve./tokh-) translates directly to "on the day he is in the midst," anchoring the shepherd's search to a specific moment of presence.

The thread — The shepherd imagery runs directly into Isaiah 40:11, where God tends His flock, and establishes the thematic groundwork for the New Testament claims in John 10:11 and Luke 19:10.

Why it lands — The text asserts that God will actively locate and rescue His people from every scattered location, requiring the reader to acknowledge divine initiative as the sole cause of restoration.

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

As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered; so will I seek out my sheep, and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day.

Cross-references

Isaiah 40:11 He tends His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them close to His heart. He gently leads the nursing ewes.
John 10:11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
Luke 15:4 “What man among you, if he has a hundred sheep and loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the pasture and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?
Ezekiel 30:3 For the day is near, the Day of the LORD is near. It will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.
Jeremiah 31:10 Hear, O nations, the word of the LORD, and proclaim it in distant coastlands: “The One who scattered Israel will gather them and keep them as a shepherd keeps his flock.
Jeremiah 13:16 Give glory to the LORD your God before He brings darkness, before your feet stumble on the dusky mountains. You wait for light, but He turns it into deep gloom and thick darkness.
Zephaniah 1:15 That day will be a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of destruction and desolation, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness,
Isaiah 50:10 Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of His Servant? Who among you walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD; let him lean on his God.
Joel 2:1 Blow the ram’s horn in Zion; sound the alarm on My holy mountain! Let all who dwell in the land tremble, for the Day of the LORD is coming; indeed, it is near—