Bible Strands
Ezekiel 34:14
I will feed them in good pasture, and the lofty mountains of Israel will be their grazing land. There they will lie down in a good grazing land; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord GOD speaks through Ezekiel to the exiled Israelites, promising restoration after the judgment of corrupt leaders. This declaration immediately follows the promise to gather the scattered flock from foreign nations back into their own territory.
The words — The Hebrew אֶרְעֶה ('er.'Eh) literally means "I will shepherd" or "I will feed," and מְרֽוֹם (me.rom-) denotes "height" or "lofty place." These terms anchor the promise of divine provision on elevated terrain.
The thread — The motif of God as shepherd and provider appears in Psalm 23:1, where Yahweh is confessed as shepherd, and in John 10:9, where Jesus identifies himself as the gate to pasture. Jeremiah 31:25 extends the imagery to God refreshing the weary soul.
Why it lands — The text explicitly states that God will personally provide sustenance and secure resting places on Israel's mountains. It requires readers to acknowledge that restoration and daily care originate from divine action, not human leadership or effort.
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
I will feed them in a good pasture, and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be: there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel.
Cross-references
- John 10:9 I am the gate. If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture.
- Psalms 23:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
- Jeremiah 31:25 for I will refresh the weary soul and replenish all who are weak.”
- Jeremiah 31:12 They will come and shout for joy on the heights of Zion; they will be radiant over the bounty of the LORD—the grain, new wine, and oil, and the young of the flocks and herds. Their life will be like a well-watered garden, and never again will they languish.
- Psalms 31:8 You have not delivered me to the enemy; You have set my feet in the open.
- Isaiah 25:6 On this mountain the LORD of Hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all the peoples, a feast of aged wine, of choice meat, of finely aged wine.
- Isaiah 30:23 Then He will send rain for the seed that you have sown in the ground, and the food that comes from your land will be rich and plentiful. On that day your cattle will graze in open pastures.
- 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.
- Jeremiah 33:12 This is what the LORD of Hosts says: In this desolate place, without man or beast, and in all its cities, there will once more be pastures for shepherds to rest their flocks.
- Ezekiel 34:27 The trees of the field will give their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; My flock will be secure in their land. Then they will know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bars of their yoke and delivered them from the hands that enslaved them.