Bible Strands
Ezekiel 34:15
I will tend My flock and make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The Lord GOD speaks through Ezekiel to the exiled community, following a condemnation of Israel's corrupt leaders. The declaration occurs at a pivot point where divine intervention replaces human failure.
The words — The Hebrew אֶרְעֶה (er'Eh) literally means "I will shepherd," and אַרְבִּיצֵם (ar.bi.Tze/m) means "I will make lie down." These verbs frame the text's explicit claim that God personally provides both direction and rest.
The thread — This shepherd motif echoes in Psalm 23:1, where Yahweh is confessed as shepherd, and Jeremiah 3:15, which promises shepherds after God's own heart. Ezekiel 34:23 later specifies this role will be fulfilled through "one shepherd, My servant David."
Why it lands — The text demands recognition that sustenance and safety come solely from divine action, not human institutions. It requires the reader to accept that rest is granted by God's direct intervention rather than earned through leadership or merit.
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 my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God.
Cross-references
- Psalms 23:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
- Jeremiah 3:15 Then I will give you shepherds after My own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
- Ezekiel 34:23 I will appoint over them one shepherd, My servant David, and he will feed them. He will feed them and be their shepherd.
- John 21:15 When they had finished eating, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love Me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he answered, “You know I love You.” Jesus replied, “Feed My lambs.”
- Isaiah 11:6 The wolf will live with the lamb, and the leopard will lie down with the goat; the calf and young lion and fatling will be together, and a little child will lead them.
- Zephaniah 3:13 The remnant of Israel will no longer do wrong or speak lies, nor will a deceitful tongue be found in their mouths. But they will feed and lie down, with no one to make them tremble.”
- Song of Solomon 1:7 Tell me, O one I love, where do you pasture your sheep? Where do you rest them at midday? Why should I be like a veiled woman beside the flocks of your companions?
- Isaiah 27:10 For the fortified city lies deserted—a homestead abandoned, a wilderness forsaken. There the calves graze, and there they lie down; they strip its branches bare.
- Isaiah 65:9 And I will bring forth descendants from Jacob, and heirs from Judah; My elect will possess My mountains, and My servants will dwell there.
- Hosea 2:18 On that day I will make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field and the birds of the air and the creatures that crawl on the ground. And I will abolish bow and sword and battle in the land, and will make them lie down in safety.