Ezekiel 34:22

I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.

Berean Standard Bible

Study note

Setting — The Lord addresses Israel’s corrupt leaders, intervening immediately after condemning their violent exploitation of the weak and before promising a future Davidic shepherd.

The words — הוֹשַׁעְתִּי (ho.sha'.Ti) means “I will save,” and שָׁפַתִּי (Sha.fa.Ti) means “I will judge,” both stressing direct divine action rather than human intervention.

The thread — The motif of God rescuing the oppressed and holding shepherds accountable appears in Psalms 72:12, Jeremiah 23:2, and Ezekiel 34:10.

Why it lands — It requires readers to acknowledge that God personally protects the vulnerable and settles disputes, demanding an end to reliance on exploitative leadership.

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

וְהוֹשַׁעְתִּ֣יve./ho.sha'.Tiand/ I will save לְצֹאנִ֔יle./tzo.N/i<to>/ flock/ my וְלֹֽא־ve./lo'-and/ not תִהְיֶ֥ינָהtih.Yei.nahthey will become ע֖וֹדodagain לָבַ֑זla./Vaz<into>/ prey וְשָׁ֣פַטְתִּ֔יve./Sha.fa.Tiand/ I will judge בֵּ֥יןbeinbetween שֶׂ֖הseha sheep לָשֶֽׂה׃la./Sehand/ a sheep

King James Version

Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.

Cross-references

Psalms 72:12 For he will deliver the needy who cry out and the afflicted who have no helper.
Jeremiah 23:2 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.
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.’
Zechariah 11:7 So I pastured the flock marked for slaughter, especially the afflicted of the flock. Then I took for myself two staffs, calling one Favor and the other Union, and I pastured the flock.