Bible Strands
Ezekiel 34:3
You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — The Lord addresses the prophet Ezekiel to deliver a message to the shepherds of Israel during a prophetic declaration against their leadership.
The words — תֹּאכֵ֙לוּ֙ (to.Khe.lu) means "you eat," and תִּלְבָּ֔שׁוּ (til.Ba.shu) means "you clothe yourselves," describing the physical consumption of the flock's resources.
The thread — This pattern of neglectful leadership echoes in Zechariah 11:16, where a shepherd fails to seek the lost, and aligns with the violent rule condemned in 1 Kings 21:13 and 2 Kings 21:16.
Why it lands — The text states that leaders consume the flock's provisions while refusing to provide sustenance, demanding that those in authority prioritize the flock's survival over personal exploitation.
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
Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
Cross-references
- Zechariah 11:16 For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will neither care for the lost, nor seek the young, nor heal the broken, nor sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the choice sheep and tear off their hooves.
- 1 Kings 21:13 And the two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and these men testified against him before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.
- 2 Kings 21:16 Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, in addition to the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, doing evil in the sight of the LORD.
- Isaiah 1:10 Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
- Isaiah 1:15 When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
- Isaiah 56:11 Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:
- Jeremiah 2:30 “I have struck your sons in vain; they accepted no discipline. Your own sword has devoured your prophets like a voracious lion.”
- Jeremiah 22:17 “But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”
- Lamentations 4:13 But this was for the sins of her prophets and the guilt of her priests, who shed the blood of the righteous in her midst.
- Ezekiel 19:3 She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a young lion. After learning to tear his prey, he devoured men.