Ezekiel 34:6

My flock went astray on all the mountains and every high hill. They were scattered over the face of all the earth, with no one to search for them or seek them out.’

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — God addresses the failed shepherds of Israel, declaring the direct result of their neglect during a period of national judgment. The statement immediately follows a description of the people becoming prey to wild beasts due to the absence of guidance.

The words — יִשְׁגּ֤וּ (yish.Gu) means they wander, and צֹאנִ (tzo.N/i) identifies them as my flock. Together they frame the people’s condition as a deliberate departure from their designated place.

The thread — This motif of scattered sheep appears in Psalms 142:4, where the psalmist notes no one attends to him, and in 1 Peter 2:25, which recalls believers as sheep going astray before returning to their Shepherd. The dispersion theme also echoes Jeremiah 40:11 regarding Jews scattered across neighboring lands.

Why it lands — The text demands a clear assessment of leadership failure and its tangible results: geographic dispersion and abandonment. It requires the reader to recognize that human systems cannot secure the people, leaving only divine search and restoration as the viable outcome.

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

יִשְׁגּ֤וּyish.Guthey wander צֹאנִי֙tzo.N/iflock/ my בְּכָל־be./kholon/ all הֶ֣הָרִ֔יםhe./ha.Rimthe/ mountains וְעַ֖לve./'Aland/ on כָּל־kol-every גִּבְעָ֣הgiv.'Ahhill רָמָ֑הra.Mahhigh וְעַ֨לve./'Aland/ over כָּל־kol-all פְּנֵ֤יpe.Nei[the] surface of הָאָ֙רֶץ֙ha./'A.retzthe/ earth נָפֹ֣צוּna.Fo.tzuthey have been scattered צֹאנִ֔יtzo.N/iflock/ my וְאֵ֥יןve./'Einand/ there not דּוֹרֵ֖שׁdo.Resh[is one who] searches וְאֵ֥יןve./'Einand/ there not מְבַקֵּֽשׁ׃me.va.Kesh[is one who] seeks

King James Version

My sheep wandered through all the mountains, and upon every high hill: yea, my flock was scattered upon all the face of the earth, and none did search or seek after them.

Cross-references

1 Peter 2:25 For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.
Psalms 142:4 Look to my right and see; no one attends to me. There is no refuge for me; no one cares for my soul.
Jeremiah 40:11 When all the Jews in Moab, Ammon, Edom, and all the other lands heard that the king of Babylon had left a remnant in Judah and had appointed Gedaliah son of Ahikam, the son of Shaphan, over them,
Ezekiel 7:16 The survivors will escape and live in the mountains, moaning like doves of the valley, each for his own iniquity.
John 10:16 I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them in as well, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock and one shepherd.
Jeremiah 5:1 “Go up and down the streets of Jerusalem. Look now and take note; search her squares. If you can find a single person, anyone who acts justly, anyone who seeks the truth, then I will forgive the city.
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.
Hebrews 11:37 They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated.