Bible Strands
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:
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — The LORD addresses Israel's corrupt leadership — watchmen, shepherds, priests, prophets — in a series of woes. The immediate context (v.10) has already called them blind and mute; v.12 shows their answer is to drink and enjoy the day.
The words — עַזֵּי־נֶ֗פֶשׁ ('azei-nepesh) literally "mighty of appetite," an idiom for insatiable greed that the BSB renders "ravenous." The phrase pairs with לֹא יָדְעוּ שָׂבְעָה ("they do not know satiety"), making the point that their hunger is structural, not occasional.
The thread — Ezekiel 34:2 pronounces woe against the shepherds of Israel who feed themselves; Micah 3:11 names leaders who judge for a bribe and priests who teach for a price. The pattern is consistent: the office of care becomes a cover for extraction.
Why it lands — The verse removes the distance between "shepherd" and "predator" by applying both to the same people. It asks the reader to test whether those in authority over them are feeding the flock or feeding off it.
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
Yea, they are greedy dogs which can never have enough, and they are shepherds that cannot understand: they all look to their own way, every one for his gain, from his quarter.
Cross-references
- Ezekiel 34:2 “Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel. Prophesy and tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Woe to the shepherds of Israel, who only feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed their flock?
- Ezekiel 13:19 You have profaned Me among My people for handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to My people who would listen, you have killed those who should not have died and spared those who should not have lived.
- Micah 3:11 Her leaders judge for a bribe, her priests teach for a price, and her prophets practice divination for money. Yet they lean upon the LORD, saying, “Is not the LORD among us? No disaster can come upon us.”
- John 8:43 Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message.
- Isaiah 1:3 The ox knows its owner, and the donkey its master’s manger, but Israel does not know; My people do not understand.”
- Isaiah 57:17 I was enraged by his sinful greed, so I struck him and hid My face in anger; yet he kept turning back to the desires of his heart.
- Micah 3:5 This is what the LORD says: “As for the prophets who lead My people astray, who proclaim peace while they chew with their teeth, but declare war against one who puts nothing in their mouths:
- Zechariah 11:15 And the LORD said to me: “Take up once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd.
- Titus 1:7 As God’s steward, an overseer must be above reproach—not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not greedy for money.
- Revelation 22:15 But outside are the dogs, the sorcerers, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.