Ezekiel 34:5

5 ¹So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and ²they became food for all the wild beasts.

Ezekiel 34:5 Meaning and Commentary

Ezekiel 34:5

And they were scattered because there is no shepherd
No good one; there were shepherds, but they were idol shepherds, good for nothing, and it was all one as if there were none: so, in Christ's time, there were the Scribes and Pharisees; yet, since these did not feed the people with wholesome doctrine, they are said to be as sheep without a shepherd, and scattered abroad, as here from the fold, and from one another; dispersed here and there, seeking food, and none, which moved his compassion, ( Matthew 9:36 ) , in the political sense it may refer to their captivity, and their dispersion among the nations, having no king: So the Targum,

``and they were scattered without a governor.''

And they became meat to all beasts of the field when they were
scattered;
the Targum is,

``and they were delivered to all the kingdoms of the people to be consumed;''

such as the Assyrians, Babylonians, Ammonites, Moabites, and others; and may be applied to false teachers, those grievous wolves, which spare not the flock, into whose hands members of churches, professors of religion, fall, when neglected by their shepherds.

Ezekiel 34:5 In-Context

3 You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat ones, but you do not feed the sheep.

4 The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.

5 So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts.

6 My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every high hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them.

7 "Therefore, you shepherds, hear the word of the LORD:

Cross References

• 1. 1 Kings 22:17; Matthew 9:36
• 2. [Jeremiah 50:7, 17]