And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:
Parallel translations
- WEB “I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
- BSB I will make you pass under the rod and will bring you into the bond of the covenant.
- NKJV “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;
- NASB “I will make you pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant;
- NLT I will examine you carefully and hold you to the terms of the covenant.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
God will make them pass under the rod and bring them into the bond of the covenant. Like a shepherd counting his flock, He will reclaim and bind them to Himself.
Overview
Passing 'under the rod' pictures a shepherd inspecting and numbering his sheep (Leviticus 27:32), here signifying both scrutiny and ownership. God will hold His people to covenant accountability, sorting and claiming them as His own. The shepherd imagery anticipates Christ, the Good Shepherd, who knows His sheep and brings them into the new covenant in His blood.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Jer 33:13In the cities of the mountains, in the cities of the vale, and in the cities of the south, and in the land of Benjamin, and in the places about Jerusalem, and in the cities of Judah, shall the flocks pass again under the hands of him that telleth them, saith the LORD.
- Lev 27:32And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, even of whatsoever passeth under the rod, the tenth shall be holy unto the LORD.
- Matt 25:32–33And before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them one from another, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats:
- Ps 89:30–32If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;
- Ezek 16:59–60For thus saith the Lord GOD; I will even deal with thee as thou hast done, which hast despised the oath in breaking the covenant.
- Amos 3:2You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.
- Lev 26:25And I will bring a sword upon you, that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant: and when ye are gathered together within your cities, I will send the pestilence among you; and ye shall be delivered into the hand of the enemy.
- Ezek 34:17And as for you, O my flock, thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I judge between cattle and cattle, between the rams and the he goats.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The promise of one Shepherd-King David, a new heart and new Spirit, and the river of life flowing from the temple all stream toward Christ, the good Shepherd who gives the Spirit.
How Ezekiel 20:37 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.