For this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out.
Parallel translations
- WEB For thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I myself, even I, will search for my sheep, and will seek them out.
- KJV For thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I, even I, will both search my sheep, and seek them out.
- NKJV ‘For thus says the Lord God: “Indeed I Myself will search for My sheep and seek them out.
- NASB For the Lord God says this: “Behold, I Myself will search for My sheep and look after them.
- NLT “For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search and find my sheep.
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 announces that He Himself will search for His sheep and seek them out. Where human shepherds failed, the divine Shepherd takes up the task personally.
Overview
The emphatic 'I myself, even I' marks the great turning point of the chapter. God does not merely appoint better shepherds; He comes in person to seek His scattered flock. This is the heart of the gospel: the seeking God who pursues the lost. It is realized when God comes in the flesh in Jesus, who declares, 'I am the good shepherd' (John 10:11).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 19
- John 10:16I 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.
- Luke 19:10For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”
- Isa 40:10–11Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might, and His arm establishes His rule. His reward is with Him, and His recompense accompanies Him.
- Jer 23:3Then I Myself will gather the remnant of My flock from all the lands to which I have banished them, and I will return them to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and multiply.
- Jer 31:8Behold, I will bring them from the land of the north and gather them from the farthest parts of the earth, including the blind and the lame, expectant mothers and women in labor. They will return as a great assembly!
- Isa 56:8Thus declares the Lord GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel: “I will gather to them still others besides those already gathered.”
- Isa 45:12It is I who made the earth and created man upon it. It was My hands that stretched out the heavens, and I ordained all their host.
- Ps 80:1For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm of Asaph. Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth
- Matt 13:11–12He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.
- Isa 51:12“I, even I, am He who comforts you. Why should you be afraid of mortal man, of a son of man who withers like grass?
- Ps 23:1–3A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
- Deut 32:39See now that I am He; there is no God besides Me. I bring death and I give life; I wound and I heal, and there is no one who can deliver from My hand.
- Ps 119:176I have strayed like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments.
- Ezek 5:8Therefore this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I Myself am against you, Jerusalem, and I will execute judgments among you in the sight of the nations.
- Isa 48:15I, even I, have spoken; yes, I have called him. I have brought him, and he will succeed in his mission.
- Hos 5:14For I am like a lion to Ephraim and like a young lion to the house of Judah. I, even I, will tear them to pieces and then go away. I will carry them off where no one can rescue them.
- Lev 26:28then I will walk in fury against you, and I, even I, will punish you sevenfold for your sins.
- Gen 6:17And behold, I will bring floodwaters upon the earth to destroy every creature under the heavens that has the breath of life. Everything on the earth will perish.
- Ezek 6:3You are to say: ‘O mountains of Israel, hear the word of the Lord GOD! This is what the Lord GOD says to the mountains and hills, to the ravines and valleys: I am about to bring a sword against you, and I will destroy your high places.
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 34:11 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.