I will feed my flock, and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord GOD.
Parallel translations
- WEB I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, and I will cause them to lie down, says the Lord Yahweh.
- BSB I will tend My flock and make them lie down, declares the Lord GOD.
- NKJV I will feed My flock, and I will make them lie down,” says the Lord God.
- NASB I Myself will feed My flock and I Myself will lead them to rest,” declares the Lord God.
- NLT I myself will tend my sheep and give them a place to lie down in peace, says the Sovereign Lord.
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 Himself declares, 'I will be the shepherd of my sheep,' personally giving them rest. The Lord claims the role His appointed leaders forfeited.
Overview
This is the climactic statement of God's direct shepherding. He will tend the flock and 'cause them to lie down' in security. The 'I myself' emphasis recalls v.11 and frames the whole promise as God's personal commitment. In the New Testament this very claim is taken up by Jesus, the Lord who shepherds His people (John 10; 1 Pet. 2:25).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Ps 23:1–2The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
- Jer 3:15And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
- John 21:15So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
- Ezek 34:23And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd.
- Zeph 3:13The remnant of Israel shall not do iniquity, nor speak lies; neither shall a deceitful tongue be found in their mouth: for they shall feed and lie down, and none shall make them afraid.
- Isa 11:6–7The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.
- Isa 65:9–10And I will bring forth a seed out of Jacob, and out of Judah an inheritor of my mountains: and mine elect shall inherit it, and my servants shall dwell there.
- Isa 27:10Yet the defenced city shall be desolate, and the habitation forsaken, and left like a wilderness: there shall the calf feed, and there shall he lie down, and consume the branches thereof.
- Song 1:7–8Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, where thou feedest, where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?
- Hos 2:18And in that day will I make a covenant for them with the beasts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground: and I will break the bow and the sword and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down safely.
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 34:15 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.