I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.
Parallel translations
- WEB therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
- KJV Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
- ESV I will rescue my flock; they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep.
- NKJV therefore I will save My flock, and they shall no longer be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
- NASB therefore, I will save My flock, and they will no longer be plunder; and I will judge between one sheep and another.
- NLT So I will rescue my flock, and they will no longer be abused. I will judge between one animal of the flock and another.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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 promises to save His flock so they will no longer be prey, and to judge between sheep and sheep. He delivers the weak and sets things right.
Overview
In response to the bullying of v.21, God pledges salvation: 'I will save my flock' from becoming prey, whether to beasts, false shepherds, or oppressive fellow-sheep. His judgment is rescue for the vulnerable. This deliverance points forward to the salvation Christ brings, gathering and protecting His own from every danger (John 10:28-29).
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Jer 23:2–3Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says about the shepherds who tend My people: “You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.
- Ps 72:12–14For he will deliver the needy who cry out and the afflicted who have no helper.
- Ezek 34:10This is what the Lord GOD says: ‘Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will demand from them My flock and remove them from tending the flock, so that they can no longer feed themselves. For I will deliver My flock from their mouths, and it will no longer be food for them.’
- Zech 11:7–9So I pastured the flock marked for slaughter, especially the afflicted of the flock. Then I took for myself two staffs, calling one Favor and the other Union, and I pastured the flock.
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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 34:22 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.