therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between sheep and sheep.
Parallel translations
- KJV Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle.
- BSB I will save My flock, and they will no longer be prey. I will judge between one sheep and another.
- 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 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 Yahweh, the God of Israel, says against the shepherds who feed my people: “You have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them; behold, I will visit on you the evil of your doings,” says Yahweh.
- Ps 72:12–14For he will deliver the needy when he cries; the poor, who has no helper.
- Ezek 34:10Thus says the Lord Yahweh: Behold, I am against the shepherds; and I will require my sheep at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the sheep; neither shall the shepherds feed themselves any more; and I will deliver my sheep from their mouth, that they may not be food for them.
- Zech 11:7–9So I fed the flock of slaughter, especially the oppressed of the flock. I took for myself two staffs. The one I called “Favor”, and the other I called “Union”, and I fed the flock.
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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.