And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.
Parallel translations
- WEB You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, says the Lord Yahweh.
- BSB ‘You are My flock, the sheep of My pasture, My people, and I am your God,’ declares the Lord GOD.”
- NKJV “You are My flock, the flock of My pasture; you are men, and I am your God,” says the Lord God.
- NASB “As for you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are mankind, and I am your God,” declares the Lord God.
- NLT You are my flock, the sheep of my pasture. You are my people, and I am your God. I, the Sovereign Lord, have spoken!”
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 declares plainly, 'You my sheep... are men, and I am your God.' The whole shepherd metaphor rests on this intimate covenant bond.
Overview
As a closing summary, God drops the imagery to state the reality: His people are the sheep of His pasture, and He is their God (cf. Ps. 100:3). The chapter that began with failed shepherds ends with God's own tender ownership of His flock. This relationship is sealed in Christ, who knows His sheep and is known by them (John 10:14), and to whom they belong forever.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 15
- Ps 100:3Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
- John 10:16And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.
- Ps 78:52But made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
- Ezek 36:38As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.
- Ps 80:1Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, thou that leadest Joseph like a flock; thou that dwellest between the cherubims, shine forth.
- John 20:15–17Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing him to be the gardener, saith unto him, Sir, if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away.
- Acts 20:28Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
- John 10:11I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
- Ps 95:7For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,
- Isa 40:11He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.
- John 10:26–30But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.
- Luke 12:32Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
- 1 Pet 5:2–3Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;
- Jer 23:1Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the LORD.
- Mic 7:14Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
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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 34:31 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.