“As for you, My sheep, the sheep of My pasture, you are mankind, and I am your God,” declares 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.
- KJV And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD.
- 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.
- 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 that Yahweh, he is God. It is he who has made us, and we are his. We are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
- John 10:16I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice. They will become one flock with one shepherd.
- Ps 78:52But he led out his own people like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
- Ezek 36:38As the flock for sacrifice, as the flock of Jerusalem in her appointed feasts, so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men; and they shall know that I am Yahweh.
- Ps 80:1For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm by Asaph. Hear us, Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit above the cherubim, shine out.
- John 20:15–17Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you looking for?” She, supposing him to be the gardener, said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”
- Acts 20:28Take heed, therefore, to yourselves, and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the assembly of the Lord and God which he purchased with his own blood.
- John 10:11I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
- Ps 95:7for he is our God. We are the people of his pasture, and the sheep in his care. Today, oh that you would hear his voice!
- Isa 40:11He will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs in his arm, and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead those who have their young.
- John 10:26–30But you don’t believe, because you are not of my sheep, as I told you.
- Luke 12:32Don’t be afraid, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom.
- 1 Pet 5:2–3Shepherd the flock of God which is among you, exercising the oversight, not under compulsion, but voluntarily, not for dishonest gain, but willingly;
- Jer 23:1“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!” says Yahweh.
- Mic 7:14Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your heritage, who dwell by themselves in a forest, in the middle of fertile pasture land, let them feed; in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.
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 34:31 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.