You eat the fat, wear the wool, and butcher the fattened sheep, but you do not feed the flock.
Parallel translations
- WEB You eat the fat, and you clothe yourself with the wool, you kill the fatlings; but you don’t feed the sheep.
- KJV Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock.
- NKJV You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool; you slaughter the fatlings, but you do not feed the flock.
- NASB You eat the fat and clothe yourselves with the wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock.
- NLT You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals, but you let your flocks starve.
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
The shepherds consumed the flock's produce—milk, wool, choice animals—while neglecting to feed them. They took the benefits of leadership and gave nothing back.
Overview
Eating the fat, wearing the wool, and slaughtering the fatlings picture leaders enriching themselves at the people's expense. Care flowed only one direction: toward the shepherds. Such exploitation provokes God's judgment and stands in stark contrast to the servant-leadership Christ commands (Mark 10:42-45) and embodies.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 16
- Zech 11:16For behold, I will raise up a shepherd in the land who will neither care for the lost, nor seek the young, nor heal the broken, nor sustain the healthy, but he will devour the flesh of the choice sheep and tear off their hooves.
- Lam 4:13But this was for the sins of her prophets and the guilt of her priests, who shed the blood of the righteous in her midst.
- Ezek 19:6He prowled among the lions, and became a young lion. After learning to tear his prey, he devoured men.
- Isa 1:15When you spread out your hands in prayer, I will hide My eyes from you; even though you multiply your prayers, I will not listen. Your hands are covered with blood.
- Jer 22:17“But your eyes and heart are set on nothing except your own dishonest gain, on shedding innocent blood, on practicing extortion and oppression.”
- Ezek 33:25–26Therefore tell them that this is what the Lord GOD says: ‘You eat meat with the blood in it, lift up your eyes to your idols, and shed blood. Should you then possess the land?
- 2 Kgs 21:16Moreover, Manasseh shed so much innocent blood that he filled Jerusalem from end to end, in addition to the sin that he had caused Judah to commit, doing evil in the sight of the LORD.
- Isa 56:11–12Like ravenous dogs, they are never satisfied. They are shepherds with no discernment; they all turn to their own way, each one seeking his own gain:
- Ezek 22:25–28The conspiracy of the princes in her midst is like a roaring lion tearing its prey. They devour the people, seize the treasures and precious things, and multiply the widows within her.
- Ezek 19:3She brought up one of her cubs, and he became a young lion. After learning to tear his prey, he devoured men.
- Mic 3:1–3Then I said: “Hear now, O leaders of Jacob, you rulers of the house of Israel. Should you not know justice?
- 1 Kgs 21:13–16And the two scoundrels came in and sat opposite Naboth, and these men testified against him before the people, saying, “Naboth has cursed both God and the king!” So they took him outside the city and stoned him to death.
- Isa 1:10Hear the word of the LORD, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the instruction of our God, you people of Gomorrah!
- Jer 2:30“I have struck your sons in vain; they accepted no discipline. Your own sword has devoured your prophets like a voracious lion.”
- Zech 11:5whose buyers slaughter them without remorse. Those who sell them say, ‘Blessed be the LORD, for I am rich!’ Even their own shepherds have no compassion on them.
- Zeph 3:3Her princes are roaring lions; her judges are evening wolves, leaving nothing for the morning.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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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 34:3 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
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